elcb

[stephendorey]

heres the problem. i am in a house and the elcb trips when one of the breakers are pushed up. it started when the shower was on. but the shower is on a different feed. i diss connected ever socket on the ciruit. but if you push up the elcb and then the breaker it stays up for about 10 to 15 seconds and trips again. this house is old. and looks like a nightmare. any ideas?

 

[Spark123]

Firstly is the ELCB Voltage operated or Current operated?
Voltage operated have been removed from the regs for some time now and they can be rendered useless by main bonding.
Current operated ELCB are just the early name for an RCD.
What is your supply type too?
The problem could be one of a number of things - if it in a current operated version I suspect a N-E fault on a circuit somewhere, when there is a high current appliance in use there is enough voltage between neutral and earth to allow enough current to flow down the earth wire to trip the RCD.
If it is a voltage operated ELCB it should be replaced.

 

[sparkyspike]

Opening breakers only disconnects the live, not the neutral (normally), so a neutral to earth fault can still trip an RCD. This is because some, or all, circuits share a common neutral. When the shower is on, the current returning in the neutral can then pass into the neutral of another circuit. If there is a neutral-earth fault on the other circuit, the current can pass to earth.