My elderly neighbour was telling me last night that her portable electric fire (fairly ancient by the sound of it) almost caught fire the other evening on its first outing since last winter. She had it on in her bedroom and her son had bought one of those plug-in RCDs (I have them too) to prevent any accidents, as her wiring is (I think) from the 1950s. Actually it was sparking and smoking, but no actual flames, thank goodness. I thought that an RCD would detect such a serious fault and shut the power off, or do they really only guard against shocks? (Her son has arranged for an electrician to come round on Saturday, by the way, just to make sure all is well with the wiring.)
Appliance fire but RCD didn't trip
- Thread starter Vicario
- Start date
Sponsored Links
RCD's don't detect flames or sparks or smoke.
RCD's are there to detect any leakage of current to earth, which if there isn't, won't trip, so it sounds as though there wasn't any sufficient earth leakage.
RCD's are there to detect any leakage of current to earth, which if there isn't, won't trip, so it sounds as though there wasn't any sufficient earth leakage.
Or possibly no earth leakage at all.
possibly the ancient electric fire isn't earthed, and if it's standing on dry carpet the frame could be live without tripping the rcd.
Sponsored Links
If it has been unused all summer I would suggest the "fire" was more likely dust and contamination burning off as the element got hot, something that happens to a lot of electric heating elements if unused for some time!
Where did he buy the RCD from 
She's going to ask her son - brown, wedge-shaped (the RCD, not the son!); it has a little sticker on the back with the initials of the 'tester'. She brought it down to show me - I plugged it in in the hallway, re-set the trip and then pressed the test button. Nada! I reckon the electrician will have some bad news when he's had a look at her wiring. She's lived there since 1954!! I did replace some fuse wire for her at the CU a few years back, so it will be pretty ancient. It has those ceramic holders that you stretch the wire onto. That wouldn't have caused the fire to throw a wobbly though, would it?
No, that wound not cause the fire to throw a wobbly. Most likely dust burning off it as already stated.
1954 wiring probably won't have an earth in the lighting, but hopefully won't be rubber. Obviously won't conform to today's standards but did conform to the standards when put in.
1954 wiring probably won't have an earth in the lighting, but hopefully won't be rubber. Obviously won't conform to today's standards but did conform to the standards when put in.
1954 wiring would be quite likely to be rubber IMHO, but its not a forgone conclusion. Think the early types of PVC / plastic started coming in in about that time and the changeover period lasted well into the 1960's
Seen a 1958 building in early plastic/pvc, seen a 1962 house in VIR.
Seen a 1958 building in early plastic/pvc, seen a 1962 house in VIR.
Worse than that, I don't think we're even sure that the wiring isn't appreciably older than 1954. That's the date when the OP thinks the present occupier moved in, but we haven't been told that the house (or it's electrical installation) was necessarily new at that date.
Kind Regards, John
Mine moved into a (1910s) house in 1955 and that, too, had PVC wiring when they moved in (no idea when the wiring was done, but obviously pre-1955). There were clearly some substantial overlaps between the use of VIR and PVC.
Kind Regards, John
Our houses were built in 1934! I've no idea whether her house has had a re-wire since then but I sincerely hope so. If a fire actually got to the plug or even started there, would that not cause the RCD to trip? (Plug etc. not affected in this case though). I asked if she still had the old fire to have a look, but the 'metal recyclers' had taken it. Sounded like a bit more than dust burning off, to be honest. She was actually alerted by the smoke alarm.
The RCD should see earth faults up to and including it's own integral socket, which will also include the appliance plug and lead.
The RCD will not see anything back into the installation, such as an earth fault within the house' fixed wiring.
As the RCD has failed to trip when tested, buy a new one to replace it. I would advise an Electrical Installation Condition Report be conducted by an electrician, and in the meantime buy one of those cheap socket testers to ensure all the sockets are wired up correctly.
The RCD will not see anything back into the installation, such as an earth fault within the house' fixed wiring.
As the RCD has failed to trip when tested, buy a new one to replace it. I would advise an Electrical Installation Condition Report be conducted by an electrician, and in the meantime buy one of those cheap socket testers to ensure all the sockets are wired up correctly.
DIYnot Local
Staff member
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
Sponsored Links
