Hi everyone, ever since we moved to our house we have had a problem intermittently with the rcd tripping on the hot water, is there anything i canlook at before calling in a electrician ! i have read on the net that it could be a old/worn out heating element, odd thing is that it can go for months and not be a problem but then it will trip every day or so Many thanks
masturbidder,
Dec 14, 7:30am
RCDs are not normally fitted in fixed hot water cylinders. Do you mean a circuit breaker! If so, better call a sparky soon.
gtcrshr,
Dec 14, 7:33am
sorry i ment RCD is in the fuse box rather than on the hot water cylinder
captaingraham,
Dec 14, 7:45am
The cylinder circuit does not need to be fed through an RCD unit and normally would not be. That said, if it is tripping the RCD you may have an element problem.
russ18,
Dec 14, 8:43am
Had a similar problem in a combined bathroom / laundry which also contained the water heater cupboard, cables were transposed, water heater was RCD protected, socket outlets weren't. but they were ripple controlled.
easygoer,
Dec 14, 9:30am
What captaingraham said, the element will have a fault on the neutral side causing a short neutral to earth, the problem will only get worse
kwaka5,
Dec 14, 7:54pm
You will need to call a sparky around to test and check what is actually going on here.
t_naki,
Dec 14, 7:58pm
An element often has a small leakage current but is still safe to use, it should not be connected to a RCD for that reason. If it is on a dedicated circuit then I would have a sparky check it to be safe and then move it off the RCD. If it is on the same circuit as something else like sockets then you are stuck unless you want to install a dedicated circuit for it.
davea74,
Dec 14, 8:55pm
t_naki is right,sounds like you need a sparky to check out how your circuits are arranged.Hot water should not be on an RCD for exactly the reason you are experiencing.Elements will usually have a bit of leakage, and are quite safe.
Get some expert advice.
davea74,
Dec 14, 8:57pm
no, elements naturally have leakage.That is why the wiring rules allow the HWC to be on a non RCD circuit, and can have a much lower test result (insulation resistance) to earth than everything else.
elect70,
Dec 15, 4:10am
Same with stoves,cant fit RCD to them either due to leakage . Yet they are a major source ofelectrocutions.Had a caravaner fit electricHWC& wondered why itkept tripping RCD at camp ground .
davea74,
Dec 15, 5:16am
Thats right.A stove has no rcd, but two powerpoints and generally quite close to the sink.
taipan4,
Dec 15, 7:08am
same old same old, And the sink bench probably S/S and not earthed
davea74,
Dec 15, 8:27am
Same old same old!I really don't care, was just saying.
gtcrshr,
Dec 17, 10:15am
thanks for the replied quote from the electrician is 160 to replace it
not bad i thought will ask about the rcd as well while he is here many thanks
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