Sidewinder Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Hi all, Every time we have a nice thunder clap / lightning bolt in close (+-100m) proximity from the house, the last RCB trips. A simple push down and up reset is done till the next time, which has been quite regular. Just for info, I have Schneider RCD before and after Inverter, then approx. 50m of underground armor cable to house with it's own RCB (older green type), which is the one tripping. The PV, Inverter, and all intermediate DB's have their own RCD, earth cable & Rod. My incoming AC is via 180m 4 core underground armour cable. Do I just take the plunge and replace the "faulty/sensitive" RCB, or is their a way to test this 50mA leakage current spec. I only have a Fluke voltmeter to test with. Any other causes I need to look for? Many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johandup Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) Read about this topic on forumsa. A lot was posted which you can read up. Testing for earths etc requires expensive equipment. I assume you don’t know if your earth spikes are right and connected correctly. Don’t assume the rcb is faulty. When it trips it is doing its job. It will always do this when the live and neutral volts differ. I had faulty Schneider / AcDc rcbs and will not buy them again. You must invest in surge suppressors to safeguard your system. Rather get a recommended electrician to do the testing. My setup has a rcb next to the mains isolator and another one after the isolator feeding the inverter with 230v. But my db is also split into a high and low (from the inverter) amps sides. i found that a rcb after the inverter gave me nuisance trips and I removed it. The one with the lowest ma (measured) will always trip first. The quality of the rcbs vary a lot. You can buy a plug tester (from livecopper) to test the ma at which plugs will trip. But it is a rough test. Of interest is that many people find that a rcb will trip when the inverter switch from mains to batteries. It happens to my system. So it also matters how your system is set up. Edited January 28, 2019 by Johandup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 1 hour ago, Johandup said: Testing for earths etc requires expensive equipment. True. @Sidewinder have a electrician test the board and bonding. 30min - 1 hour tops. And IF there is a problem ... ouch ... been there done that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 1 hour ago, Johandup said: i found that a rcb after the inverter gave me nuisance trips and I removed it. That is technically illegal. If it feeds sockets, it must have an RCD. 1 hour ago, Johandup said: The one with the lowest ma (measured) will always trip first Or both will trip, especially if they are the same model. The device is half-mechanical, once the electro-magnetic bit has moved far enough the spring-loading takes over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johandup Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 42 minutes ago, plonkster said: That is technically illegal. If it feeds sockets, it must have an RCD. Which I still have - now next to the inverter side main isolator. ___ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidewinder Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 I have the same. Rcd @ inv. (Garage) and the offendong party at home. So technically correct, but i'm sure the rules have something that the rcd and the isolator must/should be co-located. Makes sence to me. Btw. I'm almost sure that this (tripping) was present in my pre offgrid setup. I have regular 3p incoming, which means bonding is present. The rcb is standard CBI one, and has been previously replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johandup Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I am sure a 3 phase system is more complex than a single phase one. A simple 5ma leak can kill a human. You really need to get the experts in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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