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Electric Shower tripping

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  • 23-06-2021 5:59pm
    #1
    MissShihTzu
    Registered Users Posts: 1,080 ✭✭✭


    Hi

    As the title says, our electric shower keeps tripping if you're in it more than 5 minutes (me! :D). You then have to push the switch on the fusebox back up for it to work

    I think maybe it might be the fuse - the shower itself is new enough (Mira about 3 years old).

    Anyone else have any ideas?

    TIA :)


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    #2
    punisher5112
    Registered Users Posts: 24,647 ✭✭✭✭punisher5112


    Get it checked straight away....

    Could be leakage on neutral etc or water getting into somewhere or loose connection.

    Very important to get it checked.

    Is the RCD/rcbo tripping or mcb


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    #3
    Sleeper12
    Registered Users Posts: 16,878 ✭✭✭✭Sleeper12


    Very unlikely to be the shower itself. Much more likely to be a faulty RCBO. As stated above get RECI electrician to check it ASAP. Personally I would use the shower until fault is repaired

    Edit: wouldn't use it


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    #4
    Terry..
    Closed Accounts Posts: 103 ✭✭Terry..


    Sleeper12 wrote: »
    Very unlikely to be the shower itself. Much more likely to be a faulty RCBO. As stated above get RECI electrician to check it ASAP. Personally I would use the shower until fault is repaired

    Edit: wouldn't use it

    I know you're in the faulty RCBO camp from your experience fitting showers

    But honestly I still don't understand where you're getting this from


    It's never been my experience that an RCBO trip is "most likely" to be a faulty RCBO


    I'm troubleshooting trips for as long as I can remember and replacing the RCD/RCBO isn't a most likely outcome


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    #5
    MissShihTzu
    Registered Users Posts: 1,080 ✭✭✭MissShihTzu


    Thank you for the replies. Can I ask?

    What is/are RCB, RCBO, RCD?? :confused:


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    #6
    Sleeper12
    Registered Users Posts: 16,878 ✭✭✭✭Sleeper12


    Terry.. wrote:
    But honestly I still don't understand where you're getting this from


    If the shower has a faulty element or motor then it will usually trip instantly. Motors is modern showers are low voltage and not earthed. Tripping after 5 minutes of use could be water getting into the shower or a leak inside the shower but very unlikely in a 3 years old shower.

    Statistically speaking it's probably 40 or 50 times more likely to be a faulty RCBO than a shower fault.

    Obviously no one can say for sure without actually investigating. I wish more posters would come back & report the actual fault once repaired on the threads. I always like to know the end of the story regardless of who is right or wrong


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    #7
    Sleeper12
    Registered Users Posts: 16,878 ✭✭✭✭Sleeper12


    MissShihTzu wrote:
    What is/are RCB, RCBO, RCD??


    Trip switches at the fuse box


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    #8
    Lenar3556
    Registered Users Posts: 1,350 ✭✭✭Lenar3556


    MissShihTzu wrote: »
    Hi

    As the title says, our electric shower keeps tripping if you're in it more than 5 minutes (me! :D). You then have to push the switch on the fusebox back up for it to work

    I think maybe it might be the fuse - the shower itself is new enough (Mira about 3 years old).

    Anyone else have any ideas?

    TIA :)

    Was the shower a replacement for a previous one?
    When roughly would the shower wiring have been carried out?
    A photograph of the shower and also your fuse board may be helpful.


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    #9
    meercat
    Registered Users Posts: 4,726 ✭✭✭meercat


    Sleeper12 wrote: »
    Very unlikely to be the shower itself. Much more likely to be a faulty RCBO. As stated above get RECI electrician to check it ASAP. Personally I would use the shower until fault is repaired

    Edit: wouldn't use it

    +1


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    #10
    Meeoow
    Registered Users Posts: 620 ✭✭✭Meeoow


    If you switch on the pull cord but do not start the shower, it should trip if its the fuse.
    Otherwise if it is only when the shower is started, then it is the shower.


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    #11
    Terry..
    Closed Accounts Posts: 103 ✭✭Terry..


