Iron Tripping RCD

[Apols if this is a bit O/T]

My 18 month old Tefal iron has just started making the RCD trip after the iron's been on for about 20 - 30 mins.

I don't know much about RCD's - so I'm not sure if this means the RCD is a bit sensitive (as the iron appears fine) or if I should get a new iron asap? Is there anything else I should look at?

Thanks,

Michael

Reply to
michaeld121
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It is almost certainly a fault in the iron. At only 18 months old, I would try taking it back unless it's done an abnormally high amount of work in that time.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

Our 20 year old Rowenta does this if we forget to turn off the steam at lower temperatures. I guess the water doesn't evaporate fast enough and gets in somewhere.

Reply to
John

Time to replace your iron.

Reply to
Handy

new iron asap, as folk have said. Some things are safe when leaky, but an iron definitely isnt one of them.

It seems reasonable to expect a Tefal brand iron to last longer than that, so you may have some leverage there, even if out of gtee.

NT

Reply to
meow2222
18 months old iron does not sound old enough to be faulty. My iron was doing the same thing but it was 10 years old. I guess these things are disposable now.

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote:

Reply to
peternoon

The message from " snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.co.uk" contains these words:

Is there some sort of cutoff at which you might expect something to develop a fault?

Reply to
Guy King

Curious idea. More new irons are faulty than 18 month olds, its the bathtub curve effect. In fact for some appliances youre likely to get better reliability by buying used.

NT

Reply to
meow2222

Thanks for the swift & very clear responses - it's pretty clear I need a new iron.

I agree that 18 months is pretty lousy for an iron. I'm going to get in touch with Tefal & see what their response is... While it's now out of warranty I understand that doesn't necessarily absolve Tefal of all responsibility.

Michael

Reply to
michaeld121

They may have a moral responsibility, but not a legal responsibility.

Legal responsibility would lay with the retailer, but depends on you showing that the product would have been expected to last a good deal longer than it did. Do you remember how much it cost? You could give the retailer the opportunity to have it repaired or replaced at their expense. In the event of replacement, it would be reasonable for the retailer to expect you to pay something like 1/4 - 1/2 the price, representing the value you got from the original item. You may however get more joy from the manufacturer.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

I'd get the back off the iron where the flex connects to the terminals and have a look at the state of the insualtion. My mum once had a perfectly good iron that, with use, would wear through the flex at the point where it was held by the Plastic Grippy Bit, the insulation eventually giving up and causing the RCD to trip. Fixed it at least twice by lopping a few inches off the flex and re-wiring whenever it wore out.

Kim.

Reply to
kimble

when our iron started tripping the RCD it was because of a small leak in the water tank. Nothing obvious until I stripped it right down. Dave

Reply to
dave

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