Boiler

[Derwent]

Hi, I have a static and leave the electricity on through the week as we use it every weekend.

I do unplug the boiler though on a Sunday before we leave, and every Friday when I plug it back in the electricity trips.

Any ideas why?

Thanks.

 

[ProfJohnL]

As we are not in a position to test the appliance or installation for faults it would be luck rather than judgment if we came up with the actual fault that you have.

Which trip acts? is it an MCB or an RCD?

 

[IanB1485]

The boiler's power supply may have what's known as EMC components( to reduce radio interference to other devices) , which consist of small capacitors and resistors connected from both Live and Neutral to Earth and these take current on power up along with a power switching transistor /HF transformer , this initial power up surge can take significant current for a fraction of a second and may be 'unbalanced' i.e the live current is not equal to the neutral current which is exactly what an RCD is watching for, so it trips thinking there is a fault, second time around and a storage capacitor will still be charged up so the inrush current is smaller , so no trip. Another reason is the RCD is too sensitive and is tripping well below the 30mA its rated at.I've not seen it often but it can occur. The good news is that in either case , you are testing the RCD ( which should be done every six months to ensure its working) so happy days. If it gets worse ,get an electrician in , who has the equipment to fully test the RCD's operation

 

[Derwent]

The boiler's power supply may have what's known as EMC components( to reduce radio interference to other devices) , which consist of small capacitors and resistors connected from both Live and Neutral to Earth and these take current on power up along with a power switching transistor /HF transformer , this initial power up surge can take significant current for a fraction of a second and may be 'unbalanced' i.e the live current is not equal to the neutral current which is exactly what an RCD is watching for, so it trips thinking there is a fault, second time around and a storage capacitor will still be charged up so the inrush current is smaller , so no trip. Another reason is the RCD is too sensitive and is tripping well below the 30mA its rated at.I've not seen it often but it can occur. The good news is that in either case , you are testing the RCD ( which should be done every six months to ensure its working) so happy days. If it gets worse ,get an electrician in , who has the equipment to fully test the RCD's operation

Thanks for your reply.

 

[Derwent]

As we are not in a position to test the appliance or installation for faults it would be luck rather than judgment if we came up with the actual fault that you have.

Which trip acts? is it an MCB or an RCD?

RCD