Hello, we have been in our house for 3 years now and the previous owner had a armoured cable going up the side of the garden to run his water feature. (The is a resin joint halfway up the cable) anyway I fitted an outdoor power socket so I could run my water feature off it plus have a spare plug. The plug itself is a fully waterproof thing with live, neutral and 2 earthing holes ( fairly easy just left with a spare earthing hole?) anyway our water feature has been fine on it until recently it's started to trip the RCD (and the house) after 2 minutes? I've checked all the wiring in the socket and all seems ok (no water getting in) It's maybe worth mentioning it would always trip from day one if I plugged in my lawn mower but its fine with the radio? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Outside power socket tripping
- Thread starter Pete85
- Start date
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Firstly if lawn mower is taking the circuit out, I think you best take a look at the circuits protective device and the rating of it, as that sounds to me that this circuit is underrated for use of 13A appliances.
If you have RCD tripping, whilst water feature is in use, but no trips when not in use, then likely the water feature is faulty.
If you have RCD tripping, whilst water feature is in use, but no trips when not in use, then likely the water feature is faulty.
Thanks for quick reply, when u say the circuits protective devices do you mean on the main switch board or is it as simple has a bigger fuse etc? How can I rectify this?
So the fact the radio works but now the water feature doesn't suggests its a faulty water feature? The RCD is a 13a 230v 30mA trip? I think I used to plug in the extension lead on the outdoor PowerPoint which worked but that is a 10a 2400 watt? Does that make things clearer or completely confuse this situation?
So the fact the radio works but now the water feature doesn't suggests its a faulty water feature? The RCD is a 13a 230v 30mA trip? I think I used to plug in the extension lead on the outdoor PowerPoint which worked but that is a 10a 2400 watt? Does that make things clearer or completely confuse this situation?
Is it definitely an RCD (rather than an MCB) which both the water feature and lawnmower are tripping? (an RCD will have some sort of 'test button' on it).
Kind Regards, John
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If the circuit works fine on load, when water feature is not connected, then once water feature is connected, suggests that the fault lies at the water feature and/or any connective parts, that are not part of the circuit, when disconnected.
The circuit protective device would be the fuse, it is important that this is sized correctly, to deal with load and cable size (CSA).
If the RCD unit is a 13A RCD/fused connection unit, it could well be that the fuse within the unit is 5Amps or less. But if that was the issue, I would suspect that would blow when lawn mower is on, so my question is what device is the lawn mower taking out?
The circuit protective device would be the fuse, it is important that this is sized correctly, to deal with load and cable size (CSA).
If the RCD unit is a 13A RCD/fused connection unit, it could well be that the fuse within the unit is 5Amps or less. But if that was the issue, I would suspect that would blow when lawn mower is on, so my question is what device is the lawn mower taking out?
What do you have?
It might be that the neutral to the external socket is connected to the wrong neutral bar in the consumeb unit.
A load on the socket of less 7 watts will draw less than 30 milli-amps so would not cause the RCD to trip even though the neutral was in the wrong bar.
The radio is almost certainly less than 7 watts so will not trip the RCD
What is the wattage of the water feature ?
A load on the socket of less 7 watts will draw less than 30 milli-amps so would not cause the RCD to trip even though the neutral was in the wrong bar.
The radio is almost certainly less than 7 watts so will not trip the RCD
What is the wattage of the water feature ?
I changed the earthing wire in the outdoor socket to the other earthing hole there was only one neutral hole so that couldn't go anywhere else?
My RCD is a portable one where I have to plug in the outdoor supply into it then plug the RCD in the mains socket in the conservatory?
I take it the pics are breakers for the in house fuse box?
The pump is rated at 31w 230v
My RCD is a portable one where I have to plug in the outdoor supply into it then plug the RCD in the mains socket in the conservatory?
I take it the pics are breakers for the in house fuse box?
The pump is rated at 31w 230v
The neutral that may have been in the wrong neutral bar in the consumer unit (fuse box) in the house was if that RCD was tripping.
But as the pump is more than 10 watts a misplaced neutral in the fuse box would have cause the RCD to trip every time the pump had been used in past. [/u]
But as the pump is more than 10 watts a misplaced neutral in the fuse box would have cause the RCD to trip every time the pump had been used in past. [/u]
That's not what he said:
That's not what you said:
But I'm confused:
What, out of that lot, is actually supplied via a cable plugged into a socket in the conservatory?
And how did you break into an armoured cable to add a socket?
So it's a high possibility that a neutral is not on the correct neutral bar in the consumer unit I.e the main in house switch board?
Please bare with me as I don't no all the lingo.....
When I said its tripping the RCD I also removed it and tried the plug straight into the wall socket which runs off the mains.
From the conservatory power socket which is off mains.... I have an RCD plugged in which keep tripping as the plug which goes into it goes out of the side of the conservatory which is not an armoured cable then it disappears underground and then reappears as armoured cable that runs up the side of the garden to the end of the cable where I have put an outdoor 2 socket plug.
Hope that clears things up.
Please bare with me as I don't no all the lingo.....
When I said its tripping the RCD I also removed it and tried the plug straight into the wall socket which runs off the mains.
From the conservatory power socket which is off mains.... I have an RCD plugged in which keep tripping as the plug which goes into it goes out of the side of the conservatory which is not an armoured cable then it disappears underground and then reappears as armoured cable that runs up the side of the garden to the end of the cable where I have put an outdoor 2 socket plug.
Hope that clears things up.
Not IMO.
So the whole outside installation is powered via a plug on the end of a cable coming through a wall?
That's horrible.
Anyway, the first place I'd look is at the unarmoured cable buried in the ground - there's a reason that's not allowed.
How did you fit a socket to the end of the armoured cable, BTW?
How many cores does the armoured cable have?
//www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:swa-gland
I don't know how many cores, it is standard armoured cable?
The armoured cable is concreted in the ground at the front of the conservatory and the next time I see it is it come through into the conservatory at the back in the form of a "non-armoured cable with a plug on it?
How did I fit a socket on the armoured cable at the top of the garden? I stripped the end and connected it to outdoor double socket? What am I missing here?
The armoured cable is concreted in the ground at the front of the conservatory and the next time I see it is it come through into the conservatory at the back in the form of a "non-armoured cable with a plug on it?
How did I fit a socket on the armoured cable at the top of the garden? I stripped the end and connected it to outdoor double socket? What am I missing here?
Armoured cable has a layer of steel wrapped around it that needs terminating into a gland
like this:
like this:
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