Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

Have a townhouse about 11 years old. The oven started to trip the rcd sometime a go. Have used it a couple of times in 11 years. Usually when it reaches temperature it trips but sometimes as it's just warming up. Now I find on odd occasion the washing machine trips the same RCD. It's a bit random but last time it had finished washing then tripped at the end. Have a feeling even the hot water cylinder has tripped it.

Had a Spanish electrician take a look and said it was appliances even though he hardly looked at the fuse box.

As it's the same RCD thinking I should just get it changed and will soon find out. Anyone hd similar.

Thanks

Re: Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

Did you have any other appliance on at the same time? Such as a couple of electric rings (assuming your cooker is electric). The standard power rating is 4.6kW when installed.
When our oven is on, and my wife puts a couple of electric rings on full, the power is tripped; it cannot cope.

Re: Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

A cooker and a hob should be on their own 20amp circuits with their own RCDs. If the cooker is sharing with other appliances then it could simply be anb overload.

Your electrician should have known this.

Re: Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

What do you mean by that? Do you mean the potencia to the property? or the RCD potencia?

Old houses tend to have a potencia of 3.3 or less whilst newer ones now tend to have 5.5 (ish).

Re: Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

I assume it'd be the RCD. Our house was rewired in 2007(while we were still in England). We've not bothered to have the potencia increased as it'd cost around €400.
Maybe nowadays the 'potencia' has been increased to 5.5.

Re: Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

There is normally only one RCD across the whole system. A cooker should have its own circuit breaker, but not a separate RCD.

That's how you can tell the difference when the power goes off. If it's an RCD trip, then everything goes off. If it's a circuit breaker, then only that circuit is affected.

The problems described here sound more like an overload on the circuit breaker, not an RCD problem. RCD problems usually happen immediately when the device is switched on.

Re: Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

My mistake I was using the term RCD when I meant circuit breaker.

Re: Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

While I was trying to find out what it was I had everything off. Also when the washing machine tripped it it had been on and washing for over an hour with no issue so don't think it's an overload.
The one that trips is a circuit breaker same model as this
MOELLER 40 AMP 30mA XCLEAR CFK6- 40/2/003 RCD CIRCUIT BREAKER. | eBay

Re: Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

That's definitely an RCD not an "overload" circuit breaker. I would inclined to change it as the existing one might have a weird fault. Alternately call in an electrician.

Re: Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

Thanks Fred.

It would at least rule that out. Over the last 11 years of ownership we've probably only been about 25 weeks all told. Think we suffer from lack of use. Something usually stops working.

Re: Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

The symptoms you describe - particularly the oven - indicates that it's probably one of the oven elements. An RCD is an earth leakage device and so faults are little to do with the current being drawn and almost always is an appliance problem. If the circuit breakers don't trip indicating an overload in that particular circuit then it's not usually an overload fault but that the insulation is failing somewhere. Typically this is in a heating element - and if you haven't been using it a lot then the oven is the prime suspect, Of course the heating element in the washing machine may also be dodgy. You could have two faults.


Of course RCDs can themselves fail but it's pretty unusual.


This doesn't exclude a mouse nibbling through a cable somewhere;)

Re: Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

Are you absolutely sure it's not just overload. Putting on another appliance eg kettle 2-3kw may trip out the system if you have the oven etc on.
We are on a 5.75kw potencia contract and in the winter when heating the house and cooking, putting the kettle on will trip the system.

Re: Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

That's a totally different problem. Using more power than you are contracted for will indeed cause the system to trip, but that trips an entirely different circuit breaker. It would be obvious as you cannot confuse the two items.

The symptoms do sound like an overload, but the picture that OP showed was definitely an RCD. An RCD is obvious as it is the only breaker with a separate test button on it.

Re: Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

I'm not so sure. If the RCD trips as soon as the appliance is switched on then maybe but the OP says that the element has started to warm up before the breaker trips. Maximum current is taken at switch on and then eases off as the element warms up. However, as the element warms its internal insulation is under most stress and it's then when it may leak to earth causing the RCD to trip.

Re: Electrics advice. RCD or Appliances
 

My reply was directed to Jonnyone, as what he described was clearly an ICD trip.

As for your theory, I think you may well be right. I would still be inclined to change the RCD to eliminate that device as being the problem. That's cheaper than changing the oven!