[fried]

I have an electrical problem in my apartment and it's driving me mad. Any help would be appreciated.

This morning when we plugged in a blender in the kitchen it tripped the a switch in the main electrical box, not the main cutoff, but one  used to protect the induction hob/ washing machine, resulting in a complete electric cut. I reset the switch and we tried replugging the blender in other plug sockets, in the kitchen two of our three plug sockets result in the switch tripping, but not the other or any in the front room which are all on the same circuit.

We tried all the other equipment in the house, no problem. Except when we tried the induction hob, which also tripped the circuit. The cooker is on a different circuit to the plug sockets and the oven still works fine...

No fuses get tripped at any point.

I hate electrics, aven more than plumbing.

Any help would be fantastic, even just to have an idea of where the problem may lie. I'll have to call an electrician and it's going to cost me a fortune if I don't look like I know what's wrong. I'm in France, but I assume the house wiring is similiar.

[lagerstarfish]

in the kitchen two of our three plug sockets result in the switch tripping,

I'm not an electrician

possibly a fault in the wiring that goes to these 2 sockets (partially drilled through a wire whilst putting up shelves is common, as is a screw/nail through flooring)  - alternatively, skinny wires used where chunky ones should have been

... or if it has been wired like our kitchen was... take out the offending sockets and check that the wires have been fitted properly. unscrew each connector and check that the copper isn't cracked on any of the wires, maybe strip a new bit of wire before making sure the connections are a good fit - especially the one where the wire goes into one socket and out to the next. Doing this may reveal whether skinny cables (or even flex) have been used where it shoukd have been thicker

maybe turn off the electric before taking sockets out  (or make sure you video the amusing result)

[fried]

maybe turn off the electric before taking sockets out  (or make sure you video the amusing result)

fried by name and fried by nature

Checked all the plug sockets and they look O.K. The cooker is on a different circuit (or at least has a different fuse) and that still trips the switch.

We've given up. I'll get the landlord (paris town hall) to sort it out next week, although with the 2 years it took them to get our alcoholic concierge to fix a leak it might be a long (but cheaper) battle.

I think it's probably a problem on the main circuit board but I'm not an electrician either.

[lagerstarfish]

maybe get a local priest in to do an exorcism while you're waiting?

[lagerstarfish]

after Brexit, will you have to pay a fee to the French government each time you take advice from this forum?

[fried]

Poltergeists; the only logical explanation.

I'm hoping that the French goverment sort out a reciprical agreement with middle-aged expat members of some down-at-heel French sport climbing site.

[Oldmanmatt]

Poltergeists; the only logical explanation.

I'm hoping that the French goverment sort out a reciprical agreement with middle-aged expat members of some down-at-heel French sport climbing site.

What, 8aNu?



All posts either sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek or mildly mocking-in-a-friendly-way unless otherwise stated. Looking at you, here, Dense.

[fried]

Poltergeists would be preferable.

[Paul B]

So just to clarify it's not like my place where the kitchen as it is now was wired from the original cooker point, so that all of our kitchen electricals are on the same ring? I opted for a 13A dual fuel cooker as I was scared of overloading it.

You've got 2 breakers in your consumer unit one for the cooker, one for the sockets? Ratings? Anything else on at the time?

I'm not an electrician but my father in law keeps making me extend ring mains (gulp).

[fried]

The plugs and the cooker are on different circuits, or they have seperate fuses, there's also a breaker to protect the hob. The problem started when the blender was plugged in.

Anyway, I came back from a bimble, turned on the hob and it works perfectly now... bloody electrics.

[webbo]

Is there a possibility of water getting in somewhere. We had problems of things tripping the circuit and it was due to water in an outside light.

[fried]

Anything's possible, but not noticed any water. Someone in the family mentioned that it might be because of the high temperatures in Paris at the moment, not sure if there's anyway that might work.

Hob worked for  a few miutes then tripped the breaker.

[Paul B]

What's the breaker(s) rated at? I'm trying to work out if you're overloading the various circuits.

Your dishwasher / dryer / washing machine etc. weren't plugged in and on at any point were they?

[fried]

The fuses are 32 amp. The breaker looks like this (the one that trips). The washing machine etc are all permanently plugged in behind the machines. The cooker is connected directly via a domino.