New heating element tripping RCD

[matt1386]

Morning guys, thought id post this question in this section as I might get better advice and in simpler terms haha !

Ive recently fitted a new heating element with thermostats to my tumble dryer and now it trips the RCD as soon as I plug it into the socket

It was all pre wired with a plug connector on the end same as the one in the link below :

HOTPOINT CTD00 TCM570 TCM580 Tumble Dryer HEATER Heating ELEMENT 2300W | eBay

Could anybody tell me what I should check for and what could be causing the RCD to trip ?

Everything was fine before I changed this

Thanks very much

Matt

 

[telectrix]

trapped wire. faulty thermal overload. unplug it and do an IR test.

 

[matt1386]

Thanks Tel, ill take it apart this afternoon and report back

 

[telectrix]

do a continuity first. remember that there's usually 2 elements, each one is 1kW approx, so each should read around 50 -60 ohms. and you should get a low resistance <1 ohm across each overload .

 

[matt1386]

Well... I was going to do it until I realized my crappy multimeter doesn't have the IR function lol

Maybe its time for me to invest in a MFT

Continuity was fine though

Ill take the element to college with me tonight and see if I can use one of the testers there to check it

Cheers

Matt

 

[pennychew]

do a continuity first. remember that there's usually 2 elements, each one is 1kW approx, so each should read around 50 -60 ohms. and you should get a low resistance <1 ohm across each overload .

Thats a good tip that Tel, I've just twigged that you can work out what the resistance should be in an element if you know it's power rating.

When you say IR test it do you mean the appliance or just the element?

 

[telectrix]

just the element assembly. if that's OK he can PAT test the appliance as a whole.

 

[telectrix]

Well... I was going to do it until I realized my crappy multimeter doesn't have the IR function lol

Maybe its time for me to invest in a MFT

Continuity was fine though

Ill take the element to college with me tonight and see if I can use one of the testers there to check it

Cheers

Matt

buy yourself a continuity/IR test meter. a few magger BM80's and the like go on ebay cheap.

 

[pennychew]

Did you get anywhere with the new element Matt?

 

[Marvo]

I'm not familiar with that particular element, does it have solid tube elements inside the box or is it open uninsulated heating wire?

If it's tube elements and it's testing low IR then you could try baking them in an oven for an hour as long as there's nothing in the assembly that can melt. Sometimes the tube elements absorb moisture in the ends of the tube because the internal insulating powder is hygroscopic. If you use a blowtorch to warm the ends that also sometimes improves the IR reading.