Do foxes like rubber?

[Dave Plowman (News]

Was watching TV yesterday about 22.30, and the power went off. Split load RCD tripped.

Turned out a fox (or whatever) had chewed trough the mains cable feeding my car battery charger. Which was made of rubber. I know rodents love chewing PVC, but hoped rubber was better. This lead has been in use for many years without having that problem.

The outside mains socket has its own RCD - one of those that looks a bit like an FCU, and situated inside. Predates the fitting of the split load RCD - and simply left as doing no harm. And it didn't trip. ;-)

[Owain Lastname]

I understand that ferrets go mad for rubber and rubber-like silicone alternatives.

Unless you have very carefully coordinated time/current curves there's no guarantee which breaker will trip first, or at all :)

Owain

[David Wade]

Well that trip order is expected. They are probably both 30ma but the one in the consumer will experience the total imbalance from all the connected devices and so will usually trip before the one dedicated to the external socket.

The dedicated external RCD might be doing no harm, but don't they consume power, even when not in use.

Dave

[Mark Carver]

I was wondering quite what to expect opening this post !

[Brian Gaff]

Rats seem to like rubberised cables. Sounds like a job for a bit of tubing to me, or raise it up a long way on a catinary wire. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

Yes indeed, I mean, fox frogmen, or fox fetishists? After the story I heard Peter Gabriel mentioning in an interview with his erstwhile Genesis cronies where he dressed up in woman's clothing and wore a foxes head and nearly went straight off the edge of the stage, it does make one wonder. Brian

[Dave Plowman (News]

I doubt there are many ferrets in this part of London? ;-)

I've been using this cable to do this job perhaps once a month for many years. And this being the only time it's been chewed. And in two different places, but only one right through.

Yup. I could quite easily re-wire that RCD/socket onto a radial fed from the none RCD side of the CU.

Was wondering if those who have electric cars and charge them on their driveway have the same problem?