Discuss Kettle repeatedly tripping RCD in the DIY Electrical Advice area at ElectriciansForums.net

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D.Socrates

Sorry for posting here, but the DIY forum is locked. I have no electrical training.

A few months ago a cheap (£5) Argos kettle tripped the RCD and the switch for the sockets at the same time. Trying to put the switches back up immediately tripped them again. Unplugged kettle, switches stayed on. Trying the kettle afterwards revealed it was dead. Got a replacement kettle, everything was fine.

A month or two later the same thing happened again. Got another replacement.

Not two weeks later, it happened again. Got a slightly more expensive kettle (£10, working my way up the price range very slowly!), thinking it was a fault with that design. I also switched the socket with the toaster, both on the same socket block.

Today, the new kettle has tripped the RCD and sockets circuit switch yet again and the kettle is dead. This time, out of curiosity, I swapped the 13A plug fuse from the toaster to the kettle. The toaster wouldn't come on, the kettle's fuse was dead. I tried the kettle with the toaster fuse and immediatley the RCD etc went again, and the plug fuse was blown in the process. Got a replacement fuse for the toaster, it still works fine.

My question is, do I need to get an electrician to check my sockets or am I just having very bad luck with faulty kettles? I know the kettles are as cheap as it is possible to get, but if I bought a decently price one I'm worried it is just going to die too.

Thanks for any advice.
 
Welcome to the forum Mr Socrates, you should be able to post in the DIY forum now and I've moved this thread there for you.
 
Have you tried plugging in the kettle in a different socket/circuit?
 
I've already brought the kettle back and got a replacement. However, I have no idea how long this new one will last. 1 month and 4 days if the last one is anything to go by. If this was a one off, I wouldn't have posted, but as it's the 3rd kettle to do this I started to think more might be going on.

The kettle was dead, so trying a different socket wouldn't result in anything. When I put the new plug fuse in, it blew that fuse immediately. I have no reason to think this wouldn't have happened in another socket, though I didn't check this. New kettle and existing toaster both work in either usual socket. I don't think this flat has a different circuit for plugs, when the kettle tripped the RCD, everything plugged in, in every room, went off.
 
1. no water in kettle.

2. water spilt on kettle contacts.
 
The fact the RCD and the socket circuit breaker is tripping would mean it's fairly likely the socket and the circuit is fine. Without having a range of test equipment and the experience to use it there's no way for you to test the circuit to prove this conclusively though.

If the kettle is blowing fuses or causing the RCD to trip this would be cause to return it to the place of purchase as faulty. Even if this has happened several times it's a long shot that something external to the kettle could cause this.

I actually feel sorry for the poor toaster that was innocently going about its toasterly duties and minding its own business before it got dragged into the sorry kettle sage.
 

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