Loss of power

[Andy Norfolk]

Been on a site in East Sussex for 6 nights. Van had it's service before we came away. It's an Adria and a year old. All has been ok.

This morning, same as every morning, put hot water on, not on boost. Boiled low voltage kettle. All ok. Put kettle back on for second cup of tea, ehu goes. Post has tripped and MCB s in van. Reset post, reset van. Put kettle back on and hot water. All is ok. Everything seems to work.

The site say they have no issues. Why did the post go? Any ideas. Not knowing bugs me. TIA.

 

[borderbilly]

Was there not electrical thunder storms down that way? That could have tripped out site supply.

 

[Andy Norfolk]

Was there not electrical thunder storms down that way? That could have tripped out site supply.

No nothing like that. The site has no issues. Only us plugged into the post. Seems only us impacted.

 

[Mr Plodd]

You probably overloaded the available current supply. Many sites are just 10 amps so it's possible your water heater and kettle draws more than is available.

 

[Andy Norfolk]

You probably overloaded the available current supply. Many sites are just 10 amps so it's possible your water heater and kettle draws more than is available.

That was my initial thought, but we were using less power than on other days. Remains a mystery.

 

[Beardy]

Been on a site in East Sussex for 6 nights. Van had it's service before we came away. It's an Adria and a year old. All has been ok.

This morning, same as every morning, put hot water on, not on boost. Boiled low voltage kettle. All ok. Put kettle back on for second cup of tea, ehu goes. Post has tripped and MCB s in van. Reset post, reset van. Put kettle back on and hot water. All is ok. Everything seems to work.

The site say they have no issues. Why did the post go? Any ideas. Not knowing bugs me. TIA.

A few questions.
What is the site supply (16A, 10A, .....)?
You posted MCB's (plural) tripped. Which ones and what is their current rating?
'low voltage kettle'. Is it a 12v kettle?

I'm thinking a sudden short to earth to take out multiple MCB's.

 

[Mr Plodd]

I'm thinking a sudden short to earth to take out multiple MCB's.

But all is now working, so unlikely to be a fault anywhere

 

[Andy Norfolk]

A few questions.
What is the site supply (16A, 10A, .....)?
You posted MCB's (plural) tripped. Which ones and what is their current rating?
'low voltage kettle'. Is it a 12v kettle?

I'm thinking a sudden short to earth to take out multiple MCB's.

It's 10amp. All van MCBs tripped.

12 volt camping kettle. Reset all and now working.

 

[ProfJohnL]

The sites bollard will normally have both an MCB and an rcb, which of those tripped?

It's quite strange for all the caravans mcbs to trip at the same time, there should be nothing in the caravan that takes its power from all the mcbs.

Are you sure your caravan wasn't struck by lightning?

 

[Andy Norfolk]

The sites bollard will normally have both an MCB and an rcb, which of those tripped?

It's quite strange for all the caravans mcbs to trip at the same time, there should be nothing in the caravan that takes its power from all the mcbs.

Are you sure your caravan wasn't struck by lightning?

Not sure what the difference is between MCB and rcb. Definitely not lightening. The board in the van is difficult to see. In a narrow cupboard on its side. I use a mirror to try and see it. I think the post went, maybe we did pull too much power, although can't see how. Maybe when I looked at the van board I knocked the reset or something that turned off the MCBs. Guess we'll just have to monitor. No fault codes on any panels.

 

[Buckman]

Maybe the hot water heating kicked in when you turned the kettle on and this overloaded the system causing it to trip?

 

[Andy Norfolk]

Maybe, although I had hot water set fairly low.

Maybe the hot water heating kicked in when you turned the kettle on and this overloaded the system causing it to trip?

 

[Buckman]

Maybe, although I had hot water set fairly low.

On 1kw hot water uses 4 amps and on 2kw it shoots up to 8amp. However for it to trip the bollard and then the caravan is unusual, but can happen. If you have the ALDE system, you can get a load limiter fitted. If you set it to 10amp and you exceed that figure it shuts down the water heating.

 

[Beardy]

---

Not sure what the difference is between MCB and rcb.

In very simple terms....
MCB - Miniature Circuit Breaker. Monitors the current passing through the live conductor and trips if it goes too high.

RCD - Residual Current Device (Sometimes called RCB, Residule Current Breaker)
Monitors the current passing through both the live and neutral conductors. If the two differ by a predetermined amount the RCD trips (typically 30 mA).

A MCB protects against too much current which could lead to conductors over heating and causing a fire. A RCD protects against electricity going where it shouldn't, for example going through you if you touch a live conductor and provide a path to earth for the electricity to flow.

To confuse things further, the two are often built into one unit. Generally if there is a test button on the unit it is, or contains, a RCD.

 

[Andy Norfolk]

---

In very simple terms....
MCB - Miniature Circuit Breaker. Monitors the current passing through the live conductor and trips if it goes too high.

RCD - Residual Current Device (Sometimes called RCB, Residule Current Breaker)
Monitors the current passing through both the live and neutral conductors. If the two differ by a predetermined amount the RCD trips (typically 30 mA).

A MCB protects against too much current which could lead to conductors over heating and causing a fire. A RCD protects against electricity going where it shouldn't, for example going through you if you touch a live conductor and provide a path to earth for the electricity to flow.

To confuse things further, the two are often built into one unit. Generally if there is a test button on the unit it is, or contains, a RCD.

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Ferrodo]

If all is okay now then I would just chalk it up to the moisture fairies….. they like a laugh