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my oven has started shorting the power to the whole house, as soon as i turn it on.
I have done a variety of minor electrical jobs around the house as well as a module about lighting rigs at college so have a basic knowledge of wiring etc.
would it be safe for me to take the box off the wall and change the fuse (is there one??) i don't know anything about ovens and why they are wired in that way.
or is it likely to be a problem with the cooker itself rather than a fuse? can't really afford to get someone out to look at it.
if someone could explain it to me or advise me to keep away, i'd be grateful (obviously i'd turn it of at the mains first!)
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The power to the whole house just goes off and will only come back on by flipping the trip switch back on. Cant see RCD on it but it says on it (its a fairly oldish box) -
240v 50hz
63a load
30m A Trip
CAT WES 63/2
current operated earth leakage circuit breaker
(brand name is wylex)
this is all it says on the front
it has on/off switch and a 'test monthly ' switch.
there are 6 fuses (one has a red front) and the fusewires are all checked and fine.
does any of this make any sense to you?
thanks for your help
i haven't done anything connected with the mains in years, and they were only simple things like new light fitting and connecting a new light switch, following step by step instructions.
other jobs were not connected to the mains and relate to appliances, plugs, extension leads etc, and building a computer.
these have all been fine and never caused a problem. the cooker has always been fine too.
this only occurs when the cooker is switched on.
i just need to know if it can be fixed as simply as changing a fuse.
Just to clarify. The earth leakage circuit breaker (trip) compares the current flowing in the live and neutral lines. If there is any difference it means that difference in current is flowing along the earth line or through a different path to earth (maybe plumbing pipes etc). It is designed to trip when this difference exceed a certain amperage of current flow. It is not designed to protect against a short circuit but only when current does not return via the neutral line.
This suggests (as mentioned before) that although parts of your cooker may not be short-circuiting (between live and neutral) they may be physically 'shorting' to earth. This would not pose a problem if humans were not involved. But, because you may touch the metal of the cooker, you will become part of the current path to earth and have a current pass through you. It only take a few milliamps (a few thousands of an Amp) to kill you.
Please get a qualified electrician in to sort it.