I recently bought an extension cable for our lawnmower and it can with one of the plug-in circuit breakers/RCD adaptors.
We have a frequent problem with lights blowing in our house which then trips a fuse (I think that the fuse box might be overloaded, because the house has loads of those GU10 spotlights).
A few months back, our old toaster gave a load pop and a bright flash and then died. I didn't know whether this was related to the lights frequently blowing.
Anyway, I decided that, when not using it for the lawnmower, I would plug the toaster into the circuit breaker instead. Just now, I made a piece of toast, and all went fine. Then I made another and the circuit breaker tripped. I have reset it several times and used it in different outlets and it trips each time (it will come on a display lights, but when you start toasting it trips immediately). A kettle plugged into the circuit breaker and the same range of sockets works fine.
I will need to get this looked at, but just wondered if anybody might have an idea about what it going on. Is it likely a problem with the toaster (maybe a short circuit) or is it more likely to be related to the ongoing problem with the lights (and the old toaster)?
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
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Your toaster is toast. The RCD detects an inbalance - there's some sort of leakage.
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I think you’re seeing links that may not exist!
First of all, it’s fairly normal for blowing light bulbs to trip the relevant circuit breaker. GU10 spots are normally max 50watts and unless you have massive number they should not impose more load than an ordinary fitting Provided the circuit operates normally once the bulb has been replaced I don’t think its anything to worry about.
What’s the max power/current for your CB? We have one incorporated into a reel of cable and rated at about 1200w. It’s OK with the mower but trips after a few minutes with the vacuum.
Like FT I suspect that the toaster is faulty (as it should normally draw a lower current than the kettle). However it’s impossible to answer without more info on the devices and the CB.
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>> I think you’re seeing links that may not exist!
>>
>> First of all, it’s fairly normal for blowing light bulbs to trip the relevant circuit
>> breaker. GU10 spots are normally max 50watts and unless you have massive number they should
>> not impose more load than an ordinary fitting.
We do have quite a few, maybe 40+ in the whole house. A friend of mine had even more, and had a similar problem. A electrician advised that the fuse box was getting overloaded and added an additional box.
Now, I am no electrician myself, so I can't verify that it really was the cause, but since the new box was fitted, he has had no more problems with bulbs blowing.
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40+??????? Jeez it must be like broad daylight in your house! 40 @ 40w each is 1.6kw! That's a lot of light...and max for lighting circuit is 1.2kw generally which would explain the tripping.
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>> 40+??????? Jeez it must be like broad daylight in your house! 40 @ 40w each
>> is 1.6kw! That's a lot of light...and max for lighting circuit is 1.2kw generally which
>> would explain the tripping.
Actually that was a slight overestimate on my behalf, there are actually 35, although the bulbs we are using are 50w, so it turns out that it is actually 35 * 50w = 1.75kw. Now, not all of those will be on at the same time, but quite a few will at night, along with a number of other lights.
We have been gradually replacing a lot of the bulbs with energy saving versions and that does seem to have at least reduced the rate at which they blow.
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>> Your toaster is toast. The RCD detects an inbalance - there's some sort of leakage.
Thanks FT. I did some more Googling and found somebody who suggested that crumbs on the element could be to blame.
I was very suspicious, but duly took it outside and shook it and blew on all the elements and, lo and behold, it works fine! :)
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>> ... somebody ... suggested that crumbs on the element could be to blame.
>>
>> I was very suspicious, but duly took it outside and shook it and blew on
>> all the elements and, lo and behold, it works fine! :)
Result! I might not've thought of that. It only takes 30mA to trip your plug-in RCD, which isn't much!
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>>
>> Thanks FT. I did some more Googling and found somebody who suggested that crumbs on
>> the element could be to blame.
>>
>> I was very suspicious, but duly took it outside and shook it and blew on
>> all the elements and, lo and behold, it works fine! :)
>>
I guess that there's enough to cause a slight leak to earth - enough to trip the RCD
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>>>took it OUTSIDE and shook it<<
What a well trained man you are:)
Pat
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Toaster is duff. Get a new one!
If GU10 spotlights on the lighting circuit are causing an overload then you really need to get an electrician to check it is safe. If they are using that much current then there is a risk they've already started to melt insulation so a re-wire of the lighting circuit might be necessary. Lighting is always on a different circuit so unlikely to be related to the toaster issue.
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>> If they are using that much
>> current then there is a risk they've already started to melt insulation so a re-wire
>> of the lighting circuit might be necessary. Lighting is always on a different circuit so
>> unlikely to be related to the toaster issue.
Thanks teabelly. I will get it checked out. I have raised in to my landlord before, but he has dragged his heels, and I have never really pushed because I have always seen it as more of a minor inconvenience - but that is until you explained about the risk of melting insulation. So thanks again.
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If the property is a rental, particularly via an agent, landlords should have wiring safety certificates carried out by NICIEC approved contractors. They last 5 years. Might be worth seeing if he'll get one as a cert is usually about £150 and will show whether it is safe or not... but he might get a massive bill for a rewire and redecoration!
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Fourty is a hell of a lot and it would be a good idea to (a) get the circuit checked and (b) make sure there are never too many on all at once.
As the trip is associated with light bulbs blowing I'd guess it's the 'flash on blow' that's causing a transient overlaod and tripping the CB. We've had that issue in every house I've lived in since the demise of fuse wire!!
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40 X 50W = 2KW
Just what you need in this hot weather, a two-bar electric fire!
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>>Just what you need in this hot weather, a two-bar electric fire<<
This could be the new way to heat ya house Looseat,
overhead heating intead of underfloor heating!
give it a go mate and lemme know how you get on :)
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>> If GU10 spotlights on the lighting circuit are causing an overload
1mm cable should be able to handle the lighting load quite easily, and a lighting MCB should be 6A. I don't think it's likely the lighting circuit will have problems.
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>> a lighting MCB should be 6A
With that number of 50W lights it could well be that you're exceeding the rated current. The lighting circuit was generally designed to support 4 or 5 x 100w incandescent bulbs per floor, so if you're drawing more than twice that current I would expect problems.
Change them all for low-energy ones and you should solve things - and not get so hot standing under them either!
Oh, and your toaster's probably knackered, buy a new one.
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>> Change them all for low-energy ones and you should solve things - and not get
>> so hot standing under them either!
>>
>> Oh, and your toaster's probably knackered, buy a new one.
Thanks Dave. We have been changing the other (non-GU10) bulbs for energy savings ones which I'm sure you know are quite cheap right now, but I have not seen cheap GU10s. They seem to sell for about £6, whereas you can get the non-energy saving ones for about 70-80p.
Given that we are renting, and might not have the same lights in the next house, I don't want to spend £300 on new bulbs. As I mentioned, just replacing the other bulbs has helped a lot.
Regarding the toaster, you might have missed my post above. Seems it was just a few crumbs on the elements! :)
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>> We have a frequent problem with lights blowing in our house which then trips a
>> fuse
This is quite normal for incandescent bulbs - the surge in current when they "blow" can easily exceed 6A, the rating for a lighting MCB. Sometimes you find the bulb's glass has amusingly melted where pieces of filament have hit it.
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Toaster tripping a circuit breaker - FotheringtonTomas
