If an RCD fails to operate once, should it be considered faulty and replaced?

[Spoon]

OK....I'll fess up.

I honestly can't remember the last time (if ever, for 'routine testing') that I've used the test buttons on any installed in my house......like most people, it's just so dull going around resetting everything.....

Im with Rockingit on this. It must have been about a year ago since I tested mine. I test my smoke detectors a lot more than I test my RCD. I know its probably a cop-out but I personally think for me its remembering to do it when no one else is in. Cant be arsed with the hassle of getting the kids and missus off the comps, tv, and all the other things. I know its for their own good.... Just telling the truth...

 

[wozz]

Bit uneasy about that. Aren't they meant to be maintenance free? If an RCD requires user cycling every three months to keep it from seizing up, is it a fit for purpose RCD? Is there a valid reason why RCDs should be treated differently in this respect from MCBs? We don't rely on the user cycling MCBs every three months in order to keep them from seizing up, we expect them to do their job if left for years and if we found one that had failed to operate under appropriate fault conditions we'd chuck it, wouldn't we? Grateful for your thoughts, maybe I'm missing something here.

Where did u get maintenance free from? Far from it, manufactures ask for them to be tested as least quarterly and I believe that to be the same for all manufs , to such a extent a British standard even puts a blanket rule on testing them regardless of what the manuf says. If all this is ignored and it fails after not being touched after 10 years by a few milliseconds the rcd is hardly to blame. The only thing not fit for purpose is the end user as far as I can see and I do realise how bad that sounds. Handover paperwork in a lot of our industry is crap maybe if this was addressed so could the testing of rcds at the same time.

Mcbs work on thousands of amps rcds work on milli amps I'm no product engineer but I can hazard a guess at which one would be more prone to not working ( assuming correct icn,ics). Also would the benefits be that great? Would the MCB have the same life span after and how dangerous and expensive would the testing be? Testing rcds is easy and safe.

 

[Deleted member 72666]

I read somewhere recently that some manufacturer has developed an rcd / rcbo that tests itself in the middle of the night when there's very little electrical activity and then resets itself, or did I dream it!

 

[Spoon]

I read somewhere recently that some manufacturer has developed an rcd / rcbo that tests itself in the middle of the night when there's very little electrical activity and then resets itself, or did I dream it!

If it resets all the clocks in my house at the same time then I might get it...

 

[Deleted member 72666]

Found it! They're called ARD's - Automatic reclosing devices.
Gewiss Automatic Reclosing Devices (ARDs) | Professional Electrician & Installer

 

[NickD]

Where did u get maintenance free from?

I didn't, it was just a question about whether RCDs are meant to be maintenance free.

So what it boils down to is, is the quarterly test requirement 1. a safety test only or 2. stipulated as essential maintenance? 1 implies a stuck RCD should be failed, 2 implies should be failed only if quarterly tests have been happening. Answer also affects degree of kicking the end user deserves. Would a relevant BS or product standard tell us the answer? Anyone got one? (Googling comes up with little useful and BSs are rarely to be found legitimately online for free access.)

 

[Deleted member 72666]

If it resets all the clocks in my house at the same time then I might get it...

This one should tick all your boxes then.

 

[flex_m]

Wow, looks like I opened a mysterious can of worms by asking this question, I'm glad it's sparked a debate, many thanks for all the responses.

jeez a copper on the forum

Haha, I didn't mean it in the sense of getting the bloke I was working with in trouble, we were both temping and no longer with the company, more in the sense of is this something that was left unsafe and needs rectifying.
I'm relatively new to the game, in the middle ground between doing everything to the letter at college and the reality of working on site. After the responses on here I will be stressing the importance of quarterly RCD tests to customers in the future.

 

[Engineer54]

Found it! They're called ARD's - Automatic reclosing devices.
Gewiss Automatic Reclosing Devices (ARDs) | Professional Electrician & Installer

Now shock us with the cost of such devices!! lol!! These units are useful if not essential in certain circumstances but will be a luxury for the average domestic installation. Could well save a freezer full of food mind, when the family are on their annual vacation!! lol!!