RCD adapters

[Chico]

I have never seen an RCD adapter in the DIY supermarkets in France.  I have read some interesting posts on the subject which only refer to units which are installed in the household wiring system.  Perhaps a separate adapter which you plug into the output before plugging in the appliance is unnecessary, but can I be sure?

I have to confess to being a bit of a belt and braces man, but on two occasions over the years in the UK I have drilled through live cables which should not have been there and could well owe my life to these cheap gadgets.  If I could use one in France I would be happier.

 

[Ford Anglia]

It is still FAR from the norm to have even ONE RCD installed in a UK house, hence the need for RCD adaptors. My UK house was rewired 19 years ago, and has only the ring main, (sockets) protected by an RCD, although I did install split load and another one protecting the electric showers some years ago.

In France, RCDs to protect everything seem to be the norm, at least in houses with modern wiring.

Can you check your distribution board, (fusebox), and see if there are any there? If, like me, you find there aren't, or that you have one fuse "protecting" the whole house, it might be wise to invest in a new distribution board and RCD and start over. There are a couple of good books available from Leclerc which deatil "how to" install a new board. Not the cheapest option, but the best.

If there is an RCD present, it should be easy to identify which circuits it is protecting. Simply switch it off, and check which circuits are dead. If your sockets are already protected, you don't need a plug-in adaptor.

 

[Chico]

Thanks for your full reply "Ford Anglia". We are in the UK at present, but I know that our distribution board has the old fashioned type of fuse and not the "trips" you see nowadays and there is also one fuse which overrides the rest, so it looks like a new board is the answer. Our house is about 25 years old. It still puzzles me that RCD adapters seem to be unavailable when a good proportion of houses must still have the old-style distribution boards.

Chico

[Nick Trollope]

Legrand manufacture "RCD" sockets (sockets with a built-in RCD), but they are built-in types, not for flying leads. Expensive, too.

As FA says, they ain't really necessary in France (except in your house!).

 

[maude]

Yes bought one for the garage from Castorama about 2 years ago-BUT expensive.Plugs into French socket,and has a protected outlet socket.   Maude