RCD trips as soon as shower turned on

[kmorris]

I have a shower that has been working fine for years.

This morning as soon as I turned it on the RCD tripped (not the fuse for the shower circuit itself)

I can reset the RCD, and everything else seems okay but as soon as I try turning on the shower it goes.

Nothing has changed fusebox, wiring or shower wise. The only other things running at the time were the TV, DVD player and some lamps. The shower heats the water up itself so is not reliant on the boiler/central heating.

Any ideas? - is it likely to be something like water having got into the mechanism or something more complicated?

Thanks,
Kate

 

[londonboy]

Possibly the element has split inside the shower, how old is it?

Could be due a replacement.

 

[kmorris]

Not sure exactly - it was already in place when I moved to the property 6 years ago - I suspect it'd had been there for a few years before that.

Thanks,
Kate

 

[Chri5]

I have a shower that has been working fine for years.

Showers age quite quickly and rcd's and water heating devices can be 'unfriendly' towards each other.

It might be water / damp- but if so then something such as a seal has failed because the trip wasn't happening before.

New shower units range from £90+ supply only, for simplification of replacement seek out the same or modern day variant of the existing unit.
Hopefully the connection point for the water and power will be the same.

Take care with the new units energy use size. Some run 10.5kw, when load of old one's run at 8.5kw and frequently require both a bigger fuse and updating of the cable.

Check your fuse board for the existing shower units load rating, if it's a 40 amp then (40 x 230v = 10.2kw) the new unit MUST not be more than 10kw.

Here's a link for a range of showers

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Showers_Index/index.html

Although you should confirm with the trades person that they are ok with you buying the item.
Showers and water and power don't mix, make sure the person doing the job is up to it.