Earth Leakage

"Chas" <umlaut@zipworld.com.au>
"Jon" <funtech@alphalink.com.au

Forget about the printers and computer monitors.. Theyre
usually ,but not always double insulated. They cannot trip the earth
leakage detector.


Sorry, I beg to differ. Any device with an SMPS will include an RFI
filter
in the power supply, resulting in an earth leakage of 2-5mA.

** Double insulated devices ( lots of them have SMPS) have only a two core
power lead with no connection to supply earth. Kinda makes earth leakage a
bit unlikely.





............... Phil
 
"jrobbo" <newsSPAMSUCKS@jrobbo.com> wrote in message
news:nd2ta0de897fimndk7d8d48h2o18os5fpm@4ax.com...
Hi All,

I have something in my house that is causing the Safety Switch (Earth
Leakage Breaker?) in the switch box to switch off.

This used to happen once a week or so, but then I went on Holidays for
a month, and I went around the house and switched off a fair bit of
stuff at the wall before I went, as well as the heaters. Of course,
the power didn't go off once while I was away. Since I've been back
home though, the power is going off once or twice a day.

So, I figure it is one of the things I'd turned off while away, or one
of the gas heaters. I've started going around unplugging things one by
one, but it seems a bit hit and miss.

Is there such a thing as a plug-in earth leakage breaker, that I could
plug one piece of equipment into, and then plug that into the wall,
that would trigger before the main breaker in the fuse box triggers?
Something like this would make it easier to isolate the faulty item
over time

Any other thoughts? Any advice appreciated
First you need to rule out any equipment causing this then you need to look
at the wiring - my Parents started having their ELCB start to trip and it
turned out to be termites across the back of one of the power points
 
On Sun, 23 May 2004 07:15:35 +1000, "Rod Speed" <rod_speed@yahoo.com>
wrote:

"Marty Wallace" <mart@geo.net.au> wrote in message news:40aea07c$0$2300$61ce578d@news.syd.swiftdsl.com.au...

"Patrick Dunford" <patrickdunford@nomail.invalid> wrote in message
news:MPG.1b1956ebb8b421b09897e8@news.paradise.net.nz...
In article <nd2ta0de897fimndk7d8d48h2o18os5fpm@4ax.com>,
newsSPAMSUCKS@jrobbo.com says...

Is there such a thing as a plug-in earth leakage breaker, that I could
plug one piece of equipment into, and then plug that into the wall,
that would trigger before the main breaker in the fuse box triggers?
Something like this would make it easier to isolate the faulty item
over time

Yes, made by HPM (electresafe), PDL and Ringgrip among others, easy to
come by, but whether it would trip first is hard to say.

If the appliance isn't too large you could run it through an isolation
transormer. Better to fix the faulty appliance though. The device is there
to protect you!

But some appliances have a bit of leakage that is perfectly safe.
Its when you add all those leakages up though. Could possibly be
multiple items causing a problem.
 
On Sun, 23 May 2004 13:09:37 +1000, jrobbo <newsSPAMSUCKS@jrobbo.com>
wrote:

Thanks very much for all of the excellent responses so far, the
assistance very much appreciated.

I don't think the fridge is the culprit, it was on the whole time we
were on holidays (a month), and the power stayed on the whole time.
Since I've been back, I've turned on everything that I had turned off
while we were away (2 computers, monitors, printers, speakers, a
scanner, a TV, DVD player, and amplifier, and two central heating
systems, as well as sundry other devices), and the leakage breaker has
started tripping at least once a day.
I would probably rule out things such as DVD players, TV's and the
like as they usually have no earth connection. Be warned however, that
most RCD's work on a current imbalance between active and nuetral. If
you have an amp or similar earthed by your own means and not by the
mains socket, then you could still trip your breaker.

I don't think it's the toaster either, as we don't actually have a
toaster.

Our house has five seperate power circuits, all fed by one leakage
breaker. It also has five lighting circuits, all fed by another
leakage breaker. There is a seperate circuit for the oven, and it
doesn't have a leakage breaker. I wish I had thought ahead when
building the house an specified seperate leakage breakers for each
circuit, oh well, I might get them fitted later.
With all the drama's you are having, I would install at least one more
breaker and split up some of you power circuits. How many power points
do you have on the all five circuits? Add a small amount of leakage up
found in PC's and the like....it may well be adding up to the 30mA
required to trip the breaker.

Anyway, I may have found the culprit. I had my soldering station
plugged in, but not turned on. I unplugged it yesterday morning, and
the breaker hasn't tripped since then. I'll leave it for another week
and see how I go. The soldering station is just one of those Duratech
cheapies from Jaycar, I've had it for about 18months I guess. I might
pull it apart and see if there is something obviously wrong with it.
Dont blame the soldering iron yet. It may just be adding that extra
few mA leakage that is causing the RCD to trip.

Thanks again everyone!

Regards

John


--------------
To reply via email, remove the spam block from my email address
 
Dont blame the soldering iron yet. It may just be adding that extra
few mA leakage that is causing the RCD to trip.
I found the culprit. It wasn't the soldering iron afterall, but the
old power board that the iron was plugged into! When I unplugged it,
it had something loose inside. It's now been 3 days since I've
unplugged it, and no more trips, so I'll smash it up, and turf it into
the bin.

Thanks very much to everyone for all of the excellent advise!

Regards

John


--------------
To reply via email, remove the spam block from my email address
 
"jrobbo" <newsSPAMSUCKS@jrobbo.com> wrote in message
news:jvh8b0poffecdnkaab8po11igih6rp28ri@4ax.com...
Dont blame the soldering iron yet. It may just be adding that extra
few mA leakage that is causing the RCD to trip.

I found the culprit. It wasn't the soldering iron afterall, but the
old power board that the iron was plugged into! When I unplugged it,
it had something loose inside. It's now been 3 days since I've
unplugged it, and no more trips, so I'll smash it up, and turf it into
the bin.

Thanks very much to everyone for all of the excellent advise!

Regards

John

Congratulations! Isn't fault finding fun! (Replace the power board now.)

Marty
 
"The Real Andy" <.pearson@wayit_dot_com_dot_au_remove_the_obvious_to_reply> wrote in message
news:77o7b09rmpppat2kab7p7sj3kmu681qo3s@4ax.com...
On Sun, 23 May 2004 07:15:35 +1000, "Rod Speed" <rod_speed@yahoo.com
wrote:


"Marty Wallace" <mart@geo.net.au> wrote in message news:40aea07c$0$2300$61ce578d@news.syd.swiftdsl.com.au...

"Patrick Dunford" <patrickdunford@nomail.invalid> wrote in message
news:MPG.1b1956ebb8b421b09897e8@news.paradise.net.nz...
In article <nd2ta0de897fimndk7d8d48h2o18os5fpm@4ax.com>,
newsSPAMSUCKS@jrobbo.com says...

Is there such a thing as a plug-in earth leakage breaker, that I could
plug one piece of equipment into, and then plug that into the wall,
that would trigger before the main breaker in the fuse box triggers?
Something like this would make it easier to isolate the faulty item
over time

Yes, made by HPM (electresafe), PDL and Ringgrip among others, easy to
come by, but whether it would trip first is hard to say.

If the appliance isn't too large you could run it through an isolation
transormer. Better to fix the faulty appliance though. The device is there
to protect you!

But some appliances have a bit of leakage that is perfectly safe.


Its when you add all those leakages up though. Could possibly be
multiple items causing a problem.
Sure, I was just commenting on his 'fix the appliance, the device is
there to protect you'. It isnt 'protecting you' in that situation.
 

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