Geyser trips when hot

**joshthejew** · 18-Sep-14, 08:29 AM

Hi guys.
Had a problem with a 200L geyser that trips randomly, but the water is hot.

It has a solar PC board and panels, aswell as an eskom supply. I replaced the element and corroded thermostat and the amps were good for a 3kw element. but two days later they phone and say it still trips the cb randomly. Not the E/L

**wynn** · 18-Sep-14, 10:05 AM

Hi Josh, it must be a Zionist conspiracy, maybe MS will be able to assist you?? LOL

The electricians on TFSA will help you by explaining how it is probably your trip switch on the DB that is overloading when the element switches on

**joshthejew** · 18-Sep-14, 12:27 PM

I checked. 12,8 amps. The cb is a 20amp so I don't think it's that unless it's faulty. But dont think it's that cause it doesn't trip on startup. Will stay up for a few hours or days until it trips. Can't take that chance cause I have to charge them 100km a trip. Not cheap.

**gobbleteller** · 19-Sep-14, 05:04 PM

If I may ask, what was the reason you replaced the element in the first place? The reason I ask is that if the CB was tripping earlier because of overload conditions, the excess heat could have damaged the bi-metal strip inside and then it must be replaced.

CB's trip either when there is an overload, or a short circuit between live and neutral. If the element is pulling only 12.8A, neither faults appear to be the cause of the nuisance tripping.

Does the CB only supply the geyser, or is there another load connected?

Good luck with the fault finding

**Leecatt** · 20-Sep-14, 05:52 AM

I had the same problem a short while ago. It turned out the owner was turning the circuit breaker off during the day and on again in the evening to save electricity. This continuous on off motion damaged the circuit breaker especially when it was turned on under load. Eventually it failed and would trip occasionally. I replaced the circuit breaker and the problem went away.

**Justloadit** · 20-Sep-14, 07:35 AM

Originally Posted by Leecatt

It turned out the owner was turning the circuit breaker off during the day and on again in the evening to save electricity.

Many people are doing this, so I would go for a worn out breaker. I was looking at Chint breaker specs recently, and they reckon that 20,00 mechanical switching is their specified rate and 4,000 electrical life. The specs did not mention about the load being connected. Not knowing the make of the CB, adding the switching the 'On or OFF' under load, may derate the specific breaker in the DB, but then again the geyser is a resistive load, so arcing should be a minimum.

If there is a rise in temperature within the breaker, then it also trips. This temperature could be cause by burnt contacts.

**faeezw** · 05-Aug-21, 08:01 AM

Originally Posted by Leecatt

I had the same problem a short while ago. It turned out the owner was turning the circuit breaker off during the day and on again in the evening to save electricity. This continuous on off motion damaged the circuit breaker especially when it was turned on under load. Eventually it failed and would trip occasionally. I replaced the circuit breaker and the problem went away.

I have geyser on the roof with the solar panels - new property - built in 2018. I have also in an effort to save cost on the electricity I would turned the geyser switch / circuit breaker on in the morning for about an hour. The same in the evening - on for about an hour and then off. This has been the practice for the past 2 years.

During the summer month with the solar panels, I hardly had a need to turn on the geyser.

Yesterday morning I had the geyser on for about 3 hours and then turned if off. When I tried to turn it on this morning, the geyser kept tripping - resulting in a cold shower this morning.

Could I be having the same problem due to the continuous turning it on and off had damaged the circuit breaker of could there be other possibilities.

**Justloadit** · 05-Aug-21, 11:39 AM

Originally Posted by faeezw

I have geyser on the roof with the solar panels - new property - built in 2018. I have also in an effort to save cost on the electricity I would turned the geyser switch / circuit breaker on in the morning for about an hour. The same in the evening - on for about an hour and then off. This has been the practice for the past 2 years.

During the summer month with the solar panels, I hardly had a need to turn on the geyser.

It may be your circuit breaker is faulty and needs to be replaced.
Get an electrician in to check your system.

This is the one problem with the evacuated tube solar water heaters. They supply enough tubes, to keep the price low, and also, that the water does not over heat during summer.
When winter comes, the sun radiance is a lot less, and the amount of hot water consumption goes up, forcing you to use electricity to heat up the water.
This defeats the object of having a solar water heating system.

I have a PV based system, which uses the existing geyser geyser thermostat and element to heat water.
I turn my thermostat to maximum, and I have 65°C hot water every day, and hardly use electricity to heat my water except for the days that water is over used, or there is hardly any sun radiance.

Since I installed my system for 2 geysers, I have saved over R500.00 a month on power bills, and have already clocked 2,000KWHours of solar from November 2020 to July 2021. That's just over 8KWhours a day.

**faeezw** · 05-Aug-21, 11:45 AM

Originally Posted by Justloadit

It may be your circuit breaker is faulty and needs to be replaced.
Get an electrician in to check your system.

This is the one problem with the evacuated tube solar water heaters. They supply enough tubes, to keep the price low, and also, that the water does not over heat during summer.
When winter comes, the sun radiance is a lot less, and the amount of hot water consumption goes up, forcing you to use electricity to heat up the water.
This defeats the object of having a solar water heating system.

I have a PV based system, which uses the existing geyser geyser thermostat and element to heat water.
I turn my thermostat to maximum, and I have 65°C hot water every day, and hardly use electricity to heat my water except for the days that water is over used, or there is hardly any sun radiance.

Since I installed my system for 2 geysers, I have saved over R500.00 a month on power bills, and have already clocked 2,000KWHours of solar from November 2020 to July 2021. That's just over 8KWhours a day.

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I do have an electrician coming to check out the problem this afternoon. Once more, thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.

**AndyD** · 20-Sep-14, 09:26 PM

Firstly there's a possibility it's not tripping the E/Leakage breaker because it's not supplied by it. Did you do an IR test? I assume not because you didn't mention it. If the geyser has some kinda control board then IR test at 250v or disconnect the circuit at the DB and connect the L+N together and IR test at 1000v to earth. Please let me know the results.

Also out of interest why was the thermostat corroded? If there's a leak then that may be your answer as well.