home electrics tripping

[plasco]

Hi,, I have started to have a problem with my switch box and need help please. recently my RCCB has started to trip and I lose all the electrics in the house. The tripping is random and usually once a day, I have 2 laptops and if I plug in either of the laptops the switch box trips but sometimes I can plug them in and nothing trips - if it was one laptop I could assume that was causing the problem but two laptops at different times and of different make is makes me think its not them causing it but pushing something over the limit to cause it, any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[buildersmate]

Maybe it helps if you know how RCCBs (and RCDs) work. They do NOT trip because the circuit is overloaded (overcurrent). They trip because there is an earth leakage between either live to earth or from neutral to earth thta exceeds the (small) limit of 30mA that the devices are set for.
You either have a faulty RCCB or (more likely) a wiring fault in the AC/DC converter of the laptops? Does it happen if you plug the laptops into various socket points around the house?

[zig.zag]

try this plasco ,enough to blow any fuse

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zvoeeq-BH4w

the fault could be anywhere

it needs checked by someone competent
probably something minor though

[plasco]

Hi Buildersmate, thank you for replying, it does happen when I plug the laptops into different sockets around the house but the odd thing is that it doesn't happen every time I plug them in - it will happen only once a day. I spoke to the technical people at Acer and they said the current is too small in the chargers to cause any issues. The weird thing is that it only trips with the laptops and no other equipment.

[ChuckFickens]

Knobbs...

Don't know if it will make a difference... your the sparky here not me :)

Most laptops have not have the earth lead even connected in the plug, they normally only have 2core power cables which to my mind would make it very hard to trip a RCD due to earth leakage.

[ChuckFickens]

have not have..... Well aren't I doing well with my English today..

No kno... think your wife tripping may be to do with the leakage from the top of a bottle into a glass.