Battery charger tripping mains

[Claude]

 

I don't know which breaker is which on the bollard, but the one that's tripping is labelled RC225/030 25A. The other one that's not tripping is labelled MC116 C16.

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That's a Residual Current ( earth leakage) breaker which is a 30 mA type and capable of passing up to 25 amps.

The one that's not tripping is a circuit breaker, which is like a resettable fuse, and is a 16 Amp type. Shoreline breakers are usually 6 amp or 16 amp, depending on the cable they are wired with and the capability of the supply.

So the issues are that there is either an earth leakage which is tripping it or it may be faulty and tripping far "earlier" than it should ( which is unlikely, although possible). Can you connect, using the same cable, into another bollard supply to see if the same happens there ? If it does, then the problem is definitely "downwind" of the bollard. Its then a matter of substitution of parts to see what is causing the issue.

Nick

 

 

Thanks. I will try using one of the other bollards this evening or over the weekend.

[Claude]

I have just seen / read you post 21.

 

I wonder if the chargers have their earth and neutrals connected within the charger ? I seem to remember some have a removeable link, although not sure why. Maybe they have a small bleed resistance between them that this RCD on the bollard is too sensitive to ignore ?

 

Anyway it does seem to have been narrowed down to the chargers ( or an over sensitive RCD on the bollard) - perhaps a call to the manufacturer / supplier ?

 

Nick

 

I've never had any problem with the chargers on mains at other marinas before, so wouldn't that indicate the problem is at the bollard?

[Claude]

There have been problems with ELCBs here at Mercia getting tired and tripping prematurely. The spring that holds the breaker in weakens so that less than 32mA is needed to trip it. Are there other boats sharing the bollard? Four boats on one bollard means that they only have to have 8mA leakage each to trip the ELCB.

 

No, it's just me at the bollard, but my neighbours tell me the bollard's mains supply probably hasn't been used for a few years.

[Claude]

Just spoken to Charles Sterling who tells me that the older Sterling Pro-digital chargers have a 2.5 - 3 mA earth leakage as standard which he says is within the legal limit. He was surprised it's tripping a 30 mA breaker and told me to check it's not 5 mA.

[Nickhlx]

 

I've never had any problem with the chargers on mains at other marinas before, so wouldn't that indicate the problem is at the bollard?

 

 

I agree and would say it does suggest an over-sensitive RCD or one that is faulty in some way. If you are able to connect into another and all is OK it should "prove" the first one, one way or the other..

 

Nick

[Chewbacka]

Just spoken to Charles Sterling who tells me that the older Sterling Pro-digital chargers have a 2.5 - 3 mA earth leakage as standard which he says is within the legal limit. He was surprised it's tripping a 30 mA breaker and told me to check it's not 5 mA.

The 030 at the end of the part number "RC225/030" indicates it is a 30mA trip.

Sounds like the breaker is over sensitive.

Get the bollard owner to check it.

[Claude]

There's another bollard within reach of my cable but the boat looks unoccupied and I'm not sure if there's any credit on the meter. In any case I wouldn't unplug someone's boat before asking if it's ok. I've informed the bollard owners that the breakers are over-sensitive and they should be sending someone out to check it next week.

[Claude]

It's definitely the bollard. I've just plugged into the other bollard and the charger is working fine.

[Nickhlx]

RESULT !

 

Forum power rules .....

[ditchcrawler]

It's definitely the bollard. I've just plugged into the other bollard and the charger is working fine.

Ether that or the RCD on the other bollard doesnt work