Boiler cutting out/tripping

[nick1972]

Hi all, first time on here and I need some advice please.

My boiler keeps tripping. After the original boiler installers came to fix it and declared the problem was due to faulty electrics, I had it rewired onto its own RCD circuit, and it was fine for a while, but has now tripped every day for the last week.
I need to prove that it is the boiler which is at fault but need to check first that the electrics cannot be called into question.
The boiler is on its own circuit so am I right in thinking that there's nothing else electrically that could be interfering?
Also the consumer unit and boiler are both in the garage. It has been damp the last few days and although there's no water leaking in or anything, the fuse spur is on a single skin exterior brick wall. Could this be causing any issues?
The main problem is that it is intermittent. The boiler seems to trip around an hour after coming on in the morning (when its cold and damp), but within another hour or two, it works again. If someone came to look at it while it was working, would they be able to even begin to locate a potential issue with the electrics?
Thanks for reading & helping. This whole situation is very stressful and the boiler installers (A Shade Greener) are being very difficult / unhelpful.
Nick

 

[Pete999]

Hi all, first time on here and I need some advice please.

My boiler keeps tripping. After the original boiler installers came to fix it and declared the problem was due to faulty electrics, I had it rewired onto its own RCD circuit, and it was fine for a while, but has now tripped every day for the last week.
I need to prove that it is the boiler which is at fault but need to check first that the electrics cannot be called into question.
The boiler is on its own circuit so am I right in thinking that there's nothing else electrically that could be interfering?
Also the consumer unit and boiler are both in the garage. It has been damp the last few days and although there's no water leaking in or anything, the fuse spur is on a single skin exterior brick wall. Could this be causing any issues?
The main problem is that it is intermittent. The boiler seems to trip around an hour after coming on in the morning (when its cold and damp), but within another hour or two, it works again. If someone came to look at it while it was working, would they be able to even begin to locate a potential issue with the electrics?
Thanks for reading & helping. This whole situation is very stressful and the boiler installers (A Shade Greener) are being very difficult / unhelpful.
Nick

It could be the damp you talk of causing the RCD to trip, how is the boiler circuit wired, i,e is it buried less than 50mm below the surface, or is it surface clipped? All these questions are conjecture on my part, as there is nothing like being on site to see the prpblem first hand.
What made you get the boiler feed RCD protected? I'll probably get chewed out for saying this, but get your electrician to take the RCD out of the equation and see if it solves the tripping problem, before you try this, are there any other sockets. lights connected to the boiler feed circuit? if there are it may not be a good idea to remove the RCD.

 

[Octopus]

Pete - that is NOT the answer.

OP - when you had the boiler circuit put on its own circuit / RCD what paperwork did the spark give you........ ?

IMHO I would expect it to be the boiler ............ that's just based on experience.

 

[Pete999]

Pete - that is NOT the answer.

OP - when you had the boiler circuit put on its own circuit / RCD what paperwork did the spark give you........ ?

IMHO I would expect it to be the boiler ............ that's just based on experience.

I was going to add as a temporary measure, still think it could be damp,either in the boiler or the fused spur.

 

[Octopus]

I would be looking below the boiler for leaks and around the motorised valves for leaks ...

 

[nick1972]

Pete - that is NOT the answer.

OP - when you had the boiler circuit put on its own circuit / RCD what paperwork did the spark give you........ ?

IMHO I would expect it to be the boiler ............ that's just based on experience.

Thanks for your response Murdoch. No paperwork was provided. He was a recommended electrician, he seemed very competent and he's done a very neat looking job (that said I know next to nothing about it).

To respond to Pete, there is nothing else on that circuit, just the boiler. The wiring is surface clipped. I'm not really sure what you mean when you ask why I had it RCD protected. We had it isolated onto its own circuit on the advice of the boiler installers and so I could be sure it was the boiler causing the problem, but I thought everything had to go through an RCD from the consumer unit.

 

[Octopus]

You need to get the spark back to test and document his findings ........... once you've done this and its "proved" to be OK, then you can get the boiler people back......................

Hope this helps.

 

[telectrix]

RCD protection is required for sockets and cables buried in walls ( on any circuit)< 50mm deep ( unless alternative protection is present ) and for all circuits in bath/shower rooms.

 

[nick1972]

If the problem is damp in and around the fused spur, how do I resolve that? As I said earlier it is in my garage on an exterior wall and it isn't a cavity wall - just a single skin brick wall.

 

[telectrix]

you need to get your electrician back to test both the circuit and the bolier for earth leakage. you need a test certificate , then if it is proven that the boiler is at fault, you have ammunition for the boiler monkeys.

 

[Pete999]

If the problem is damp in and around the fused spur, how do I resolve that? As I said earlier it is in my garage on an exterior wall and it isn't a cavity wall - just a single skin brick wall.

Unless it can be proved it is a damp/condesation problem, not a lot you can do. Best you take other advice from people who have extensive experience in this sort of thing.

 

[Octopus]

Seen many and socket and fused spur on the inside wall of a single skinned garage .......... none have caused tripping....

 

[Pete999]

Seen many and socket and fused spur on the inside wall of a single skinned garage .......... none have caused tripping....

May be, just may be these sockets you talk of were not protected by an RCD, and not near a heat source which could cause condensation to things close by, just saying.

 

[telectrix]

i fitted a double socket and FCU ( bog standard plastic) on single skin wall in garage, within 1ft. of the external door 10 years ago. never caused a trip yet.

 

[Pete999]

i fitted a double socket and FCU ( bog standard plastic) on single skin wall in garage, within 1ft. of the external door 10 years ago. never caused a trip yet.

So have I.

 

[The Ghost]

Waterproof spurs are available for the spur. There is so many things it could be. I would echo @Murdoch if it is the circuit your electrician installed he can verify or disprove it and talk to the lovely boiler installers more convincingly than you no doubt. Or get another electrician in. In any event you have no choice but to seek independent witness regard the circuit or be doomed to go around in circles forever with your installers.

 

[telectrix]

i can reach bury in 40 minutes (traffic permitting) , test that circuit and test the boiler all for the meagre charge of £75.

 

[westward10]

Could be a build up of condensation in the flue which after a period of time drips onto the flue stat. I very much doubt this is to do with the supply.

 

[davesparks]

considering that the fault occurs when the boiler is operating I would say the fault is in the boiler or the control wiring, not an unusual build up of condensation behind a switchfuse.

What make and model of boiler is this?

 

[PEG]

If i may put the brakes on...what exactly,is tripping?

The OP has not told us what requires resetting,after this "trip".

Is it the RCD,the MCB,or the boiler itself,locking-out?