MCB 32A TRIPPING

[GaryMo]

I also hope he checked for dead as I wouldn't rely on throwing a DP switch and hoping it disconnected.

A brief look tells me he's not performing any testing, just casing an eye over the connections to a socket outlet.

 

[dt2008]

It's been a while, hasn't it.

Hope he did check for dead.

What test was he going to do and who advised it.

Just to be clear.


Martin

LOL !! Wife wouldn't let me pull the power , Apparently there was something that had to be watched on TV !! It's too dark now and I don't fancy doing it by torchlight , Will have a crack at it tomorrow , Although I did have a sniff at the socket and it does have a hint of a burnt smell to it so I am hoping that will be it .

 

[dt2008]

It's been a while, hasn't it.

Hope he did check for dead.

What test was he going to do and who advised it.

Just to be clear.


Martin

LOL !! Wife wouldn't let me pull the power , Apparently there was something that had to be watched on TV !! It's too dark now and I don't fancy doing it by torchlight , Will have a crack at it tomorrow , Although I did have a sniff at the socket and it does have a hint of a burnt smell to it so I am hoping that will be it .

To add - Yes I am just looking , If I don't feel confident then I won't touch it , Anyone near Brentwood Essex ?

 

[Hibbo]

It's been a while, hasn't it.

Hope he did check for dead.

What test was he going to do and who advised it.

Just to be clear.


Martin

If you're being serious there, then get a grip.

If you're trying to be funny, then it's not.

 

[GaryMo]

Attempting to work on an electrical system without first checking for dead is extremely serious.

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make with your post

 

[martinxxxxxx]

It's been a while, hasn't it.

Hope he did check for dead.

What test was he going to do and who advised it.

Just to be clear.


Martin

If you're being serious there, then get a grip.

If you're trying to be funny, then it's not.

What I am getting at is that if you send an amateur off to sort out an electrical problem and they don't come back, then questions need to be asked about the wisdom of suggesting that course of action.

Testing for dead is a serious business and there is no getting away from that fact.

My advise now really would be to isolate the circuit now we def have a burning smell and get it checked professionally. I don't say this just to help line the pockets of electricians but in order to avoid electrical fires in a house.

I already have several grips as it happens.

Martin

 

[dt2008]

It's been a while, hasn't it.

Hope he did check for dead.

What test was he going to do and who advised it.

Just to be clear.


Martin

If you're being serious there, then get a grip.

If you're trying to be funny, then it's not.

What I am getting at is that if you send an amateur off to sort out an electrical problem and they don't come back, then questions need to be asked about the wisdom of suggesting that course of action.

Testing for dead is a serious business and there is no getting away from that fact.

My advise now really would be to isolate the circuit now we def have a burning smell and get it checked professionally. I don't say this just to help line the pockets of electricians but in order to avoid electrical fires in a house.

I already have several grips as it happens.

Martin

Whoa steady people !!!

I'm not the type of person who asks why my gas oven isn't working then sticks my head in it just because someone tells me to .

I make my decisons and stay within my comfort zone , Working with a invisible killer like electrcity is something I do not mess with .

The course of action now is , The MCB has been off all day and it's not going to be reset until the problem is fixed , Tomorrow I will remove the socket and take a peek to see what's occured behind it , There is a hint that a burn has occured by the feint smell coming from the socket , I do not intend to die fixing a bloody socket , I know my limits

But in any case I would like to thank all of you for your answers

 

[GaryMo]

I doubt it was a dig at you personally or your competance - more due to Hibbos comments.

 

[martinxxxxxx]

I think the OP is a reasonable person. I am not making any digs at him. I would say his course of actions to date have been sensible. An electrician is required and I believe he realises this.

I only would reiterated that testing is a dangerous activity. I hae nearly been caught out a couple of times, where I assumed that switching off an MCB would make the appropriate circuit dead. But a quick check with an approved tester has saved me on both occasions.

Electricity can kill, you may have had a belt before and survived, but that is no guarantee that the next one wouldn't kill you. So to everyone test for dead first - better still get an electrician

 

[Hibbo]

I think the OP is a reasonable person. I am not making any digs at him. I would say his course of actions to date have been sensible. An electrician is required and I believe he realises this.

I only would reiterated that testing is a dangerous activity. I hae nearly been caught out a couple of times, where I assumed that switching off an MCB would make the appropriate circuit dead. But a quick check with an approved tester has saved me on both occasions.

Electricity can kill, you may have had a belt before and survived, but that is no guarantee that the next one wouldn't kill you. So to everyone test for dead first - better still get an electrician

I agree of course that testing for dead is essential, and I would like to think that anyone with half a brain would know that.

What I don't agree with is that you need a qualified electrician £££££ to unscrew an isolated and dead-tested socket from the wall and have a look behind it.

It is excellent advice to tell people to treat electricity with respect, but scaremongering is not needed. In the short time I have been reading this forum (this DIY forum) I have noticed that the advice given to almost any matter is 'get an electrician'. Electricity is dangerous but things like this are not rocket science.

 

[GaryMo]

What I don't agree with is that you need a qualified electrician £££££ to unscrew an isolated and dead-tested socket from the wall and have a look behind it.

You're not agreeing with something that wasn't even suggested

He was given this advice:

If the whole house is turned off, there won't be any power in the socket. (unless it is powered via your neighbours stealing your electricity through the wall, but that is exceptionally unlikely)

I then replied alerting him to the fact that DP isolators do fail and that he should always test for dead. You can't assume somebody will always do that.

All Martin said was that he hoped he had checked for dead.

 

[mfarrow]

Calm down Gary, I don't think he was talking about you

More likely

My advise now really would be to isolate the circuit now we def have a burning smell and get it checked professionally.

 

[Hibbo]

OK, fair enough. I think what irked me was the 'just to be clear' bit, as I interpereted it as "if the bloke is dead who will get sued?".

Sorry if that was not the intended meaning.

 

[martinxxxxxx]

I agree of course that testing for dead is essential, and I would like to think that anyone with half a brain would know that.

Please quantify what you mean by this - are you assuming all people with any kind of a brain would know to dead test by some kind of natural intuition. And therefore it is the greatest insulting behavior on my part to remind a person that professes little electrical knowledge that they need to do it, as I am suggesting somehow that they have less than half a brain.

You took great umbrage at me suggesting dead testing, but I notice on another thread you gave similar advice.

Using the phrase not rocket science is very lazy - what has rocket science got to do with it? Electrical theory can be just as complicated as they are different branches of physics. If you have a point to make please make it.

I am not scaremongering, if there has been a fault, the cause needs investigating. Is this a job for someone with limited experience?

When the OP looks behind the cover and sees possibly charred wires and the insulation falls away, what do you suggest he does before re-energising the circuit.

Martin

 

[martinxxxxxx]

What I don't agree with is that you need a qualified electrician £££££ to unscrew an isolated and dead-tested socket from the wall and have a look behind it.

This socket is tripping a 32A mcb and smelling of burning - What exactly needs to happen in someones house before it is justifiable in your mind for me to advise them call an electrician?