Gas cooker causes breaker to trip

[gco83]

Hi, I hope somebody can shed light on my problem because I have no idea what to do next!

I had a gas cooker that kept on tripping the breaker the moment the plug was inserted into the electrical socket (it doesn't matter whether the socket is switched on or off, the breaker is tripped immediately). An electrician replaced the socket and he even tested an electric kettle on it and everything worked fine, but the problem did not go away so it was concluded that the cooker was at fault. I went ahead and bought a new gas cooker, plugged it into the same socket and...the same problem!!

Having done some further tests on my own I noticed that:

a) If the cooker's gas pipe is disconnected from the wall then the cooker does not trip the breaker, even when it is plugged into the same electrical socket (?!!)

b) If I run the cooker off an electrical extension cable to a socket on the opposite kitchen wall then everything works fine.

Clearly (a) is not acceptable because this is a gas cooker and needs to be plugged into the gas, while (b) is also no good as it requires a cable to be run across the kitchen floor. Arrrgggh!

 

[Murdochcat]

I think you should call the electrician back to double check his work

 

[JohnD]

What do you know about the qualifications of the electrician?

What letters and numbers are printed on the thing that trips?

 

[EFLImpudence]

Assuming that this is an RCD that is tripping can you verify that the 'other' socket (where everything works) is also covered by an RCD?

 

[Adam_151]

Do you have a multimeter? or one of the socket testers with three lights on it?

 

[flameport]

There are at least 2 things wrong, the most likely being
1 - that the cable supplying the socket has a fault between N&E or worse, L&E.
2 - the CPC for the circuit is no longer connected to the consumer unit.

The kettle and other items will work, as they only connect to the L&N, current flows only via those conductors and the RCD does not trip.

The cooker does not, as when it's connected to the gas, that is providing the missing path to Earth via the earth pin in the plug.
It trips immediately as there is some current from the N-E connection via the gas pipe.

If the fault is L-E, then the same symptoms will occur, with the added danger that class I items will become live when plugged in, as the earth connection in the socket is live.

Hi, I hope somebody can shed light on my problem because I have no idea what to do next!

Do not use that socket again for anything until it has been properly fixed by someone who knows what they are doing.

 

[sparkwright]

Out of interest - is the socket that you plug the gas cooker into controlled by an separate isolator somewhere, perhaps above the worktop?

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Your first job might be to invest in one of these plug-in socket and rcd testers- something like this Rcd tester. That'll tell you whether sockets are connected correctly and whether they are rcd protected. I'd agree with @flameport - there's likely more than one fault. Did the old cooker ever work in that socket?