So my gaming laptop is 4 years old now and ever since I got it, it has tripped the electrics in my house.
Now I'd like to remedy the issue once and for all. At the moment I am using an RCD (or GFI for our American friends) to be able to power the laptop up (it's battery is screwed so it requires constant power from the socket (could be related)).
The use of the RCD does not remedy the house electrics tripping, it merely reduces the chance of it occurring. I plug the laptop into the pre-tripped RCD and then slowly press and release the "Reset" button, and majority of the time this stops the house electrics tripping.
It's all sounding grim, I know, but now I'm looking to remedy the issue, but I don't know where the fault lies. My theories are: - The fault is with the laptop power adapter, but the tripping only occurs at home, not at work or any relatives or friends houses I visit with my laptop. - The fault is with the house electrics. The house is almost 100 years old, so it could be the case, but nothing else seems to trip the electrics, although the laptop is the only high powered item that is plugged and unplugged on a regular basis. - There is no fault with either of the above but I am exceeding the maximum load of my consumer unit with everything I have powered up or plugged in in the house.
The house consumer unit is a fuse board, but also has a MCB rated at 240v 50Hz, 63A Load, 30mA Trip, WES 63/2. The RCD is rated 230v, 13A, A/C only, 30mA Trip. The laptop charger is rated AC Input 100-240V 3.5A 50-60Hz with a DC Output of 19.5V, 11.8A, 230W.
Is there a way to find where the fault lies, if any, or to work out how to fix this from happening in the future? Maybe a test I can do on the consumer unit or laptop charger?
答案1
You are possibly drawing too many amps on the circuit and the breaker or fuse is tripping. The laptop is probably just knocking the usage over the treshold.
So the easiest way to find out why is turn off the breaker and walk around looking for what devices and outlets are off. Check also any electric heaters. Figure out the amp ratings and add them together. You want to try and have less than the breaker rating (13A), with a little room.
It gets complicated very quickly, but roughly: Amps are watts divided by volts, so a 1200 watt microwave at 120v operating at full power is 10 amps (or 5 Amps at 240).
If your breaker is tripping a lot, figure out why: the wiring gauge used for the circuit may be chosen for the amp load expected, and too much draw can overheat the wiring and cause a fire.
Many years ago, I was living in a very old house and when the breaker tripped from using a microwave, lights would go off across all three floors and the basement. This is because there were way too many things on the same run/breaker (a hazard) and this is an "electrician problem" to be fixed.