November 14, 20223 yr I have this surge protector: https://www.takealot.com/high-surge-protection-8-way-multi-plug-with-r30-000-warranty/PLID27971525 When I plug it in, all 3 lights are on - which means "no earth" according to the diagram attached. Does this mean my surge protector is not working? its quite an old house I'm renting.
November 15, 20223 yr 7 hours ago, jeddles said: Does this mean my surge protector is not working? Yes, if you have no earth then the surge protection won't be working properly. A surge is usually handled via a MOV and then it travels to earth. All plug points should be earthed for safety to prevent electric shock anyway, so I would suggest getting an electrician to sort it out.
November 15, 20223 yr 7 hours ago, jeddles said: Does this mean my surge protector is not working? its quite an old house I'm renting. I guess, there may not be Neutral-Earth bonding on the socket you are plugging into, or no actual earth connection back to the distribution board and if there's a Earth leakage/Ground Fault Interruptor switch installed (it should have) it likely would never trip if a fault occured at the socket you are using...
November 15, 20223 yr Author Thanks guys, at least now I know I wasn't being paranoid about unplugging during loadshedding. What exactly do I need to ask an electrician to come do? "my plugs are not correctly earthed"? Like I said, its an old house that I'm renting from a (very) old tannie. Is it possible this is just how old wiring was done
November 15, 20223 yr 31 minutes ago, jeddles said: Like I said, its an old house that I'm renting from a (very) old tannie. Is it possible this is just how old wiring was done Unlikely. Earthing of electrical circuits is not a new fangled idea. It may be something as simple as a loose connection inside the wall socket. I would try plugging this device in at various plug points in different parts of the house. If you get the same error everywhere then there's a general problem with the wiring (and you should inform the owner). If it's just one plug point then don't use that one until it's fixed. When you speak to an electrician, just describe what you have observed. Edited November 15, 20223 yr by Bobster. clarity
January 8, 20233 yr Very old houses did not have earth leakage. They had "fuses" only, there were later replaced by circuit breakers. There is still some old houses i know of that only has a "Fuse Box" in the kitchen. with fuse wire in paper envelopes to repair the blown fuse. By it might be that the Earth connection has corroded away, common occurrence here where i live as the salt in the soil destroy any conductor. They had to install 10.5m earth rod to get a proper earth value when i bought the property.
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