The socket in my garage is used to run a pond pump and occasionally power tools. The pond pump seems to fail every 3 or 4 years and trips the RCB in in the main board and takes out all the sockets in the house - not much fun if on holiday. Is it possible to separate the garage circuit so it does not take out all sockets? The main control board is an MEM AP55HED also situated in the garage. It seems to have two spare slots to the left of the middle RCB and one spare slot between the RCB and the main on off switch. Any idea on what this should cost including a couple of new double sockets. Thanks.
Garage electrics
- Thread starter jenningsp
- Start date
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What cable supplies the garage? And is it "buried" in any plastered walls at all?
It is advisable to have the garage OFF the main house RCD for the very reason you describe.
You would need to have an RCD fitted in the garage.
It is advisable to have the garage OFF the main house RCD for the very reason you describe.
You would need to have an RCD fitted in the garage.
RCD, MCB, RCBO 
Are you saying that your board has one or more sections of mcbs linked to RCD's (they have a test button on them) and when the garage trips it pulls down a GARAGE mcb and trips the RCD that also has the house socket circuit on it ?
Or are you saying the garage socket is part of the house socket (ground floor ring) circuit ?
If the socket is adjacent to the board anyway it will be pretty straight forward to rewire it so it stands alone.
If the board has a direct rail (non rcd rail) then an rcbo could be added just for the garage circuit, or if the main is nearby a separate sub main direct from the supply.
Without a clearer understanding of what you have they a number of ways of resolving the matter.
A question you might want to ask is why the trip occurs, water based kit will fail over time, but with decent kit nowhere near as often as you suggest is occurring.
Are you saying that your board has one or more sections of mcbs linked to RCD's (they have a test button on them) and when the garage trips it pulls down a GARAGE mcb and trips the RCD that also has the house socket circuit on it ?
Or are you saying the garage socket is part of the house socket (ground floor ring) circuit ?
If the socket is adjacent to the board anyway it will be pretty straight forward to rewire it so it stands alone.
If the board has a direct rail (non rcd rail) then an rcbo could be added just for the garage circuit, or if the main is nearby a separate sub main direct from the supply.
Without a clearer understanding of what you have they a number of ways of resolving the matter.
A question you might want to ask is why the trip occurs, water based kit will fail over time, but with decent kit nowhere near as often as you suggest is occurring.
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The garage is joined to the house and the existing socket is part of the house ring main.
I think the solution is to get a new circuit installed using an RCBO installed in the spare slot on the boards direct rail - as you suggest.
Thanks very much for your help.
I think the solution is to get a new circuit installed using an RCBO installed in the spare slot on the boards direct rail - as you suggest.
Thanks very much for your help.
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