    Meeoow wrote: »
    If you switch on the pull cord but do not start the shower, it should trip if its the fuse.
    Otherwise if it is only when the shower is started, then it is the shower.

    Hmm definitely not true


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    #12
    Bruthal.
    Registered Users Posts: 209 ✭✭Bruthal.


    Meeoow wrote: »
    If you switch on the pull cord but do not start the shower, it should trip if its the fuse.
    Otherwise if it is only when the shower is started, then it is the shower.

    So if we had a 32A mcb and a 45 amp shower, does that explanation work?


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    #13
    Meeoow
    Registered Users Posts: 620 ✭✭✭Meeoow


    Terry.. wrote: »
    Hmm definitely not true

    Just what I was told before by a spark. I stand corrected.


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    #14
    Lenar3556
    Registered Users Posts: 1,350 ✭✭✭Lenar3556


    Bruthal. wrote: »
    So if we had a 32A mcb and a 45 amp shower, does that explanation work?

    Indeed it does. It would be a good fit with the description of the issue.

    Such a situation could arise if an older shower was replaced, and consideration wasn’t given to it being a higher KW. Or it could simply be an incorrectly sized MCB / RCBO and or cabling. In the past showers tended to be protected with 32A overcurrent protection.


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    #15
    Lenar3556
    Registered Users Posts: 1,350 ✭✭✭Lenar3556


    Meeoow wrote: »
    Just what I was told before by a spark. I stand corrected.

    What you say is not completely without merit, and in the case of cabling faults for example the technique you describe may provide some insight as to the location of the fault.

    But it’s not a comprehensive test, and very few conclusions could be drawn from it.

    In this particular case the tripping occurs when the installation is subjected to sustained load for a period - and for this symptom what you describe isn’t likely to cut it I’m afraid!


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    #16
    Bruthal.
    Registered Users Posts: 209 ✭✭Bruthal.


    Lenar3556 wrote: »
    Indeed it does. It would be a good fit with the description of the issue.

    Such a situation could arise if an older shower was replaced, and consideration wasn’t given to it being a higher KW. Or it could simply be an incorrectly sized MCB / RCBO and or cabling. In the past showers tended to be protected with 32A overcurrent protection.

    Well my question was to the poster who said....
    If you switch on the pull cord but do not start the shower, it should trip if its the fuse.
    Otherwise if it is only when the shower is started, then it is the shower.
    That is not really a realistic diagnostic method to show the protective device is the problem.

    The original problem however, obviously an undersized MCB can be the problem.


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    #17
    Sleeper12
    Registered Users Posts: 16,878 ✭✭✭✭Sleeper12


    MissShihTzu wrote:
    Anyone else have any ideas?


    Any updates on this?


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    #18
    MissShihTzu
    Registered Users Posts: 1,080 ✭✭✭MissShihTzu


    Hi

    Just to come back on this...

    The issue seems to be intermittent - shower worked OK for a week, then tripped again this morning. I think the suggestion of the fusebox overloading could be a good one. The wiring's pretty old, and I have a feeling the fusebox will need to be replaced at the very least. The shower was replaced as the pump on the existing one failed.

    I'm waiting for a sparks to come back to me, as I need to get it inspected.

    Thanks all! :)


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    #19
    punisher5112
    Registered Users Posts: 24,647 ✭✭✭✭punisher5112


    Of and when you do upgrade get some seperation of RCD protection to protect against losing all sockets.
    Ask about spreading out more on a few extra rcbo and this would include having shower on its own of course.


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    #20
    Henry...
    Closed Accounts Posts: 173 ✭✭Henry...


    punisher5112 wrote: »
    Of and when you do upgrade get some seperation of RCD protection to protect against losing all sockets.
    Ask about spreading out more on a few extra rcbo and this would include having shower on its own of course.

    When I first started doing that years ago adding Rcbos to sort out random trips and minimise loss of power

    The comical thing was that instead of 1 shared Rcd tripping you could now end up with 2 or more Rcbos tripping depending on the type of installation

    Overall the way to go though


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