Triton T90Z tripping

dodzy

Hi folks,

T90Z installed approx 20mths ago. Moderate use. Started tripping about 6 weeks ago. Isolator swtich (pull-chord, which was stuck) was bypassed to eliminate that as an issue (45AMP junction box with block connectors) fitted in place as a temp fault find and all was well up until this week. Tripping the RCBO again now. Shower is pretty young. Any suggestions ? AFAIK, there would have been a 12mth warranty (Woodies) ?

Sleeper12

Does it trip every time. Instantly? Does it trip with power selector set to cold? Is it intermittent tripping?

Intermittent tripping suggests a faulty rcbo.

Tripping when only set to hot suggests faulty element.

Instant tripping on cold suggests faulty pump.

You have a 24 months warranty so if it is the shower rather than the rcbo then triton will repair for free so long as you don't void the warranty

dodzy

Sleeper12 wrote: »

Does it trip every time. Instantly? Does it trip with power selector set to cold? Is it intermittent tripping?

Intermittent tripping suggests a faulty rcbo.

Tripping when only set to hot suggests faulty element.

Instant tripping on cold suggests faulty pump.

You have a 24 months warranty so if it is the shower rather than the rcbo then triton will repair for free so long as you don't void the warranty

Cheers sleeper. I asked the tenant yesterday to test exactly as you suggest:

Run on full cold to see if anything trips
Run on full heat to ascertain same and try to gauge the time taken to trip (on either).

Good to hear its 2yr warranty. Would that be through Earthridge or just deal with Woodies as point of purchase ?

If its the RCBO, then happy days. Are they difficult to test without specific equipment ? I know that they are small money so swapping one out to eliminate that as a potential cause is no hassle.

Sleeper12

dodzy wrote:

Good to hear its 2yr warranty. Would that be through Earthridge or just deal with Woodies as point of purchase ?

Ring the number on the shower for warranty.

dodzy wrote:

If its the RCBO, then happy days. Are they difficult to test without specific equipment ? I know that they are small money so swapping one out to eliminate that as a potential cause is no hassle.

You will need a registered electrical contractor to replace the rcbo. You need to get a cert from them. It illegal for anyone else including yourself to go near the rcbo.

dodzy

Sleeper12 wrote: »

Ring the number on the shower for warranty.



You will need a registered electrical contractor to replace the rcbo. You need to get a cert from them.It illegal for anyone else including yourself to go near the rcbo.

I'm aware of this.

dodzy

Ran the shower on full heat, every 30-40 secs, there is an audible difference in the motor, after which the water runs cold for approx 20 secs, then another audible change, a brief pulsation in the water flow and the heat returns. This repeats constantly. Twould indicate a fault in the unit I guess. Time to call earthridge:(

Sleeper12

dodzy wrote:

Ran the shower on full heat, every 30-40 secs, there is an audible difference in the motor, after which the water runs cold for approx 20 secs, then another audible change, a brief pulsation in the water flow and the heat returns. This repeats constantly. Twould indicate a fault in the unit I guess. Time to call earthridge

When you say on full heat, how hot are you talking about? If it is too hot a safety device kicks in & the water goes stone cold. It then resets & it starts again. It sounds like the shower is working fine & the issue is with the rcbo.
If the motor is causing the tripping it trips as soon as the shower is powered on.
Don't forget if you call triton out & there isn't a fault with the shower they'll charge you €70

dodzy

Sleeper12 wrote: »

When you say on full heat, how hot are you talking about? If it is too hot a safety device kicks in & the water goes stone cold. It then resets & it starts again. It sounds like the shower is working fine & the issue is with the rcbo.
If the motor is causing the tripping it trips as soon as the shower is powered on.
Don't forget if you call triton out & there isn't a fault with the shower they'll charge you €70

Cheers very much sleeper, yes, full heat (both knobs fully clockwise). I wasn't aware of the safety 'cooler' feature on the t90z! I ran it for 20 mins on this setting to try to force a trip and there was no issue apart from the sequential cooling and reheating. The internals visually look fine (very little sooting) as the unit is well under 2yrs old with moderate usage and no indication of any burnt contact points. I'll get the RCBO swapped out if it trips again.

Bruthal

dodzy wrote: »

Ran the shower on full heat, every 30-40 secs, there is an audible difference in the motor, after which the water runs cold for approx 20 secs, then another audible change, a brief pulsation in the water flow and the heat returns. This repeats constantly. Twould indicate a fault in the unit I guess. Time to call earthridge:(

The audable difference in the motor is caused by elements switching off. Voltage rises slightly at the shower with the load reduction, so the motor speeds up a little.

If you have the water temperature dial to hottest setting, the shower will trip it's overheat cutout, then reset when it cools again, particularly with full elements on, and in summer with attic tank water a bit warmer to start with.

So that would be normal.