Immersion Problem

wazzer1

Recently when we go to switch on the immersion, it trips the breaker at the board and therefore doesnt work. Also i noticed today when it trips, i can see a spark at the cap on the top of the top immersion where the connections are?? Any help would be greatly appreciated cheers in advan.

M cebee

you can take a look -if you know what you're doing

ntpm

wazzer1 wrote: »

Recently when we go to switch on the immersion, it trips the breaker at the board and therefore doesnt work. Also i noticed today when it trips, i can see a spark at the cap on the top of the top immersion where the connections are?? Any help would be greatly appreciated cheers in advan.

PoSounds like immersion heater is on the blink. Does the immersion trip on both sink and bath element. If so then it may be a direct short. in heater or loose cable. In is unlikely to be the thermostat. :-(

DublinDilbert

Have a feel of the tank around the element to see is it damp. Some times when the element goes it starts to weep.

Either way it sounds like the element is gone, you'll need a plumber to replace it.

Bruthal

wazzer1 wrote: »

Recently when we go to switch on the immersion, it trips the breaker at the board and therefore doesnt work. Also i noticed today when it trips, i can see a spark at the cap on the top of the top immersion where the connections are?? Any help would be greatly appreciated cheers in advan.

Which breaker is going though, if its just the immersion MCB and not the RCD then it is likely not the element itself, as its hard to see the element having a fault and not tripping the RCD. If its just the MCB it could be a short inside the immersion cap.

All assuming it has an RCD, maybe it doesnt. In which case it could be a faulty element tripping just the MCB then.

wazzer1

Thanks for the help lads, it is on an rcd, thats why i found it strange it was tripping the mcb. So more than likely a short in the thermostat or something? Ive checked under the cap, it seems dry, and no blackness on the cables or anything...

Cheers

Bruthal

wazzer1 wrote: »

Thanks for the help lads, it is on an rcd, thats why i found it strange it was tripping the mcb. So more than likely a short in the thermostat or something? Ive checked under the cap, it seems dry, and no blackness on the cables or anything...

Cheers

It would not be that unusual for the MCB to trip, but would be unlikely to be a fault within the element, or any earth fault without tripping the RCD as well. With just the MCB tripping it sounds like a live-neutral short, which cant happen within the element in any way i can think of. You could check the immersion switch itself if there is no sign of a problem in under the immersion cap. Turn off the MCB before removing the switch.

coxy123

wazzer1 wrote: »

Thanks for the help lads, it is on an rcd, thats why i found it strange it was tripping the mcb. So more than likely a short in the thermostat or something? Ive checked under the cap, it seems dry, and no blackness on the cables or anything...

Cheers

Did you manage to get a fix for this wazzer1 - if so could you share as I'm having a similar issue. tks.

Bomberman

I replace at least 4 of these a month, 95% of the time the immersion needs to be replaced. The most common problem is lime in the water eating into the element.

In a immersion you switch the neutral through the stat this is possibly why the mcb is tripping and not the rcd.

Bruthal

Bomberman wrote: »

In a immersion you switch the neutral through the stat this is possibly why the mcb is tripping and not the rcd.

The stat switching the neutral will have no bearing on the RCD not tripping. If there is a properly functioning RCD in the immersion circuit, then only a Live to Neutral short will leave the RCD untripped when the MCB trips.

So assuming a properly working RCD is in place, the fault would be very unlikely to be the actual elements themselves, but before the final connection to them, such as a L to N short under the actual immersion cap.

If it is a problem is in the actual elements, then the RCD is either not on the immersion circuit, or is faulty.

M cebee

robbie7730 wrote: »

Bomberman wrote: »

In a immersion you switch the neutral through the stat this is possibly why the mcb is tripping and not the rcd.

The stat switching the neutral will have no bearing on the RCD not tripping. If there is a properly functioning RCD in the immersion circuit, then only a Live to Neutral short will leave the RCD untripped when the MCB trips.

So assuming a properly working RCD is in place, the fault would be very unlikely to be the actual elements themselves, but before the final connection to them, such as a L to N short under the actual immersion cap.

If it is a problem is in the actual elements, then the RCD is either not on the immersion circuit, or is faulty.

yes agree

I've seen both trip on l-e short circuits

but always rcd on element fault as it's not normally a short

a section of element and water are usually in-circuit

wazzer1

coxy123 wrote: »

Did you manage to get a fix for this wazzer1 - if so could you share as I'm having a similar issue. tks.

Hi coxy, just ended up changing the element, no problems since.