Fuse board question (with pics).

D4N1EL · 19 Mar 2021

Hi,
This evening while making tea, the electric tripped out, the oven now has no heat so I suspect that was the issue.

We have a free standing cooker/grill/oven, there is 1 wire that connects to the appliance.

On my fuse board (I suspect that’s not the correct name for it) their is a switch for cooker and an unlabelled switch. It was this unlabelled switch that needed re-setting.

Is my cooker wired through 2 switches or is it likely it has been re-wired in to a new switch and the old switch not taken out?

By the cooker there is 2 switches and a plug socket, 1 switch is for the cooker, the other switch for the plug socket. Is it possible the cooker switch on my fuse board is for the plug socket?

Pics below.

terryplumb · 19 Mar 2021

The device To the right of the MCB' marked cooker,is an RCD. That RCD supplies / protects all 5 of the MCB's on the left of it.

stem · 19 Mar 2021

If by unlabeled switch you are referring to the one marked RCD, then that will trip if there is an earth fault on any of the five circuits protected by RCD with the green strip underneath. If this trips when the cooker is being used it normally indicates that one of the cooker elements has failed and created an earth fault.

D4N1EL · 19 Mar 2021

Ok, I didn’t realise they done different things, I thought it was just a bigger version capable of more power.

So if an earth problem occurs the RCD trips, if it’s another problem the MCB trips?

Just out of interest, from the pic, is there enough info to see what my cooker is rated at?

stem · 19 Mar 2021

Actually it's the other way around.

MCB's will trip when there is an overload and their current rating is exceeded.

RCD's will trip when there is a tiny earth fault only milliamps

No idea what your cooker is rated at, you would have to consult its instruction manual or rating plate to determine that. However, the MCB it is connected to is rated at 32A as is printed on it.

JohnD · 19 Mar 2021

D4N1EL said:
Hi,
This evening while making tea, the electric tripped out, the oven now has no heat

Do you mean the oven? Or do you mean the whole cooker?

An RCD trip is quite common when the heating element in an oven or grill erodes with age. It is a replaceable part.

D4N1EL · 19 Mar 2021

The oven now has no heat, the grill (2nd oven) and rings still work fine.

It was repaired for the same fault just before Christmas. Hopefully the insurance will just pay out and we can buy a new one. 3rd time it has happened in about a year.

D4N1EL · 19 Mar 2021

Why are my lights not protected by the RCB. Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I’m sure you have guessed I’m not an electrician.

B32 = 32amps?

terryplumb · 19 Mar 2021

Yes 32 amps.
Nowadays ALL circuits get RCD protection. At one time ,only those circuits thought to be most at risk were RCD protected.
Ridiculous really,but that's what our peers decreed !!!

oldbutnotdead · 19 Mar 2021

Handy being able to see what you're doing when the RCD has tripped at night....historical, until fairly recently there was no requirement for RCD protection on lighting circuits.

D4N1EL · 19 Mar 2021

I keep a torch in the lil cubby hole, I would always get up the ladder and realise I can’t see and have to climb back down .

Looking at the pics, is it possible to give an approx age of it? It’s at least 10 years old but is there a way to tell if it’s 10-15, 20+ or what ever?

CAWORK · 19 Mar 2021

D4N1EL said:
I keep a torch in the lil cubby hole, I would always get up the ladder and realise I can’t see and have to climb back down .

Looking at the pics, is it possible to give an approx age of it? It’s at least 10 years old but is there a way to tell if it’s 10-15, 20+ or what ever?

Looking at your set-up, it appears to be installed at the time the 16th Edition of the Regulations were in force (typically due to it been a standard 'Split-Load' Consumer Unit with a normal Mains Switch for circuits not protected by an RCD, whilst other circuits considered more 'Risky' (as someone else has already mentioned), protected by an RCD).
The 16th Edition was, I am fairly sure, introduced in 1991 (although may have actually came into force around 1992) and remained in force until 2008 (when the 17th Edition was introduced).
Therefore, a good, although fairly rough estimate, would date it at around 15-30 years old.
If anybody has an idea of when the style of your Consumer Unit, MCBs and RCDs were introduced, they may be able to narrow it down a bit.

Regards

D4N1EL · 19 Mar 2021

WOW!! Possibly 30 years old! My wires are the old colours so it’s defo before 2006, probably safe to assume before 2004 because I’m assuming in 2006 you probably wouldn’t of been able to buy the old colours anymore (because why would retailers stock something that won’t be used anymore)

At what point should I consider a re-wire?

securespark · 19 Mar 2021

I was installing those Steeple boards in the early 90s.

JohnW2 · 19 Mar 2021

D4N1EL said:
At what point should I consider a re-wire?

Assuming the cables are PVC, they, themselves, will (if no-one damages them

) quite probably last for at least further 50 years, quite probably 100+ years.

However, you will undoubtedly want/need a 're-wire' long before that, but for reasons totally unrelated to the (probably fine) condition of the actual cables at the time.

Kind Regards, John

diynot

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.

Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

Fuse board question (with pics).

D4N1EL

Attachments

terryplumb

stem

D4N1EL

stem

JohnD

D4N1EL

D4N1EL

terryplumb

oldbutnotdead

D4N1EL

CAWORK

D4N1EL

securespark

JohnW2

DIYnot Local

Similar threads