Washing machine trip the breaker

[sew333]

I am living on 4 floor block.Apartment nr 1.

Year ago when my mother running oven, a bulb inside oven get burned ( short circuit ),then RCD trip of course and power in home goes off. After switching back RCD ( fuse box in home ) power back but only in wall sockets in entire home. But there was not light in all home.

My neighbourhood helped. He said that something in main fuse box in staircase ( 1 floor ) damaged/burned/broken. Of course it was only connected to my apartment.

I dont know what, a fuse or breaker?
He bought new fuse,breaker?! change it and lights back again in my home. But he changed something in staircase main fuse box,not in my home fuse box.
All devices was working great still after that.

So question. Washer issue was the same like that with oven year ago?
I mean if all devices was working great after oven case,so after washer case they will be working fine too? No difference at all? Yeah but with oven rcd tripped + something damaged in staircase,when after washer only rcd tripped,thats all.

 

[KevinW]

It's inside the mains plug

Thanks for that, we don't have that here.

 

[sew333]

So?

 

[unclejed613]

333, electrical systems vary a lot geographically. what's considered "safe" wiring in one country might not hold true in another country. if you live in an older building, the wiring there may have been up to code (meeting the legal requirements) for that time, but may now be horribly out of date. from what you have described, your washing machine motor was overloaded and blew the breaker. nobody here can say with any certainty what the condition of your apartment building's wiring is.

 

[Reloadron]

You may want to give this a read. RCDs (residual current devices) serve as protection against electrical shock and electrocution. Everyone needs a functional switch installed in their building (or connected to their appliances) for maximum protection.

You mentioned in your first post the washing machine was under a heavier load than normal which in turn may cause the washing machine motor to draw more current. The additional current combined with any other loads on the circuit may have simply exceeded the RCDs limit so it tripped. The washing machine may also have had a problem with leakage current which is what a RCD is designed to trip for. Any small leak or excessive moisture, common with a washing machine, can provide an unintended ground path and trip a RCD.

My understanding of a RCD is what we call in the US a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupt) breaker. Anyway, those are my guesses and since the problem won't repeat it's anyone's guess as to the cause since the tripping is merely a symptom.

Ron

 

[sew333]

So question. Washer issue was the same like that with oven year ago?
I mean if all devices was working great after oven case,so after washer case they will be working fine too? No difference at all? Yeah but with oven rcd tripped + something damaged in staircase,when after washer only rcd tripped,thats all.


NOT depending loads on the circuit . Everything was turned off only washer and RCD was tripped too.

 

[sew333]

Somebody said this:"the main should never pop before the smaller breakers EVER unless something is wrong "

So smaller one should trip or what?

 

[Les Jones]

The main breaker by which I assume you mean the RCD trips due to leakage to earth. (Normally anything more than 30 mA in the UK) (NOT overcurrent.) The small breakers by which I assume you mean MCBs trip due to overcurrent in the live conductor. Which one trips depends on the type of fault.

Les.

 

[sew333]

I mean if all devices was working great after oven case,so after washer case they will be working fine too and i can plug pc? No difference at all? Yeah but with oven rcd tripped + something damaged in staircase,when after washer only rcd tripped,thats all.

 

[Les Jones]

"something damaged in staircase, " does not tell us much. We would need to know EXACTLY what the damage was to comment on it. I see no reason not to plug your PC in.

Les.

 

[sew333]

Just ask mainly is there any difference between ? But like i said with oven case year ago,RCD tripped in house fuse box + fuse blowed on fuse box on my staircase ( of course it was my separate fuse, only connected to my apartment ). After resetting TRIP power in wall sockets back but there was no light in house.
After changing fuse,lights back.

I mean if all devices was working great after oven case,so after washer case they will be working fine too and i can plug pc?

 

[Les Jones]

As I said in post #48 it only takes about 30 mA leakage to earth to cause the RCD to trip. No MCB will trip or fuse blow with that current. The item that blew the fuse and tripped the RCD a year ago must have been fed from the fuse that blew on the staircase and the lighting circuit must have been fed from this fuse, IF the sequence of events was EXACTLY as you describe it then the fuse thet blew must have been fed from the output side of the RCD The feed to the fuse probably came from one of the MCBs in the consumer unit. (As it seems an odd way of wiring it is just possible the feed to the fuse was tapped directly off the busbar that feeds the MCBs. (This is not very likely.)).


Les.

 

[sew333]

So i can plug pc now? (parts are in boxes ). And now i no have any issues with RCD tripping.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

So i can plug pc now? (parts are in boxes ). And now i no have any issues with RCD tripping.

As we've said repeatedly, there's never been any reason not to, your only issue was the washing machine.

 

[sew333]

Last question.

Is this possible that neighbourhood swap a fuse connected to my apartment in staircase fusebox? And thats why washing machine was triiping.
I mean swap to weaker fuse etc. Or maybe i am paranoid? Just dont like that neighbourhood he is living above my apartment.

 

[Les Jones]

No. We have all told you several times that the fault in you washing machine was leakage to earth as it was tripping the RCB. There has never been any reason to suspect an overcurrent problem. (Which is what trips MCBs and blows fuses.) If a fuse was changed to a lower rating than the current required by your washing machine then it would have been THAT FUSE that blew. It would have NOT caused your RCB to trip. If that fuse had blown then your washing machine would not work until that blown fuse had been replaced with a good one.

Les.

 

[sew333]

So no possible that neighbourhood...?

 

[sew333]

Hello last question. Today i get power outage in my home. Outage was something like 7-8 seconds and power back. No breaker trip in HOME fuse box etc,just normal power outage.
But today was very windy outside. Maybe it was this related?
My question is this possible that neighbourhood swap a fuse connected to my apartment but in staircase fusebox?

 

[Reloadron]

I have no idea how your apartment complex is configured. I have never seen an apartment complex where the power to any individual apartment is accessible to other residents. Issues with any other occupant removing power to your apartment is an issue between you and the property owner. Outages can and do happen for a number of reasons. An outage can be reduced to a few square blocks or they can be widespread.

While members here can tell you how power is delivered nobody here can tell you why you may experience a power outage on any given day in your specific area. I live in Cleveland, Ohio USA and at any given time I can look at this map and know if anywhere in my area is experiencing an outage. Call your provider and ask if there was a brief outage in your area. That is the best I can tell you. Ask neighbors if they experienced an outage? I have no clue as to your location, your provider or any other information as to your building's power distribution.

Ron

 

[sew333]

Today i get power outage in my home. Outage was something like 7-8 seconds and power back. No breaker trip in HOME fuse box etc,just normal power outage.
But today was very windy outside. Maybe it was this related?
My question is this possible that malicious
neighbourhood swap a fuse connected to my apartment but in staircase fusebox? I dont ask other neighbourhoods about outage.