nuisence tripping rcd

[kanewesley]

united kingdom...yorkshire

I rent a semi detached house out which was built 1970's

With the tenancy just changed i thought i would change the original fuse box to a modern one with rcd's and mcb's before he went in.

Even though there is no legal obligation to do so and the wiring is still good I did it.

I had loads of tripping probs when first installed as the maze of wiring which has evolved around the house probably had neutrals crossed (split C/U with 2 x rcd;s)

Finally got this all sorted and had the house EICR checked sucessfully.

The tenant has now been in a month and he informed me 2 days ago his sockets were tripping the rcd for that particular bank of mcb's.

I temporarily replaced the affected rcd with a double pole MCB and all was fine.

So with everything umplugged and the rcd back in, i attempted to find the offfending socket or piece of wiring what was tripping the rcd.

After 7 hours or disconnecting, testing, carpets up, floorboards up, decor damage around sockets I was getting nowhere.

AS the wiring to the house has evolved over time it was impossible to know which cable ran where so to get him back online and get the sockets, floorboards and carpets back before it got dark, I put in the 60A double pole mcb back in in place of the rcd.which was supplying that particular side of the C/U.



The rcd is 63A / 30mA.

Can I leave it like this with a 60A MCB in place of the rcd which supplied the sockets?

If I hadnt changed the fusebox for a newer C/U this problem would never have arose.

I understand rcd protection regulation applies to rewires and new installations.

This house has not been rewired nor is it a new installation so as the regulation is not retrospective can i leave the MCB in in place of the rcd.

At least it is better than it was as there are now mcb's rather than fuses and individual circuits now have their own MCB.

Another question, is it also an option to give rcd protection by installing say a 100mA rcd which is not as sensitive....this may hold.

To rive up every carpet and floorbaord in the house and move every bed and piece of furniture trying to physically follow the cabling is a mountain of work and disruption when fitting an mcb will stop this nuisence tripping.....

I wish I had left the old fusebox in.

Advice would be gratefully received.

Thank You

John

 

[DPG]

Are you really asking if you can take the RCD out because there is a fault in the wiring that causes it to trip?

 

[Rockingit]

John, I've just had a look at your profile and see that you're not a working electrician. Are you aware that changing a consumer unit is now something that falls under Part P of the building regulations and can only be done by a suitably registered installer? Also, I'd question the integrity of an EICR that has left such basic issues as these.

 

[Taylortwocities]

What have you been using for testing?

 

[DPG]

Could you post the EICR on here. With the names removed though. Might give some clues.

 

[goasis]

Are you the landlord or the electrician?
MCB's and RCD's function and operate differently, and protect against different types of fault. They are not interchangeable. The fact the Rcd is tripping indicates there is most likely a fault somewhere, just because you can't find it doesn't mean that you can just ignore it and remove the safety device that is in place.
What type of consumer unit was there in place before? You say there's no legal obligation, I'm sure there are some very stringent legal obligations for landlords when it comes to electrical safety. (the new change of tenancy eirc's for example)

 

[kanewesley]

Are you the landlord or the electrician?
MCB's and RCD's function and operate differently, and protect against different types of fault. They are not interchangeable. The fact the Rcd is tripping indicates there is most likely a fault somewhere, just because you can't find it doesn't mean that you can just ignore it and remove the safety device that is in place.
What type of consumer unit was there in place before? You say there's no legal obligation, I'm sure there are some very stringent legal obligations for landlords when it comes to electrical safety. (the new change of tenancy eirc's for example)

Mcb's = O/L trip.

RCD's = Earth leakage trip activated by an imbalance in the current flow between ph and N conductors detected by a torroid Tx, amplified and mechanically trip the RCD

MCB's same job as Fuses but with better tripping characteristics dependant on type (ie D, C. B) with regards to impedance of circuit.
Previous consumer unit, meal clad with rewirable fuses.
No obligation to replace the fuse box as it was in good condition as was the wiring in it ....and installed under the regulations at the time of installation.
Change of C/U = advisory only....NOT a legal obligation.
Progressive accumulative earth leakage currents totalling 22 mA....enough to trip the RCD.
Earth leakage currents checked with MEGGER DCM305E Clamp Meter.

