Consumer unit replaced, now tripping-any help?

pebble65

Need help finding out what is making a newly installed consumer unit trip both the lights RCBO/sockets RCBO when previously installed unit worked fine and was of current standard, only replaced as too big.
2 years ago brand new unit installed during a refit by my housing association.Worked fine-only time that ever tripped was due to a blown light bulb. Problem was it was a huge unit in a tiny space (tiny 1 bed house!)- you couldn’t open the flap fully to flick the switches if needed as the flap was crammed up against the gas meter. So when the gas installation person came to do my boiler check he told the housing association the unit would need to be replaced for that reason.
Two weeks ago the unit was replaced by a smaller one-it was a different firm of electricians as the original fitters firm had gone bust. The unit they have put in appears to be a control gear 2 way RCD with 3 RCBOs for lights(B6,30ma), socket (B32, 30ma), cooker (B32, 30ma). Since is tripping not just the socket one but also the light one on occasions. The electricians have tested the installation and say it is tripping around 23 MA which is normal and cant find anything wrong so are blaming my appliances. It just seems a huge coincidence that one of my appliances has gone on the blink the day they fit a new unit, given the specs of the old one were within current regs-they were salvaging that board to put in another property.
Surely a faulty appliance tho would only trip the socket not the lights as well- I thought that was how individual RCBOs work.? None of the appliances are that old, I have tried the unplug everything see if it trips on plugging back in routine, nothing trips it, and the tripping doesn’t seem to coincide with any cycle of the washer, fridge/freezer motor, boiler control etc. Tonight it tripped again - all that was on was the fridge freezer plugged in, the boiler switch and boiler timer (heating not on), the 2 smoke alarms which are hardwired in . There also may be an external light but as far as I know that was disconnected during the original refit as I found it a nuiscance -it used to come on at dusk and not go off all night and there was no switch to turn it off so complete waste of electric, I never use the yard at night and theres an 8ft wall now at back of property so security not an issue.
　
Electricians now saying they will replace box in two weeks if it keeps tripping, which it is- but that they cant find any fault with the installation and problem will probably continue once its replaced. Im really worried as its tripping so much (tripped twice today but seems to be mostly every two days on average). Im worried over food spoilage in the fridge/freezer and also of fire risk-its tripped in the night when hardly anything been on and if its tripping lights and socket im not sure if the smoke alarms will recharge as they are supposed to.
Can anyone suggest a) what the problem is and b) best way to resolve it. If it is an appliance likely then it’s the fridge freezer but I am fairly willing to bet if I defrost it and don’t use it for a week the unit will still trip! And I cant see how an appliance would trip the lights as well as the sockets without tripping the main switch as well? Im not technical so please try to reply in laymans terms-thanks!

baldelectrician

Control gear direct (Lewden) is a lower end of the market brand.

What make was in before?

They should have test equipment to test the installation, I think it may be something plugged in.
Unplug your kettle after you finish boling the water- I have had a few of these faulty recently

matthorp

We had a new consumer board fitted a few years ago in a flat we owned. The old one never gave us any problems it was just old and still had fuse wires so we decided to change it.

As soon as the upgrade was done, it tripped all the time and we ended up having to replace the washing machine to cure it.

The electrician told us it was likely to be an appliance and we just did a process of elimination. Never had a probem with it since.

pebble65

the previous unit was an MK one which I believe is a better one. Thats the point-the unit I had was up to current specification, was a bigger board (not sure what size but it had space for 8 switches whereas the current one is only half the size) and none of my appliances tripped it, its only since they installed this smaller and cheaper unit that the tripping has kicked in. I dont think it is my appliances -I think its the unit itself, because I have tried determining which if any appliance is tripping it and it doesnt seem to be any of them.
Of course the likely suspects would be water bearing appliances or those with motors but given the unit has tripped when I have been out, the only one of these it could be would be the fridge and even then on an intermittent basis-as I say Im fairly willing to bet, given the fridge is only 2 years old (although I do know even new fridges can have faults, mine has been fine up to the day they put the new unit in), that if I unplugged it and left it defrosting the unit would still trip. I am actually going to try this-my friend has agreed to put my food in her freezer for now.

Other than having all of my appliances PAT tested (and I don't know if this would show up an intermittent fault), they all seem to be in good working order.

Its so maddening that three weeks ago I had a safe functional working electric system and now I don't-especially when the housing association property manager shouldnt have passed the first installation as clearly the previous unit was too big, and no this one is causing such problems.

Johnhowell

We had an new 17thEdition unit fitted and the electrician said that it is usually a fridge (even brand new) that trips out these new units.

He had to replace a couple of switches as they were tripping as soon as he put the mains on - the switches can have faults in them.

Also, it is my understanding the new standard requires the switches to be more sensitive than the old types - so they appear to trip more frequently - which may not actually because of a fault but more sensitivity.

Good luck, John

pebble65

Update-it went worse, was tripping every day even when I was out of house. The electricians came out again after I wrote a letter of complaint to the housing association , tested my appliances-didnt find any fault. They then came back last weekend and replaced the unit with a different consumer unit, same size/spec-different make.

Thats now working perfectly -so it was a problem with the box after all.:(. Very frustrating but at least its fixed-thanks for the help