Domestic appliances overloading circuit breakers
In the apartment where we have been staying, we have been advised not to run the washing machine and the tumble dryer at the same time because this trips the circuit breaker. Is this generally true of domestic circuits or is it just the apartment managers being cheapskate on their electrics? (I can't get to the back of the appliances to see their ratings.) What a pain in Melbourne (see recent thread on airing cupboards!)
Mark |
Re: Domestic appliances overloading circuit breakers
Originally posted by MarkMyWords In the apartment where we have been staying, we have been advised not to run the washing machine and the tumble dryer at the same time because this trips the circuit breaker. Is this generally true of domestic circuits or is it just the apartment managers being cheapskate on their electrics? (I can't get to the back of the appliances to see their ratings.) What a pain in Melbourne (see recent thread on airing cupboards!) Mark |
Re: Domestic appliances overloading circuit breakers
Originally posted by Florida_03 ELCB (earth leakage circuit breakers) are usually required now. All appliances have some earth leakage and some are worse than others. Earth leakage is cumulative so the more appliances running the higher the likelihood of tripping the ELCB (it is not a rated current problem). My wife could never iron with the TV and dryer and fridge running at the same time. I'm no electrician, but I've never heard of this:confused: The fuses in our house in the UK are mini circuit breakers, and appart from tripping when a light blows when you turn it on, they are ok. Bye Mark |
Im an electrician i might be able to help on this.
When lights are connected to a fuse board you would use a mcb,where as sockets are connected with a rcd which gives extra protection compared to the mcb. If you have the washing machine and tumble dryer on at the same all that would happen is it might trip off and you would have to reset it by flicking the trip switch back on no damage done.Give it a try with both on if it doesnt trip then fine if it does then just reset it and then you know you cant have both on. Personally i dont think it will trip |
Originally posted by Tallpaul Im an electrician i might be able to help on this. When lights are connected to a fuse board you would use a mcb,where as sockets are connected with a rcd which gives extra protection compared to the mcb. If you have the washing machine and tumble dryer on at the same all that would happen is it might trip off and you would have to reset it by flicking the trip switch back on no damage done.Give it a try with both on if it doesnt trip then fine if it does then just reset it and then you know you cant have both on. Personally i dont think it will trip I have four main rings in my house in Aus and I can use most things together - but I cannot use two large oil filled electric heaters on the downstairs plugs at the same time, it trips outs and we have to run out and flip the switch ( which I do not like doing in the dark - so we gave one heater away!). Upstairs we seem to be fine, unless we use the steam iron and fill it with water and use it too soon! All the light switches upstairs make the telly/stereo flicker when turning them off and on I know there is an electrians answer to this but can someone in laymans terms explain what we have to look out for when buying electrical items re fuses/ampage ring circuits etc. Trial and error is a pain in the arse and expensive! PS - one thing I have learnt - buy protection for laptops and computers - I got mine fried over here in a storm. Nasty and expensive! Cheers |
Originally posted by Tallpaul Im an electrician i might be able to help on this. When lights are connected to a fuse board you would use a mcb,where as sockets are connected with a rcd which gives extra protection compared to the mcb. If you have the washing machine and tumble dryer on at the same all that would happen is it might trip off and you would have to reset it by flicking the trip switch back on no damage done.Give it a try with both on if it doesnt trip then fine if it does then just reset it and then you know you cant have both on. Personally i dont think it will trip At this point it's a minor inconvenience but I wanted to find out if it was likely to be a long-term problem when we're here for good. Judging by Sandra's posting, the answer is "yes". Bother. (How old is your house, Sandra, or rather, how old is the wiring?) Mark |
Originally posted by MarkMyWords At this point it's a minor inconvenience but I wanted to find out if it was likely to be a long-term problem when we're here for good. Judging by Sandra's posting, the answer is "yes". Bother. (How old is your house, Sandra, or rather, how old is the wiring?) Mark We have sort of got used to it and don't have loads of things on together much - until we forget and have to run to flip the switch again. Lucky for us our boxes are now easily accessible, the rental was a pain and I refused to do it in the dark. |
Originally posted by Sandra I know there is an electrians answer to this but can someone in laymans terms explain what we have to look out for when buying electrical items re fuses/ampage ring circuits etc. Trial and error is a pain in the arse and expensive! The problem was he put in a cheaper, lower rated breaker which used to trip all the time. Last week, the blasted thing tripped and wouldn't reset. At the time my wife was in the bath with our 18 month old toddler and it could have been a disaster. We couldn't get an electrician out until the next morning and he told me the breaker was too small. An extra twenty dollars would have bought something suitable when the first one was put in. Just something to be aware of. |
We had exactly the same problem in our house in Sydney, built in 1985. That one had fuse wire that needed changing !!
Here in QLD, we don't have the problem, the house was built in 1995. |
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