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Moedot7

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Hi,

I'm the landlord of a rented property.
I recently had the fuse box (dcu) changed from the old "wire type" to the newer mcb/rcd type.

It has been 5 months since it was replaced by a qualified electrician.

My tenant has informed me that he has replaced 4 kettles since then.

1. All kettles were of different make and models
2. There was no issue with the fuse in the plug
2a. Fuse was changed to check this
3. Happens in the morning when boiling the kettle
4. Only the mcb trips
5. The heating element of the kettle gets damaged
6. Kettle was only 3 weeks old
7. No limescale issues
8. Nothing else in the house is affected

I have spoken to a few electricians, they have no idea what the problem could be. I trust the tenant, he wouldn't make something like this up.

Can someone please help me with this issue.
If you need more details surrounding this issues please ask.

Thank you.
 
Hi,

I'm the landlord of a rented property.
I recently had the fuse box (dcu) changed from the old "wire type" to the newer mcb/rcd type.

It has been 5 months since it was replaced by a qualified electrician.

My tenant has informed me that he has replaced 4 kettles since then.

1. All kettles were of different make and models
2. There was no issue with the fuse in the plug
2a. Fuse was changed to check this
3. Happens in the morning when boiling the kettle
4. Only the mcb trips
5. The heating element of the kettle gets damaged
6. Kettle was only 3 weeks old
7. No limescale issues
8. Nothing else in the house is affected

I have spoken to a few electricians, they have no idea what the problem could be. I trust the tenant, he wouldn't make something like this up.

Can someone please help me with this issue.
If you need more details surrounding this issues please ask.

Thank you.
Are you plugging the Kettle, into the same socket, every time it trips the RCD?
Have you had your appliances tested to ISITEE CoP? has the RCD had any recent tests carried out on it's reliability?
Some questions, for your Landlord, apart from the ISITEE testing of your Kettle if it's yours' then that's your responsibility.
 
have spoken to a few electricians, they have no idea what the problem could be. I trust the tenant, he wouldn't make something like this up.
have spoken to the spark about the issues and get him back to have look .
[automerge]1580919922[/automerge]
Pete he his the landlord .my first port of call is the spark .
 
have spoken to the spark about the issues and get him back to have look .
[automerge]1580919922[/automerge]
Pete he his the landlord .my first port of call is the spark .
OK he his the LL his he? better not put 2 ? someone will get on my back lol with the "his" bit sorry Mate no offence intended just some fun at the end of a trying day.
 
Are you plugging the Kettle, into the same socket, every time it trips the RCD?
Have you had your appliances tested to ISITEE CoP? has the RCD had any recent tests carried out on it's reliability?
Some questions, for your Landlord, apart from the ISITEE testing of your Kettle if it's yours' then that's your responsibility.

Hi Pete999,

Im the Landlord. The RCD doesn't trip, only the MCB trips. Different sockets were used, still no luck. Not sure what ISITEE is, but I did get the electrical safety certificate, which the council requires. It was installed in August 2019. The tenant said the problem began a week or two after its installation. Hes been living there since 2010 and has never had this problem before the new installation. Only the fuse board was changed.
 
Hi Pete999,

Im the Landlord. The RCD doesn't trip, only the MCB trips. Different sockets were used, still no luck. Not sure what ISITEE is, but I did get the electrical safety certificate, which the council requires. It was installed in August 2019. The tenant said the problem began a week or two after its installation. Hes been living there since 2010 and has never had this problem before the new installation. Only the fuse board was changed.
ISITEE In Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment (PATesting under a new guise) Something as a LL you ought to b e aware of) especially if you are the person supplying the electrical appliances, even so your property you should ensure the appliances are safe to use in your property not only for the building fabric but the tenants' safety as well.
 
If it's the same socket every time, I think I'd be looking at the connections.


Bleedin' 'ell Pete. Give him a bit of leeway. We've still got loads of sparks calling RFC's ring main's ;)……..and working to 240 and 415......:rolleyes:
 
A kettle is a simple resistive heating device and the elements are normally quite robust, i.e. they are unlikely to be damaged by faults with the electrical installation in the property.

even a poor connection in a socket is not likely to damage the kettle but should make itself quite apparent when inspecting the connections.

the main cause of damage to a kettle element is repeated use when there is little or no water in it as this can cause thermal damage that will weaken the element over time, even though there is normally an overtemperature protection built in.

the other possible circumstance that springs to mind is a possible overvoltage, this could be either all the time or varying during the day.
a poor neutral connection on the supply transformer could possibly be causing the voltage to the property to float up to 400v.

has anyone inspected the kettles to see if there is an obvious failure point?
such as a split in the element or buckaling?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Seems a bit strange, though. Different kettles, different makes even, no plug fuses blowing doesn't surprise me, though. What's the incoming voltage......mind you, everything else is OK.
 
Out of interest what is the rating of the MCB that is tripping?
 
As per James, within a single-phase installation it's borderline impossible for the wiring of the building to damage a kettle. All sorts of things might be wrong with the wiring, but they will either cause the kettle to not heat, or someone to get a shock from it, or cause a socket or fitting to overheat when the kettle is used. But not damage the kettle element itself. If the element is damaged e.g. through being switched on without water, the MCB might trip.

If the tenant is a reliable witness, I think something daft is happening to the kettles behind his back that he hasn't tumbled to yet.
 
Which kettle Pete ? We're told that there have been 4 different ones in 5 months... allegedly all 4 now have failed elements.
Which leads me to think it may NOT be the Kettle at fault
 
could try leaving water in the kettle, at all times.
even overnight.

I have just had a mad vision of the pet cat standing on the "turn kettle on" button, switch, lever etc when its empty overnight.
 

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