Ants in RCD

[bernardgreen]

Checking the electrical supply for the village Christmas Tree. Found there was150 volts Line to Neutral due to the Neutral from the RCD being high impedance.

This was found when the RCD was taken apart.

 

[ericmark]

Was this an anti-arc chamber?

 

[Why Not Indeed]

Was this an anti-arc chamber?

Close. Ant-y arc chamber.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

That's where all my ants went

 

[pete01]

Residual currANT device....

 

[JohnW2]

Checking the electrical supply for the village Christmas Tree. Found there was150 volts Line to Neutral due to the Neutral from the RCD being high impedance. This was found when the RCD was taken apart.

It must be my old age again .... can you explain how 'what was found' explains the 'explanation' you mention ?

 

[bernardgreen]

due to the Neutral from the RCD being high impedance.

The remains of ants on the contact pads of the switch prevented metal to metal contact for the Neutral

I recall now that a similar attack was made on the same lamp post in December 2020

Christmas Light sabotage attempt (failed)

It was the big Switch On of the Christmas Lights on Friday at 6 PM. The lights had been installed a week before and tested all OK. At 4:30 PM Friday the remote system switching system was installed and tested. One power feed was found to be dead, This one is fed from an RCD in a street...

www.diynot.com

 

[SUNRAY]

So the big switch on ceremony was an ANTiclimax

 

[bernardgreen]

So the big switch on ceremony was an ANTiclimax

The ANT e dote came from Screwfix

 

[ebee]

Do not let it become such a nuisance that you decide to become ANTi-RCD will you?

 

[ebee]

Perhaps the ants ANTicipated N being Closer to E in terms of voltage differential, they are intelligent you know!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

It's all a bit of an ANTiclimax, once you have found the fault.

 

[JohnW2]

due to the Neutral from the RCD being high impedance.
The remains of ants on the contact pads of the switch prevented metal to metal contact for the Neutral

Oh, I didn't realise that there were 'switch contacts' in that chamber.

However, if the ants managed to get between the 'contact surfaces'of the contacts, they presumably must have 'got in' whilst the contacts were open. That would be very rare, and very brief, for most RCDs in domestic installations, so was this perhaps an RCD which is 'switched off' for most of the time other than around Christmas?

 

[bernardgreen]

so was this perhaps an RCD which is 'switched off' for most of the time other than around Christmas?

I is permanently connected to the supply ( all year ) in the lamp post but only switched on for the duration of the Christmas period. The rest of the year it is acting as an isolator.

 

[pete01]

I had a similar problem a few years back I stuck one of these to the new one and it's been fine since....