Clothes dryer fault

[Tha fios agaibh]

Not necessarily the case.
Earthing of the appliances is a common arrangement to divert any leakage.
It is still allowable by SAA to have existing installations run cooktops and ovens by this arrangement.
Power circuits were the first to changeover to elcb on existing installations followed by lighting ,the latter if any work carried out on the lighting system.

I didn't say it wasn't allowed.
I was merely stating that this dryer has a know ground fault. Therefore it's wise to use caution when plugging it into a non rcd protected circuit.

 

[Eric Oppel]

OK, the generator ran the toaster oven successfully with no loss of output voltage and has dried out the elements. Now to try the same with the slightly higher powered dryer. Fingers crossed!

 

[Bluejets]

I didn't say it wasn't allowed.
I was merely stating that this dryer has a know ground fault. Therefore it's wise to use caution when plugging it into a non rcd protected circuit.

I think it goes without saying that any work carried out on any mains equipment should be with caution.

There seems to be a fallacy that using an elcb automatically covers any problems that may arrive when this simply is not the case.

Very few if any domestic units are ever tested proficiently unless done during upgrades where some are found to be defective and rectified immediately.

It is important that the earthing system and it's associated fault loop impedence
remain in place as a backup to any "solid state protection devices".

 

[kellys_eye]

All they are interested in is mining fossil fuels.

Why not?

Fossil fuel energy has lifted billions out of poverty and strife and would continue to do so if politics weren't corrupting the facts.

Advocates of electric vehicles seem to forget that they need ELECTRICITY to work and that the majority of it is, and for the foreseeable future will always be, generated primarily by coal, gas and nuclear sources of electricity.

Even in the ridiculous utopia of environmentalist nirvana there is absolutely NO WAY renewables (solar and wind) could produce enough energy to power the electric vehicles they want us to use - wind/solar will ALWAYS require backup and that backup will ALWAYS have to be coal, gas or nuclear.

Apologies for the off topic rant (in response to the off-topic comment).

 

[Eric Oppel]

Why not?

Fossil fuel energy has lifted billions out of poverty and strife and would continue to do so if politics weren't corrupting the facts.

Advocates of electric vehicles seem to forget that they need ELECTRICITY to work and that the majority of it is, and for the foreseeable future will always be, generated primarily by coal, gas and nuclear sources of electricity.

Even in the ridiculous utopia of environmentalist nirvana there is absolutely NO WAY renewables (solar and wind) could produce enough energy to power the electric vehicles they want us to use - wind/solar will ALWAYS require backup and that backup will ALWAYS have to be coal, gas or nuclear.

Apologies for the off topic rant (in response to the off-topic comment).

Interesting view of modern life you have there.

Perhaps you should tell it to the people these days who are already powering their own homes and their own electric cars from their own solar PV panels every day?

I'm sure they will be horrified to hear that what they are already doing every day is actually impossible!

Maybe they have been driving imaginary cars to and from their imaginary homes charged by their imaginary renewable energy?

Don't forget to also let them know that energy storage by the various means available today such as pumped hydro, batteries, molten salt and ice is also imaginary.

Thank you for enlightening us.

I'll go back to my cave now and light some more coal to keep the dinosaurs away.

 

[Eric Oppel]

OK, after running the dryer for about 30 mins on the high heat setting it now will sometimes run from the mains without tripping the ELCB.
Sometimes however it still trips it.

A new variation however is that it now also sometimes trips it when on the cool only cycle.
The plot thickens!
Who knew a electrical device such as this could be so much fun? ;-)

 

[Tha fios agaibh]

A new variation however is that it now also sometimes trips it when on the cool only cycle.

Probably because residual moisture still exists.
If your serious about finding the fault use a megometer to pinpoint it.
Also, try disconnecting both wires (at their source) going to heater to verify that its not the motor causing the fault. Isolation is a good plan.

 

[Eric Oppel]

Probably because residual moisture still exists.
If your serious about finding the fault use a megometer to pinpoint it.
Also, try disconnecting both wires (at their source) going to heater to verify that its not the motor causing the fault. Isolation is a good plan.

Yes, you're quite right.

I live in a temperate rainforest so nothing is ever really all that dry, especially now during the spring. That is despite this being the driest year since I've lived here.

It's raining again today and according to my weather station it's been around 80% humidity lately so I might wait at least for the rain to stop and then do the tests you've described.

Electrical and electronics really have a hard life here as I'm also just a few hundred metres from a salt lake.
Anything metal here corrodes rapidly and anything made of wood rots or gets eaten. Lucky the local termites only eat cellulose and not the electronics too! hahaha