Neighbour trips my RCD?

[gavski34]

This may sound crazy but it happens.

Whenever my neighbour uses his electric lawnmower it trips the RCD on my fuse box. Is this possible and what could be the cause or solution?
Is it that the RCD is just too sensetive?

 

[ericmark]

In my house I have two identical RCD's resetting one will often cause the other to trip and also electrical storms can cause it to trip. Clearly from that spikes on the line can cause RCD's to trip. Not all 30 mA RCD's are equal and some are clearly designed to combat this problem the Xpole being an example however attempts to find the write up seem to just find pole dancers.

What is the hard bit is other than Xpole I have no idea how to identify RCD's which have good or poor EMC specs. Testing with a RCD tester passes all may be some one else can help. The other problem is a consumer unit is a type tested device and to put another make of RCD in the unit would make the type testing void.

I will watch in interest for the answers.

 

[bernardgreen]

What sort of house is it ? in a row of houses in a street or two houses on their own along a country lane with overhead power lines. ?

There are ways that the neighbour's lawn mower could trip your RCD but all of them include at least one fault. Deciding which would need a lot more information.

Does the trip happen when the mower in on the grass but not if it is running on a dry surface such as concrete or decking ?

.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

You need to get an electrician.

1) The RCD needs testing to check it's OK

2) //www.diynot.com/diy/threads/neighbours-power-tools-tripping-my-rcd.380471/

 

[PBC_1966]

Are you sure it's a modern RCD and not an older voltage-operated ELCB?

 

[gavski34]

My house is a 1950's semi, (previously owned by an electrician haha) my neighbour is in the semi block adjacent to mine.
I read throught link from "ban all sheds"(thanks), sounds similar to my problem and similar consumer unit.
Think it is beyond my diagnostic skills an will probably need a lekkie.

 

[chivers67]

I've heard of this issue once before and it turned out to be a socket was fed to a house next door! Quite hard to pin point without much info.

 

[Doggit]

I assume you have completely separate supplies. My partners house is a semi, and the electrical supply for both houses comes into her property, and then splits off into the house next door. We could take out the main fuse, and cut off their supply if we wanted to, and that gives a potential for feedback into both properties.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

That's bad news. The corollary is that something they do could blow the fuse and leave her with no electricity.

Are you sure that the cable loops next door after the fuse, and that it's not like this:

?

 

[Doggit]

No, the main head fuse's for both properties are in my partners cupboard under the stairs. They were the first houses built in the street (1930) and I don't think the builder was that experienced.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

OK, so both main fuses are there.

How does that "give a potential for feedback into both properties"?

 

[PBC_1966]

No, the main head fuse's for both properties are in my partners cupboard under the stairs. They were the first houses built in the street (1930) and I don't think the builder was that experienced.

It's possible that by now a separate main fuse has been installed in the neighboring house and the original fitted with a solid link.

 

[PBC_1966]

Whenever my neighbour uses his electric lawnmower it trips the RCD on my fuse box.

Is it every time? When your RCD trips put, does his lawnmower immediately stop, or does it not affect him?

 

[bernardgreen]

No, the main head fuse's for both properties are in my partners cupboard under the stairs. They were the first houses built in the street (1930) and I don't think the builder was that experienced.

Shared Neutral impedance along the service cable that was probably installed to serve houses with little if any use of power other than for lighting and hence has a small cross sectional area and and higher than normal impedance. Hence the high starting current of a motor in one house will "bounce" the neutral to both houses. If one house has a neutral to ground fault then the bounce on the incoming Neutral will create a fault current along the neutral through the RCD sensor to the fault and to ground.

bounce = when the Neutral at the house is raised to a potential higher than ground potential due to abnormally high current flowing along the neutral.

 

[gavski34]

Is it every time? When your RCD trips put, does his lawnmower immediately stop, or does it not affect him?

No, he's fine and just carries on mowing and whistling a merry tune It does it 3 or 4 times over the course of him mowing the lawn but it is every time he does it.
My house has a completely independant supply.