RCD tripping straight after smart meter install

[jlisco]

Hello,

Firstly, I'm aware other people have posted similar topics on this forum, I'm not trying to create a duplicate, but more looking for advice as to the distance between my smart meter and the tripping RCD.

I had a smart meter fitted yesterday, and straight after the installation, the engineer called me in and said I had a faulty RCD or a faulty appliance in the kitchen that the RCD box feeds (I'm not an electrician so apologies if my terminology is off here).

Anyway, I flipped the switch back and it seems to be totally random on when it trips. This ranges between minutes to hours.

I decided to start trying to isolate the problem. I unplugged and turned off EVERYTHING in the kitchen except the fridge. This worked for about half an hour then it tripped. So I unplugged and turned off the fridge socket and plugged in the washing machine at the other side of the room. The same thing happened some time later.

I was then told if the appliance was faulty it would trip straight away.

Anyway, I'm currently trying to get in touch with SSE who fitted my meter to get them to check before I pay money to an electrician.

Why I wait, I was hoping to get some advice. Is my meter too far away from the RCD box to cause the trip? Also, does anybody know what RCD make/model I have? I'll attach a photo (smart meter highlighted in yellow, tripping RCD in red)

Thanks in advance

Edit: one other thing to add, the gas smart meter is about the same distance away off to the bottom right of the tripping RCD.

 

[JBW175]

That 25mm distance is another meaningless regulation.The gas pipe is already part of the electrical system by virtue of been bonded to the MET.

I totally agree.

Isn’t that distance of 25mm a gas reg?

As I’m pretty sure there’s no distance specified in BS7671.

 

[swaRRR]

That 25mm distance is another meaningless regulation.The gas pipe is already part of the electrical system by virtue of been bonded to the MET.

So we can ignore that one?

 

[swaRRR]

I totally agree.

Isn’t that distance of 25mm a gas reg?

As I’m pretty sure there’s no distance specified in BS7671.

OSG pg 25: 'Where gas installation pipework is not separated from electrical equipment or cables by an insulating exclosure, dividing barrier, trunking, or conduit, the following separation distances shall be observed:

a) 150mm away from supply equipment and
b) at least 25mm from sockets, switches, supply and distribution cables.

BS7671 tells you on page 152 that BS6891 tells you what to do in this instance. BS6891 tells you the same as the on site guide.

It's a requirement that we're not just allowed to ignore.

 

[LastManOnline]

So we can ignore that one?

No we can,t.The regs are the regs and must be applied.What we can do though is look at the regs and put them in context and recognize that our regulators are learning too.That means that when we read a thread about a smart meter tripping an rcd we can be absolutely confident that it has nothing to do with a cable been "less than 25mm" away from a gas pipe.
I would love to sit in a room with a regulator to discuss who came up with these regulations and what is the basis for them.I have actually tried to. I won't bore you with details but let's just say it has,nt been very fruitful.

 

[swaRRR]

That means that when we read a thread about a smart meter tripping an rcd we can be absolutely confident that it has nothing to do with a cable been "less than 25mm" away from a gas pipe.

I wasn't getting at that being the cause of the issue, just that it doesn't appear to conform either.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Had somebody ask me about this recently, all the cases i I have heard off have involve mem 2000 rcds for some reason! only when he said to his supplier if they didnt come and move the meter he was going to get an electrician to pull fuse and move the meter or do it himself to prove it was the meter did they come out. once meter was moved - no more tripping.

 

[jlisco]

I wasn't getting at that being the cause of the issue, just that it doesn't appear to conform either.

@LastManOnline @swaRRR sorry guys I’m really ignorant with everything related to gas/electric. Just let me know if there’s something unsafe and I can raise it with my landlord. Appreciate the replies

 

[jlisco]

Had somebody ask me about this recently, all the cases i I have heard off have involve mem 2000 rcds for some reason! only when he said to his supplier if they didnt come and move the meter he was going to get an electrician to pull fuse and move the meter or do it himself to prove it was the meter did they come out. once meter was moved - no more tripping.

Yeah the engineer that came out said similar things. He had seen it before and said a lot of the other engineers who fit the smart meters just fob the problem off an ignore it. The original engineer from SSE told me my RCD was the problem. It was nice to see the problem proved to be their fault

 

[swaRRR]

@LastManOnline @swaRRR sorry guys I’m really ignorant with everything related to gas/electric. Just let me know if there’s something unsafe and I can raise it with my landlord. Appreciate the replies

Just what i've said above - if those cables are within 25mm of those gas pipes it's considered dangerous by the gas regs and has to be looked into. It's only an inch though, so chances are it could be further than that and the angle just makes it look closer.

 

[FUSEServices]

Glad it proved to be the meter and you had a helpful engineer who actually got it polled and proved the problem. As for that cable, it's bad. Imagine a live wire touching the gas pipe. Not only will it blow a hole in the copper pipe, it will ignite the gas at the same time. Only needs something sharp to drop on the cable and pipe. Looks like the landlord doesn't pay much for electrical work. The clips are upside down (the nail is supposed to take the weight of the cable, not the plastic clip) and the use of SY cable... Tut tut.

 

[jlisco]

Glad it proved to be the meter and you had a helpful engineer who actually got it polled and proved the problem. As for that cable, it's bad. Imagine a live wire touching the gas pipe. Not only will it blow a hole in the copper pipe, it will ignite the gas at the same time. Only needs something sharp to drop on the cable and pipe. Looks like the landlord doesn't pay much for electrical work. The clips are upside down (the nail is supposed to take the weight of the cable, not the plastic clip) and the use of SY cable... Tut tut.

Yeah, thanks to the community for the help.

I’ll raise it with my landlord at the next opportunity. Somebody did mention that the pipe has an Earth attached to it. Would that make the problem better or worse in the situation you described?

 

[JBW175]

There seems to be a lot of unnecessary scare mongering about the proximity of those cables to that pipework.

I sent the pictures to our kid who’s a gas engineer. He said although not ideal and there should be a 25mm gap, it’s classed as an AR code, (at risk with no immediate danger to life or property). The equivalent of a C3 in our regs (improvement recommended).

 

[FUSEServices]

Yeah, thanks to the community for the help.

I’ll raise it with my landlord at the next opportunity. Somebody did mention that the pipe has an Earth attached to it. Would that make the problem better or worse in the situation you described?

It should be earthed, that's good, it's called equipotential bonding. It has nothing to do with the safety of the gas pipe / mains cable too close situation. Anyone who does this should be fined.

 

[Chris j]

I have experienced the same problem problems with my Rcd tripping after I have had my smart meter fitted. After reading this I took two sheets of baking foil celotaped them together length way's and molded it around my rcd box to block the signal. It hasn't tripped since so this proves its the signal from the smart meter.

 

[jlisco]

I have experienced the same problem problems with my Rcd tripping after I have had my smart meter fitted. After reading this I took two sheets of baking foil celotaped them together length way's and molded it around my rcd box to block the signal. It hasn't tripped since so this proves its the signal from the smart meter.

They’ll try everything they can to shift the blame. I had to submit a TrustPilot review to get them to listen. It 100% was the smart meter. Since mine was moved further from the RCD, it hasn’t tripped since, and it’s been the best part of a year now.