Power keeps tripping every few days....

thebourke

Something keeps tripping the power in the house every few days.I think it is the fridge.
When it trips it all the power more or less in the house is gone.
Do I just need to replace the fuse in the fuse box or will I need an electrician to call out and identify the problem.

crasy dash

Will try and help couple of questions
Is it actually a fuseboard where you have to unscrew and replace the fuse or is it made up of mcb's and perhaps a rcd that you just flick back up to get the power back?
Do you lose all power in the house or is it just the sockets that go?

If you can post a picture of the board shoud help us give better advice.

aido79

thebourke wrote: »

Something keeps tripping the power in the house every few days.I think it is the fridge.
When it trips it all the power more or less in the house is gone.
Do I just need to replace the fuse in the fuse box or will I need an electrician to call out and identify the problem.

I would imagine it's an rcd and not a mcb(fuse) that's tripping. Replacing the fuse will most likely not fix the problem. I think you should probably get someone to look at your fridge if you think that is the problem.

longshanks

crasy dash wrote: »

Will try and help couple of questions
Is it actually a fuseboard where you have to unscrew and replace the fuse or is it made up of mcb's and perhaps a rcd that you just flick back up to get the power back?
Do you lose all power in the house or is it just the sockets that go?

If you can post a picture of the board shoud help us give better advice.

I'm having the same problem. I flick the RCD back up and power is back for a while. I thought it could have been the fridge too but left it unplugged and the power still tripped. Is my house haunted?

crasy dash

Do you have an immersion in the house?
These can often be the reason of an rcd trip an electrician is probably needed in your situation to fault find

longshanks

There is an immersion in the house but it hasn't been turned on in ages.

crasy dash

Could still be the reason due to the outer insulation being damaged due to your water conditions do you suffer from limescale?

Could be any reason to be fair but that's the first place I would start.

thebourke

Please find screenshot attached...this is the switch that keeps tripping.

Andrea B.

crasy dash wrote: »

Could still be the reason due to the outer insulation being damaged due to your water conditions do you suffer from limescale?

Could be any reason to be fair but that's the first place I would start.

If the OP has immersion switched off with the dp control switches, it is less likely to be an issue on the load side.

Can you tell us why you suspect the fridge?
It is probably the most difficult to isolate for a few days in a working household, unless you get a loan of one.

It will be difficult for an electrician to troubleshoot an appliance like fridge which is tripping it intermittently.

Do however check out the plugtop and cable integrity as a starting point.

Also, kitchen sockets that get exposed to steam or get washed down can be root of intermittent tripping.

Delphinium

Do you have an American type fridge with ice maker? My son's one kept tripping. Couldn't work out the cause and unplugged almost everything before someone told him to get that checked. Something to do with the ice maker dripping. Got it serviced and its been fine for a few years now.

adrian92

Andrea B. wrote: »

If the OP has immersion switched off with the dp control switches, it is less likely to be an issue on the load side.

Can you tell us why you suspect the fridge?
It is probably the most difficult to isolate for a few days in a working household, unless you get a loan of one.

It will be difficult for an electrician to troubleshoot an appliance like fridge which is tripping it intermittently.

Do however check out the plugtop and cable integrity as a starting point.

Also, kitchen sockets that get exposed to steam or get washed down can be root of intermittent tripping.

As was asked earlier, do you have a particular reason for suspecting the fridge.? From what you described it would indy,generally, in my experience to involve a portable plug in appliance. Typically a kettle or toaster that encountered some moisture

EHP

Get a Registered electrician and he will be able to complete a Ramp test and an insulation resistance test, one of these will normally locate the issue.

BlinkingLights

If you've an automatic-defrost fridge, sometimes it can be an issue where something's flooding with water when it goes into the defrost cycle, which would typically be every few days.