Called to a house today that has been without electric since sunday - storage heaters work, but the peak supply RCD will not hold in.
TT system, main RCD feeding 4way wylex for peak, and an old VOLTAGE ELCB protecting the 8way wylex for off peak.
First thing I did was remove all neutrals from the 4 way board and meggar each circuit - circuit labelled garage was flat down, the rest fine.
Isolated this circuit from the board, and turned the RCD on so everything is running OK.
Garage sockets also worked, and so did all other sockets - last thing it could be....immersion. Took a look in the airing cupboard, and there are two isolators - one peak, one off peak. Two flexes. ONE ELEMENT! Plumber had changed cylinder, fitted one element, and both flexes into the one element.
Split the flexes out, and meggared the circuits - both flat down. Cables burnt to bits. With both switches on during the day, the full load of the storage heater board is travelling down the 2 pieces of 2.5! Not good.
Storage heater board didn't trip, as we know, ELCB's are next to useless.
Should have taken some photos of the 2.5 in the loft - I could physically snap it in half and inches of PVC would flake off.
Lucky not all the heaters where turned on. So much junk in the loft, it would have been a good fire.
TT system, main RCD feeding 4way wylex for peak, and an old VOLTAGE ELCB protecting the 8way wylex for off peak.
First thing I did was remove all neutrals from the 4 way board and meggar each circuit - circuit labelled garage was flat down, the rest fine.
Isolated this circuit from the board, and turned the RCD on so everything is running OK.
Garage sockets also worked, and so did all other sockets - last thing it could be....immersion. Took a look in the airing cupboard, and there are two isolators - one peak, one off peak. Two flexes. ONE ELEMENT! Plumber had changed cylinder, fitted one element, and both flexes into the one element.
Split the flexes out, and meggared the circuits - both flat down. Cables burnt to bits. With both switches on during the day, the full load of the storage heater board is travelling down the 2 pieces of 2.5! Not good.
Storage heater board didn't trip, as we know, ELCB's are next to useless.
Should have taken some photos of the 2.5 in the loft - I could physically snap it in half and inches of PVC would flake off.
Lucky not all the heaters where turned on. So much junk in the loft, it would have been a good fire.
