Intermittent RCD problem - what to do?

[brightspark]

any DECENT sparky should be able to find a tripping fault but as many don't understand how a RCD works many just look and scratch head or start trying to bodge it so it wont trip!

i went to one on a farm last week it had 3 voltage operated trips feeding buildings from armoured cables. no switchfuses fitted and the earth cables clipped out because they all were tripping that type of trip was made ilegal 25 years ago. only current operated are now allowed

 

[madkayaker]

have never had much to do with voltage operating trips being only a nipper my self but have read many nasty things about they! i think a lot of HV gear works on the voltage trip method mind but there normally in the control of people who know what there doing! farms should have 300mA main RCD for start off. went to a job once that another firm had done the main install and they had told the farmer that fitting a main RCD "would increase the risk of electrocution"! they ended up in court and lost the NICEIC status

 

[GrahamGKD]

Just in case anyone was subscribed to this thread or stumbles across it later....

Our problem turned out to be the cooker hood extractor / light unit. The problem carried on once a month or so. I checked over the washing machine but found nothing. I thoroughly cleaned the extractor but the problem continued. Finally I replaced the extractor (the old one was a bit past it anyway) and the problem hasn't happened since - several months now, I think.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.

 

[awemawson]

I like happy endings <G>

 

[madkayaker]

Good to find out