Electrical fault - what to do?

bouicca21

I am addicted to my morning tea, so bought a teasmaid (vintage style but modern) a few years ago. All of a sudden it has started tripping the electrics. The trip happens after it has pumped the water into the pot, but before it starts beeping to say the tea is made.

My 'fuse box' equivalent is a Sentry Consumer Unit. It doesn't trip a single circuit but the whole lot (the actual switch that goes is the one beneath the test button). how do I go about fixing it? Is it get an electrician in or is it junk the appliance?

TadleyBaggie

Sounds like the RCD is tripping, so it's likely the teasmaid has a leak to earth from live, possibly in the heater. Might be more expensive to repair then replace.

another_casualty

In my previous flat not long ago, the electrics kept tripping randomly .
Took a while to find out what the trouble was . Was it the fridge freezer? ( The light went out inside , after another tripping incident ).
In the end, it turned out to be the Bosch washing machine..
it looked ok, but apparently it wuss about 10 years old.
Landlady had a new one delivered ,and ditched the old one ..problem solved . In a similar sort of way , it could be the teasmaid.
Just a guess

bouicca21

Thanks - I had a feeling it would be junk the teasmade. Though I suppose it might be worth asking about a repair.

Only had it 3 years. Now I have to decide whether to get another one and accept that they don't last long or just get up in the morning and use the kettle ...

stator

If I remember correctly they are expensive, so repair is good if you can find someone to do it.
Electrical repair engineers can be hard to find. I wish I knew one

martinsurrey

a cup a day for 3 years is 1000+ cups

buy one

Every time you use it put 5p in a box, when it breaks in 3 years time, ruin some poor cashiers day at Currys.

firefox1956

Post the make & model number & I am sure somebody will be along to help with a repair. If it is possible that is.
HTH

bouicca21

Actually martinsurrey, it's 2 cups a day. So I feel so much better about the maths of buying a new one, even though my parsimonious soul thinks such things should last forever, or at least for longer than 3 years.

Mr.Generous

The element will need replacing, when its gone you get a leak to earth quite often and it trips the board.

martinsurrey

bouicca21 wrote: »

Actually martinsurrey, it's 2 cups a day. So I feel so much better about the maths of buying a new one, even though my parsimonious soul thinks such things should last forever, or at least for longer than 3 years.

Do you live in a hard water area?

If so its maybe a limescale issue, get a water filter to fill the next one.

Strider590

stator wrote: »

If I remember correctly they are expensive, so repair is good if you can find someone to do it.
Electrical repair engineers can be hard to find. I wish I knew one

Yes they/we are, been largely driven out of business by "throw away" culture and built in obsolescence (can't get parts)..

OP - I've got an iron that does the same, it's basically the steam leaking into the appliance and providing a path to ground, and I think you'll find your issue is the same, a seal or a crack somewhere letting humidity/steam into the inner workings of the appliance.
All the other suggestions are perfectly relevant, but given what the item is, I would start with the possibility of steam getting into places it should not.