Retired electrician ( just ) of 45 years
BTEC National in Electrical Engineering
BTEC national in Practical Electronics
Full 4 year apprenticeship. followed by 45 years of electrical engineering.
Earth leakage detection sometimes had to be adjusted due to damp in walls of substations causing tracking to earth and causing nuscience tripping where the environment couldn't be improved.
New fuse box checked and tested durin EICR check detailing the installation was safe and correct.
leakage currents appeared after.
If fuse box had not been changed, this issue would never have arisen.
The circuit in question is not simply an upstairs or downstairs ring which can be followed round the house but has one ring feeding both floors with radials spurred off it in every direction, and without out ripping every floorboard up in the house and every carpet....is impossible to determine the cable runs.

Worked on, Isolated for others as a supervisory electrician on 3 PH AC distribution systems from 110v AC up to 6.6KV (rarely but experience on 11KV

Completed a 16th edition course many years ago.

The consumer unit CAN be changed as long as it is inspected by a part P registered installer before energising.

One can also work on ones own gas installations legally even though not gas safe registered.
Al the regulation states is one must be "competent", not gas safe registered and must not do any work for financial gain.
Competence is a combination of practical skill, training, knowledge and experience.

 

[DPG]

Mcb's = O/L trip.

RCD's = Earth leakage trip activated by an imbalance in the current flow between ph and N conductors detected by a torroid Tx, amplified and mechanically trip the RCD

MCB's same job as Fuses but with better tripping characteristics dependant on type (ie D, C. B) with regards to impedance of circuit.
Previous consumer unit, meal clad with rewirable fuses.
No obligation to replace the fuse box as it was in good condition as was the wiring in it ....and installed under the regulations at the time of installation.
Change of C/U = advisory only....NOT a legal obligation.
Progressive accumulative earth leakage currents totalling 22 mA....enough to trip the RCD.
Earth leakage currents checked with MEGGER DCM305E Clamp Meter.

Retired electrician ( just ) of 45 years
BTEC National in Electrical Engineering
BTEC national in Practical Electronics
Full 4 year apprenticeship. followed by 45 years of electrical engineering.
Earth leakage detection sometimes had to be adjusted due to damp in walls of substations causing tracking to earth and causing nuscience tripping where the environment couldn't be improved.
New fuse box checked and tested durin EICR check detailing the installation was safe and correct.
leakage currents appeared after.
If fuse box had not been changed, this issue would never have arisen.
The circuit in question is not simply an upstairs or downstairs ring which can be followed round the house but has one ring feeding both floors with radials spurred off it in every direction, and without out ripping every floorboard up in the house and every carpet....is impossible to determine the cable runs.

Worked on, Isolated for others as a supervisory electrician on 3 PH AC distribution systems from 110v AC up to 6.6KV (rarely but experience on 11KV

Completed a 16th edition course many years ago.

The consumer unit CAN be changed as long as it is inspected by a part P registered installer before energising.

One can also work on ones own gas installations legally even though not gas safe registered.
Al the regulation states is one must be "competent", not gas safe registered and must not do any work for financial gain.
Competence is a combination of practical skill, training, knowledge and experience.

Regardless of all that, in your original post you propose leaving out an RCD because there is a fault on the system that trips it!!

 

[freddo]

I do not believe you should be attempting this work but what testing have you carried out?

 

[James]

ok, so I can see that you have a good understanding of electrical principals.
a good understanding of the regulations.

so In my humble opinion, because you have a fault that you are unable or unwilling to find, you are asking if it is ok to leave it without an rcd because it causes you problems that are difficult to overcome?

I would say NO that is not ok, it is a rented property and now you have found a fault, you are under a moral and legal duty to fix it.

by changing the consumer unit, you have accepted that each circuit you have energised from it is safe for continued usage.
Clearly this is not the case.

