Sauna blows all fuses

[longdogs]

Hi

I have a friend who has a sauna room at the end of the garden. The sauna room is built within a larger cabin type building and was installed about 30 years ago. The sauna which is an electric type is wired from his house fuse box (old type fuse box- no breakers) and buried underground up to another fuse box in the cabin (again old type fuse box). There are four fuses within the box x2 for lights, a 20amp -not sure what thats for and a 32amp which protects the sauna via a dedicated sauna control box which incorporates an on/off temperature dial.

Recently, whenever the sauna is switched on, it blows all the fuses in the cabin and in the house. If however just the lights are switched on its fine.
We have checked for any loose connections/ bare wires etc but everything seems in order. The lights work ok so I am assuming that the buried cable is ok.

Anyone ever come accross this before?

Any advice welcome

Thanks.

 

[sparkybird]

I think you need to get an electrician in with some test equipment - they will be able to trace the problem - but might also want to upgrade to RCD protection for the sauna before reconnecting - I know I would!

 

[RF Lighting]

It'll be a fault with the sauna.

As has been said, now would be a good time to have the installation inspected whist the fault is being traced / repaired.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

How would the sauna take out the circuits in the outbuilding to which it is not connected, i.e. the 2 lighting ones and the mystery 20A?

 

[RF Lighting]

I read it to mean the sauna is blowing the submain fuse, which is causing all the circuits in the cabin to lose power.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Recently, whenever the sauna is switched on, it blows all the fuses in the cabin and in the house.

 

[RF Lighting]

And I think we all know that isn't what's really happening, what with it not actually being possible.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Well maybe squeaky would like to explain why he said it was doing that, then, and explain why he thought that saying it would be helpful.

 

[dingodeano]

My advice to anybody who has an outbuilding with a 30 year old sauna room protected by rewireable fuses and no RCD protection would be to get an electrician out to check it.
When friend looses all the power how does he rectify it?

 

[longdogs]

Thanks everyone

I think he realises that it's time to get someone in and as you say it would be a good idea to change the old fuse boxes. I think he was just trying to narrow it down a bit so that he could get the right person in for the job either an electrician or a sauna specialist.

Thanks for your comments.

 

[securespark]

So I guess not all the fuses are blowing?