MCB tripping

[SteveWesty]

I have a Sterling Europa 620 fitted with a Nordelettronica NE143_DU consumer unit. It has recently developed a fault in that even when the Trumatic fire is turned off if I turn on the space heater switch on the consumer unit it trips the main isolator trip. If the space heater switch is turned off everything else works fine, water heater, battery charger etc. This has only happened following the whole site being tripped following a power surge to the site due to local overhead power line work, don't know if this is connected. Hope th makes sense, anyone got any ideas ?

 

[Raywood]

I would check the fuse as this could have blown during the surge.

 

[SteveWesty]

Checked the fuse and that is fine. Just wondering if there is a quick check to see if the mcb is faulty.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Yes, MCBs can go faulty. We had a dedicated one for the heater on our Lunar which tripped after about 3 minutes using the heater on 2 kW. It was perfectly OK with the heater on 500W or 1 kW.

 

[Woodentop]

Yes, MCBs can go faulty. We had a dedicated one for the heater on our Lunar which tripped after about 3 minutes using the heater on 2 kW. It was perfectly OK with the heater on 500W or 1 kW.

Sadly this is often down to the manufacturer having cut costs by using 'cheap and nasty' (mainly Chinese) products. TheChinese RCD in my 'van kept failing mechanically during movement so I replaced it with a UK-made Schneider equivalent and I have never had a problem since.

 

[Dustydog]

http://www.apuljackengineering.co.uk/
If all the suggestions so far fail have a word with the guys at Apuljack.
I suspect your infamous Nordelletronica is faulty.

 

[SteveWesty]

Thanks for the info, will prob try that first from what I can see a new mcb is not that expensive.

 

[Damian]

As you have the infamous Nordelettronica system, before going out buying anything speak to Paul at Apuljack as he is the very best in the business and is the most pleasant person to deal with.
He will talk you through some options and possibly save you time and money on doing things that are not needed.

 

[SteveWesty]

Will ring him on Tuesday, thanks for the advice.
Steve

 

[ProfJohnL]

Given the reported chain of events, i.e. grid power surge, after which the MCB trips when the space heater is turned on but not when its turned off, the logic would point to the power surge causing damage to the space heaters control system rather than the Nordelectric unit. But also given the historic reports of problems with the Nordelectric units, and cheap MCB.s fitted by some manufacturers that diagnosis is not certain.

You may be able to check if its the heater or the MCB, but it will depend on how your caravan is wired. If the MCB on the heater circuit also feeds a 13A socket then:
Find a largish load such as a 2kw fan or panel heater
Turn the caravan heater heater off,
and plug the 2kw into the socket on the MCB circuit.
Now try the MCB

If the MCB still trips with new 2kw heater than it points to the MCB having become too sensitive and it needs to be changed. If the new 2kw load doesn't trip the MCB, then it points to the caravan heater having been damaged by the power surge.

If the power company admits to having caused a power surge then you should be entitled to to have the damaged equipment repaired or replaced. -contact the power company.

 

[SteveWesty]

Thanks for the reply but I may have not made it clear, that the main isolator trip switch trips as soon as the small heater on/off switch is turned on (the one located on the Nordelettronica unit). This happens even if the Space heater heat control dial is turned off. It's the main isolator for the whole unit that trips and not the individual one for the space heater. The problem appears to be only with the space heater as everything else is working fine.

Steve

 

[Dustydog]

Steve
Looks like you will be talking to Paul at Apuljack tomorrow. It does seem the fault lies within the Nordelettronica unit.
Quite a few people on here have benefited from Paul's excellent work at a very reasonable cost.

 

[SteveWesty]

Thanks and really appreciate everyone's replies.
Steve