I Need An Rcd

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jmkgreen

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So I have my tank all hooked up with a surge protected multiplug which is currently connected to the wall via a standard RCD.

Problem is, we get power cuts and I need to reset it each time. Add to that we are sometimes away for the weekend.

I've tried online, and ebay. I asked in B&Q (Lakeside) and they said they just don't stock such a thing.

Can anyone provide a link to such a device? Only thing I've found is one sold specifically for fish tanks and is ridiculously expensive. Help please!
 
Is your house covered by a wire fuseboard or a set of tripswitches for the mains supply?

If it is tripswitches I personally would'nt bother to use the RCD on the wall, because you simply have two identical devices covering you. The only disadvantage is if something on the circuit trips you will have a bigger selection of kit to troubleshoot :-( .
 
Is your house covered by a wire fuseboard or a set of tripswitches for the mains supply?

If it is tripswitches I personally would'nt bother to use the RCD on the wall, because you simply have two identical devices covering you. The only disadvantage is if something on the circuit trips you will have a bigger selection of kit to troubleshoot :-( .

Thanks for the reply. How do I tell? The property was built within the last five years but we know nothing about the electrics.
 
if it was built in 2005 then it will have an rcd already incorperated in the consumer unit.

You will do more damage with a plug in rcd as the 2 rcd's will fight agaist each other
 
Yeah I found the the RCD part of the main fuse box. Tested and it works fine. Have removed my plug.
 
You will do more damage with a plug in rcd as the 2 rcd's will fight agaist each other

Can you explain that statement to me please? How do the 2 RCD's 'fight' against each other? Surely they are both just checking for a certain leakage current, and with 'fire' when that is detected?


Also, incase anyone else ends up on this thread in future, the person at B&Q gave bad info. B&Q DO sell plug-in RCD's and they DO sell 2 different types, a latched version and a non-latched version. As the OP said, with one type if the power goes off, so does the RCD, and then you have to manually reset it in order to switch it back on. The other type will allow the power through when it is restored, but otherwise works exactly the same. I have one type on my mower, and the other sort on my tank, but it does take a bit of looking as the physically look VERY similar, (you need to read the back of the packaging) :)
 
You will do more damage with a plug in rcd as the 2 rcd's will fight agaist each other

Can you explain that statement to me please? How do the 2 RCD's 'fight' against each other? Surely they are both just checking for a certain leakage current, and with 'fire' when that is detected?


Also, incase anyone else ends up on this thread in future, the person at B&Q gave bad info. B&Q DO sell plug-in RCD's and they DO sell 2 different types, a latched version and a non-latched version. As the OP said, with one type if the power goes off, so does the RCD, and then you have to manually reset it in order to switch it back on. The other type will allow the power through when it is restored, but otherwise works exactly the same. I have one type on my mower, and the other sort on my tank, but it does take a bit of looking as the physically look VERY similar, (you need to read the back of the packaging) :)


If I remember correctly the latching variety doesn't state clearly whether latching or not but the non latching version does :rolleyes:
 
Can you explain that statement to me please? How do the 2 RCD's 'fight' against each other? Surely they are both just checking for a certain leakage current

My thoughts exactly... its like having 2 fuses in line, makes life safer IMHO :good: (although an RCD should NEVER be considered as just a fuse !)
 
sorry its taken so long to reply.

i was told at college a few years back that the rcds can trip each other, not 100% sure why but i was told not to put 2 in the same circuit.

If you have a fuse board in your garage or shed it wont have an rcd as it wil normally be backed up by an rcd inside the house on the main fuseboard.
 
The other thing I have found as the poor sap lumbered with managing the facilitys at work is that the more they trip, the easier they are tripped out. This means that if you test your tank one too often( or use it to turn stuff off whilst scaping etc.) and it takes the mains one out, you may start to have more problems with circuits going for no real reason. This is great until your tank is on the same circuit as your freezer...
 
sorry its taken so long to reply.

i was told at college a few years back that the rcds can trip each other, not 100% sure why but i was told not to put 2 in the same circuit.

If you have a fuse board in your garage or shed it wont have an rcd as it wil normally be backed up by an rcd inside the house on the main fuseboard.

Not sure how one rcd could possibly trip another, unless under fault conditions or having test button pressed. RCD's detect a discrepancy in current (imbalance) between live and neutral and it is impossible for one rcd to unbalance the two phase conductors!

If one RCD happens to trip it is because there is a fault current and it will more than likely trigger any other RCD's on the same circuit but of course one may fire and leave the other intact depending on sensitivty of each unit.

IMO having two RCD's on one circuit does no harm and in fact only protects against the failure of the primary unit so arguably a good thing to have B-)

I would like to see any evidence that can dispute this though!
 
Is your house covered by a wire fuseboard or a set of tripswitches for the mains supply?

If it is tripswitches I personally would'nt bother to use the RCD on the wall, because you simply have two identical devices covering you. The only disadvantage is if something on the circuit trips you will have a bigger selection of kit to troubleshoot :-( .

As a word of warning, just because it has trip switches does NOT mean that it DEFINITLY has an RCD incorporated. They may only be MCB's, which offers you the same 'protection' as a fuse, no where near the level (or type) as an RCD offers.

There is some good information on teh various items here:
http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/electrical/consumer.htm
 
Arcadia launched an RCD fairly recently that doesn't trip in the event of a power cut, it's called the classica circuit breaker.
 

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