Electrical fault detected during cooker installation

[chaitealatte]

Hope you are well

[I am a tenant and rent the property]

Currys came in to do a cooker replacement/new-installation.
When carrying out pre-installation safety checks, they found that the RCD was tripping.
On further inspection, they said that : “Earth loop test tripping RCD affecting both the cooker circuit and the ring circuit.”
Due to this fault, they were unable to proceed with the installation as the issue needs to be resolved first.

Would appreciate any advice around what is the severity of this, and how urgently this should be seen.
More than the cooker , I am worried about possibility of electric shocks or fire hazards
- Is this a possible scenario or am I overthinking?

Almost coming to a week, and I haven't heard from my landlord.

Any advice - much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[littlespark]

It’s maybe a mix up with the terminology, or how you’ve picked up what they said….. but an “earth loop test” will trip the rcd.

The rcd should be tested with a proper rcd tester…. Which can be the same machine as an earth loop tester, but not always.


I don’t think they would have made a mistake like this, but not impossible.

 

[chaitealatte]

Thanks for the response.

I am hoping they did the test properly , but like you say its not impossible to make a mistake.
They got the same results on the cooker circuit and the ring circuit during testing
and then said they cant proceed.

I have attached a screenshot of the issue from the report they gave me.

 

[littlespark]

The only person that can confirm this, or otherwise, is an electrician with the correct testing equipment, and really should be organised by the landlord…. As they are the ones that should ensure tenants safety.


Out of interest…. Does the test button on the rcd work? Ie, does it switch off the power…. And does it reset when you put the switch back up?

 

[westward10]

A routine test for these appliance fitters is an earth fault loop impedance test as they have done which generally means nothing to them. In your case it tripped the RCD and their default action is not to proceed as they could not obtain a reading. None of this means the installation is necessarily unsafe and as @littlespark says an electrician with suitable test equipment would prove otherwise. I suspect they had the correct test equipment but were not fully versed in it's use.

 

[littlespark]

It may be the installers are trained at the same place as “smart meter engineers”

All the gear…. No idea


If the install is anything other than their strict script, they just give up.
Imagination and improvisation are not in their vocabulary. Not paid to solve problems.