RCD tripping - why????

[tony sayer]

Eh?, has the leccy board been called in to look at that?..

[Tim S]

tony sayer coughed up some electrons that declared:

IIRC he did say the REC were on the way a couple of days back

[Recyclist]

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They fixed the overhead line the evening it started throwing sparks! I've got a key for next door, so I could check it myself, but I'm confident that my installation is OK. I dispensed with the time delay RCDs, and everything is now off RCBOs, including distribution circuits.

T

[Recyclist]

The speed of response by Central Networks could not have been better!

T

[The Natural Philosopher]

Once when I spotted a fizzing insulator and reported it, they were over the next day to fix.

I reported a water leak on IIRC Friday, they were over to inspect in 24 hours, and I noted yesterday an earth upheaval and no sign of a leak..

Thse things cost THEM money, and if left, even more money.

They are incented to fix..

[The Natural Philosopher]

You cant escape capacitors across live and earth these days - wiring, RFI filters and so on.

Any 'sharp edges' on the supply send a LOT of current to earth through those. That is, after all, what they are designed to do.

I get trips due to lightning strikes on the overheads. Or any arcing contacts.

[tony sayer]

In article , Tim S scribeth thus

Mea cupla;) old age creeping up on moi;!..

[tony sayer]

I should hope you have some RCD protection somewhere!..

[tony sayer]

Indeed we have several PC's here and elsewhere where there are 30 ma RCD's with never a problem!..

Well I can understand that there are very high currents and voltages induced on local overhead distribution but for us old townies can't say we've experienced one yet!..

[John Rumm]

He does, in every RCBO!

[tony sayer]

Humm. Suppose he could have meant everything is disconnected from i.e. "off" the RCBO's ;)....

>

[Dave Liquorice]

sparks!

I've found our REC to be pretty responsive. Reported over voltage after I go the UPS and it instantly went into "voltage trim mode", they were at the door in 2 hrs confirmed the overvoltage and changed the tapping on our transformer within a couple of days. Nice side effect was that tungsten bulbs started to last more than 3 months...

er RCBO's do that. B-)

Though I thought the OP said he was on a TT supply but doesn't that type of supply require a time delayed 100mA "whole house" RCD? To ensure fast enough disconnection or indeed any disconnection in the event of a fault. TT supplies possibly having to high an earth loop impedance to trip pure overload devices reliably.

[John Rumm]

It needs RCD protection, but there is no requirement for it to be a

100mA device (time delayed or otherwise). The time delay type is usually used as a convenience to allow the use of a split load CU then implies cascading of RCDs. Under the 16th edition there was nothing to stop you having two CUs - one with a conventional 100mA RCD for lights etc, and a separate CU with 30mA RCD protection one for sockets.

Indeed - but any RCD will do that, including those in the RCBOs

[Dave Liquorice]

The auto recloser locked out a while back, a couple of hours later the power would come back for a second or so then drop out again, this happened a few times. SWMBO'd was out side when one of these short power bursts occured and reported arcing from one of the insulators. Rang the REC told 'em, the engineers where at the door in

10mins. They had more or less tracked it down by then but I was impressed that the CS people could get a message to the engineers on the ground quite so effectively.

Had and air vent valve fail on the 6" main at the top of the hill near here. Reasonable volume of water flowing across the road, creating quite a driving hazard. Local farmer reported it about 1000, nothing had happened by 1500 so I reported it again, was told they be along "in a day or two" to have a look. Said there was a road hazard, didn't seem to make much difference. Local police stopped to have a look, I went out and had a chat they had reported it and the traffic hazard about 1200...

Man in waterboard van finally appeared about 1700 and was very coy about what he did to fix it. I suspect it had just jammed open and was "hit with a hammer" as there where no bits lying about in the back of his van.

OK there was a reasonable response in the end but they fact that no one reporting the leak was told "oh yes we know already but thank you all the same" or a sensible "we should be there [ later today | tomorow ]" rather than "someone will be along some time to have look" was disappointing.