Steam Iron RCCB/RCBO

Basically my steam iron, when plugged in works fine, can iron, steam, change heat settings, and randomly (can be within 5 mins or 2 hours) trips the main switch for plugs for the entire house (MCB?). Unfortunately I don't have access to this to flip it back, so we have to go without power until some contractor turns up the next day, anyway I digress. I tried the iron out for a week at a friends house with no problems so I don't think the iron is faulty.

I think the the trip switch might be overly sensitive, so when someone else plugs something else in the total current leak is more than the limit on the trip switch or something like that. I also heard it could be a weak circuit.

My iron is quite powerful, 3000W, anyway my idea is that I could buy an RCCB or an RCBO (not sure which) and this would stop all the switches in the house from tripping and only trip the RCCB/RCBO.

If anyone could shed any light on this, or suggest an alternative solution that would be much help.

Thanks.

your iron is broken and the steam is getting into the electrics..
your RCD is tripping, whereas your friend might not have one in his house ( did you ask? )

throw the iron away and buy a new one ( they're only a fiver from tesco's .. get a new one every 3 weeks.. )

stuart576 said:

Basically my steam iron, when plugged in works fine, can iron, steam, change heat settings, and randomly (can be within 5 mins or 2 hours) trips the main switch for plugs for the entire house (MCB?). Unfortunately I don't have access to this to flip it back, so we have to go without power until some contractor turns up the next day, anyway I digress.

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Is this your house? Why don't you have access to the CU?

Is it a shared house/HMO? Who else loses power when you trip the RCD?

It seems unacceptable, dangerous and possibly illegal to provide you with an electrical installation which can cut off for hours at a time because you don't have access to the CU.

I tried the iron out for a week at a friends house with no problems so I don't think the iron is faulty.

Click to expand...

Was his socket circuit on an RCD?

I think the the trip switch might be overly sensitive, so when someone else plugs something else in the total current leak is more than the limit on the trip switch or something like that. I also heard it could be a weak circuit.

Click to expand...

Who else is plugging things in, and where?

My iron is quite powerful, 3000W, anyway my idea is that I could buy an RCCB or an RCBO (not sure which) and this would stop all the switches in the house from tripping and only trip the RCCB/RCBO.

Click to expand...

If you don't have access to the CU then how on earth do you think you'll be able to open it up, install an RCBO on the non-RCD side (if there's space) and move your socket circuit across?

ban-all-sheds said:

Is this your house? Why don't you have access to the CU?
Is it a shared house/HMO? Who else loses power when you trip the RCD?

It seems unacceptable, dangerous and possibly illegal to provide you with an electrical installation which can cut off for hours at a time because you don't have access to the CU.

Click to expand...

I live on a RAF Base, the CU is locked away in a room next to our block.

I tried the iron out for a week at a friends house with no problems so I don't think the iron is faulty.

Click to expand...

Was his socket circuit on an RCD?

Click to expand...

Yes it was.

Who else is plugging things in, and where?

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We all have kit to prepare for the next day so, throughout the night many irons will be plugged in and out. Other people's irons trip the switch occasionally as well. Also laptops, phone chargers, tvs, xboxs. There are two floors with six rooms each, but the floors are on different CU's I think as when the power trips upstairs down stairs is not affected and visa versa.

If you don't have access to the CU then how on earth do you think you'll be able to open it up, install an RCBO on the non-RCD side (if there's space) and move your socket circuit across?

Click to expand...

Maybe I've missed something here but I thought you could get them so they plugged in, in between the appliance and the wall socket?

ban-all-sheds said:

It seems unacceptable, dangerous and possibly illegal to provide you with an electrical installation which can cut off for hours at a time because you don't have access to the CU.

Click to expand...

Even worse, there is no access to the CU to switch off the supply when there is an emergency.

stuart576 said:

Maybe I've missed something here but I thought you could get them so they plugged in, in between the appliance and the wall socket?

Click to expand...

RCD adaptors can be obtained, which go between the appliance plug and the wall socket. This won't help at all, since a fault will probably trip both the plug-in one and the fixed one at the consumer unit.

An RCBO is a device which must be fitted inside a consumer unit or other enclosure:


The real problem here is that the installation has been poorly designed. The solution is to rewire part/all of it and split the various rooms onto different circuits, each with their own RCD (or RCBOs). However this isn't something you or anyone else living in the building can do.

My first thought would be to get a PAT tester on all the equipment in question. See if it's drawing unusually large ammounts of current or leaking unusually large ammounts to earth.

Also it would be good if possible to find out what exactly is tripping (it may already be a RCBO).