Random appliances tripping Earth Leakage

[Jonny_9]

Hi all!
Moved to Dirtbin less than a year ago and a few appliances have been tripping the ELCB seems especially when humidity is high. The pretty new Defy microwave, a pretty high-end iron and a kettle.

Now, these items did not trip ELCB before moving here. And I really don't want to chuck them out. And an appliance repair for each piece will, in my very humble guesstimate, be more than replacement value.

What the hell do I do? What are the possible reasons for these relatively new appliances to be intermittently tripping the ELCB - especially in high humidity?

 

[Binary_Bark]

Depending on where in Durban you live.
Have you tried these appliances on different plugs?

 

[GMAN03]

Get a sparky out with a ramp tester to verify that the ELCB is actually tripping at 30mA and not too much lower.

I had an issue when I moved into my new place and we then isolated the fault to the lighting circuit. Turned out a day/night switch was wired with the common neutral incorrectly wired to earth. This resulted in the current the switch drew not going through neutral which resulted in a baseline leakage of 25mA so an additional 5mA was enough to trip it.

 

[argh]

About 2 years ago, this happened in my house where I had lived for 18 years. I booked an electrician to assess and repair. Found burned-out wires in my roof, which he thought were due to repeated minor damage from things like lightening strikes and power outages. After about 2 hours work, in the roof, at the mains board, and a couple of light fitting, all was working well again.

So, it may not be the appliances, but wiring and other electrical issues in the house. Call an electrician, who will be able to find the cause(s) and fix them for you. Good luck!

 

[me_]

I had a similar issue due to a neutral to earth fault in a plug point. It would cause random trips mostly when heavy appliances were switched on. Eventually tested all plugs and found 1 that wasn't working. Opened it and found the Neutral wire had come loose and was touching the unsheathed earth wire leading to the trip.

 

[Sinbad]

Your EL breaker could also be old and over-sensitive...

 

[Jonny_9]

Thank you all for the replies. Much appreciated.
So it seems that it does not necessarily mean that the appliances are at fault as it could potentially be the wall plug point/s electrical wiring, ELCB itself or other issues

To answer one of the questions @Hephaestus - I am in Kloof

Thanks @GMAN03 I guess I should get a sparky- but the bugger will probably charge the value of a new microwave....

 

[Tacet]

EL's tend to become more sensitive with age. If it was my house I'd replace it as a first step. Personally I prefer to have a separate EL and main breaker - it makes replacing either a bit cheaper. But that's up to personal preference.