Earth Leakage from Chauffe Eau

[Moulin]

Has anyone had problems with Earth Leakage from large 'Steatite' Cauffe Eau's?
I have just replaced an old 150L 1800w 'Thermoplongee' C-E with a 200L 2400w 'Steatite' unit and a couple of hours after turning it on the main EDF 100ma Earth leakage trip went. This happened twice more in the next few hours so eventually I disconnected the earth to get us some hot water. (I'd taken the opportunity to relocate the unit at the same time so we'd already been without hot water for 2 days and were in desperate need of a shower!!!)
The electrical instructions were in typical french style saying only to connect to terminals 'A' 'B' and Earth, so the following day I re-connected the Earth and swapped over 'A' & 'B'. After this the unit ran for over a week before taking the trip out again, but the fact is that it did take the trip out.
I contacted Brico Depot where I bought the unit but they refer all questions of this type to there 'fault / repair' section via a free phone number that is perminently engaged!
My only course of action would appear to be to contact the manufactureers direct but I don't want to go through all that if this is a common thing.
Any comments greatfully recieved.

[Bobc]

From past experience on installations the most likely cause is some moisture within the connecting box of the chauffe-eau - minute amount can cause the system to trip.

Call in a registered plumber/electrician to resolve this for you.

Regards,

Bob Clarke
http://grindoux.9online.fr

[Punch]

LAST EDITED ON 06-Jul-04 AT 09:32 PM (BST)

From my own experiences in repair anfd installation;

Steatite heaters often have anode protection circuitry incorporated in the control lid these days which is often a small printed circuit board with a flashing green light.

Moisture could be attracted to this although unlikely if the heater is new. The earth leakage you are getting must be a reasonable level because you say it is tripping the 100ma EDF trip - are you sure because the EDF main trips are usually rated at minimum 500 milliamp trip and older ones have tripping currents of 600 milliamp. This would mean the earth leakage current uis unacceptably high. Most heaters should be protected by a 30 milliamp device these days.

Obviously check for any signs of water sepage from the tank heater seal or anywhere else such as supply and outlet pipes;

The other thing that is worth mentioning is that the earth leakage fault may be somewhere else in the supply circuit before it reaches the heater. It could be damaged, damp or squashed wiring in a wall or conduitfor example; To check this disconnect the heater and run a heavy duty (1.5mm) extension lead to it from another power source.

If all that fails then it is most ikely that the cause is a faulty heater element which are fairly easy to change in a steatite heater. I would have said that the latter was the most likely problem if the heater was old, but you say it is brand new.

I hope theis helps.

Paul

[Lf]

If disconnecting the earth solved the problem then this implies a faulty element as both the 500mA and 30mA differential breakers measure current difference rather than current flowing to earth. I would get a replacement tank as soon as possible.

Regards

Charles
http://www.lesflamands.com/hr

[Moulin]

Many thanks to all of you.
As suggested I will try the 'Extension Lead' first and if this fails go back to Brico Depot for a new element.
Cheers
Moulin