It might seem tough but, in my opinion you are putting peoples safety at risk because it is tricky to put right.

think about how you would argue your case in a coroners court, it would probably not go well.

Employ a registered electrician to do the job right, pay the bill and move on.
if he gets it wrong, you can then pass the blame and the costs back to them under liability insurance. otherwise it falls under your insurance (i presume you have insurance for electrical work in domestic properties)

 

[David Prosser]

If you removed the "fusebox" and replaced it with a new consumer unit then you should have test results to compare with. As this appears to be a new issue if you test the circuits it should be quite simple to find the problem.

You should not be replacing the RCD with an MCB. It is simply wrong, and non compliant with the regs. Return the RCD to it's rightful place and isolate the faulty circuit.

 

[kanewesley]

What do you suggest then.?

Ripping the house apart or putting the fusebox back in??

 

[freddo]

What do you suggest then.?

Ripping the house apart or putting the fusebox back in??

Testing the wiring to locate the fault, then rectifying the fault.

 

[Grant1987]

What do you suggest then.?

Ripping the house apart or putting the fusebox back in??

You should be fault finding going in the correct testing schedule order, my assumption will either be crossed neutrals at consumer with this dual rcd board or low insulation resistance readings have you even done that?

 

[DPG]

What do you suggest then.?

Ripping the house apart or putting the fusebox back in??

Seriously? Put the fuse box back because you can't find the fault? Remind me never to rent your house.

 

[pc1966]

It sounds like you have the background to do this, but are lacking either the test equipment or logical process to find the fault.

First step (at least for me) is you do an IR test on the circuit(s) on the offending RCD with everything unplugged / off. Checking both L to E and N to E, or do L+N to E if you are looking for a fast and safe check if there are LED lights, etc.

Also worth an early check is to see what current the RCD is actually tripping at, but a sensitive-fault RCD is not such a likely reason in practice.

If those test shows nothing suspicious then put the circuit back on and clamp the RCD lines with a meter that can read down to 10mA or less and see if the RCD has any legitimate reason to trip.

If nothing shows up then get all the appliances plugged back in and see if any of them has raised the leakage current to a point near the 15mA start of trip region.

 

[Craighrvy]

Having all the qualifications you have, I cant believe your asking if you can replace an rcd with a mcb if it's tripping and just leave it, why would you do that, especially in a place you are renting out. If its double pole it's more than likely just a linked main switch and not an mcb so it won't be protecting the circuits at all. Especially if it is supplying socket outlets you will never achieve the required disconnection times which is the whole point of changing the consumer unit in the first place. Your meant to be making the installation safer right? Your actually creating a bigger potential problem if you do that. As your the landlord and you installed it, it's on you to rectify it now. Don't think I would be able to sleep at night personally. I suggest dusting off the old insulation resistance tester and bell out all the legs of the ring circuit. You won't necessarily have to lift boards up if you can test it adequately. You say you found shared neutrals, how did you rectify that? Are you sure it's not something switching in on another circuit, are you sure it's not something which is plugged in?
If you had tested the installation before installing you would have found these faults before energising. That is the reason why we have a sequence of testing
All the qualifications doesn't mean you are competent to install in a domestic property. You should be notifying building control if doing it yourself and that will cost you the best part of £500 so I bet you haven't done that, so much more cost effictive to get a part p registered sparky to do it for you.

 

[nicebutdim]

When an installation is upgraded and becomes compliant with current regulations are there any circumstances where it is deemed acceptable to remove certain aspects of that upgrade and revert back to compliance with an earlier edition of the wiring regulations?

I don't know the answer, but I'd be amazed if this was considered to be appropriate given the safety implications.

 

[David Prosser]

When an installation is upgraded and becomes compliant with current regulations are there any circumstances where it is deemed acceptable to remove certain aspects of that upgrade and revert back to compliance with an earlier edition of the wiring regulations?

I don't know the answer, but I'd be amazed if this was considered to be appropriate given the safety implications.

In short no!

 

[nicebutdim]

In short no!

That seemed like the logical answer, but thought it was better to ask than to assume.