Would you think this is a problem?

[user 130681]

This is why you must always test a Chinesium built amplifier before taking out your house mains trip.
They don't have QA departments and the CE sticker is just that, a sticker and meaningles, like most of the certification that comes out of China.

 

[Script]

Washing lines ? -- Budui.
Fuse is in the power cable socket or supposed to be that thing on the left?

 

[Robert de Wit]

That is why you need 30mA RCD's in house....

 

[user 130681]

Absolutely an RCD is a must and in fact a requirement under BS7671:2018 for all electrical installations and distribution box replacements.

This came into my workshop as a brand new out of the box amplifier that blows the house RCD trip.
The 'engineer' that looked at it suggested it required a new mains transformer. That was not the case. Wiring it up correctly and setting the primary winding to 240volts from 220volts, (the UK is 240volts as is Australia, NOT 220/230volts), fixed the issue. A very happy owner, braced with a possible invoice for £hundreds, received an invoice from me for £32.

 

[Newmarket]

(the UK is 240volts as is Australia, NOT 220/230volts),

Yes and No ! The UK mains IS 230 Vrms nominally.
But it is toleranced at +10% / -6% so 217 to 253 Vrms.
So the 'old' standard of 240Vrms is easily contained within that and so no equipment needed to change from a regulatory point of view.
What difference this makes with performance etc is a different matter. eg if you take say, a valve amp (as I see that's your thing) from the UK to a mainland European territory where the voltage is closer to the 230Vrms.
fwiw I measure the mains voltage a lot in a previous role (Crawley UK) and it always came out at 241 or 242 Vrms.

 

[JohnRoberts]

That is why you need 30mA RCD's in house....

in the US GFCI protected outlets will trip at 6 mA of fault/leakage current.

JR

 

[Tubetec]

So neutral was wired to the ground pin of the IEC ?

Surely anyone with a good working knowledge of electrical systems should have spotted this right away .

And what about the company that made it , they need to find the person who made this mistake before it happens again and someone ends up hurt or dead . I certainly wouldnt let them off the hook for just the cost of the repair , time to write a letter ,its the only way to get things done .

 

[Newmarket]

in the US GFCI protected outlets will trip at 6 mA of fault/leakage current.

JR

I saw that previously. Is that generally per outlet or for the whole circuit ? Does USA have mostly radial or ring configuration ?
I may have been watching too many electrician channels on YouTube

 

[Newmarket]

So neutral was wired to the ground pin of the IEC ?

Surely anyone with a good working knowledge of electrical systems should have spotted this right away .

And what about the company that made it , they need to find the person who made this mistake before it happens again and someone ends up hurt or dead . I certainly wouldnt let them off the hook for just the cost of the repair , time to write a letter ,its the only way to get things done .

From the £ reference I'm taking this as being in the UK. Afaik the the legally responsible person/organisation would be the "Economic Operator" within the country - basically the distributor / agent / importer. People try to evade responsibility in some cases hence the term 'Economic Operator" in the last legislation / directive of which I'm aware.
Relevant enforcement body is the Trading Standards Office of wherever the item was sold at retail.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I saw that previously. Is that generally per outlet or for the whole circuit ? Does USA have mostly radial or ring configuration ?
I may have been watching too many electrician channels on YouTube

GFCI outlets can be daisy chained together so 6 mA across two outlets. In theory you could chain more together but I've never seen it recommended.

JR

 

[user 130681]

BS7671:2018 includes a newer type of RCD or GFCI breaker. It has a spark detector within it and detects bad connections by monitoring the current waveform for persistant noise spikes in both Spur and Ring mains. eg loose terminals, faulty kettle leads etc.

30mA trip is standard. I used to use 10mA in my workshop but too many appliancess with RFI filters kept tripping it for no other reason.

Very expensive at present and mandatory fitment in care homes, HMOs, nursing homes and hostpitals upon rewiring and new builds.

Fender Blues Juniors in particular suffer badly, almost to the point of being a fire hazard, when run in the UK before modification to set the mains voltage down to 240volts. Over voltage HT, over heating the heaters, coupled with over current draw of the output valves, causes premature failure of the valves and can cause a burn up on the PC Board. See attached;

As discussed in earlier posts, the UK mains supply was 240volts, the generators produced 240volts AC at 50HZ and now the regulatory boffins have changed the rules of tollerance to fudge the figures down to allow for the 240 volts mean voltage agreeing with the EU who stated 230 volts.
The CEGB are not going to replace completely serviceable Generators on their say so and as far as I am aware still use the older designed voltage ratings for new generators.

(Nothing wrong with pints, gallons, pounds, ounces and inches. {Millimeters are too fiddly anyway} ).

The photo of the new amplifier with the wiring issue is of an FU29 "Hi Fi" amplifier sold to the customer on fleabay, direct from the factory in China.

 

[warpie]

setting the primary winding to 240volts from 220volts,

How did you do this?

 

[user 130681]

So neutral was wired to the ground pin of the IEC ?

Surely anyone with a good working knowledge of electrical systems should have spotted this right away .

And what about the company that made it , they need to find the person who made this mistake before it happens again and someone ends up hurt or dead . I certainly wouldnt let them off the hook for just the cost of the repair , time to write a letter ,its the only way to get things done .

Correct. The neutral path is to Earth or Ground as they say over the pond.
Danger has no bounds in other countries it seems. Makes one grateful for RCD trips!

 

[user 130681]

How did you do this?

Don't forget to adjust the bias voltage for the correct idle current!

 

[Newmarket]

The CEGB are not going to replace completely serviceable Generators on their say so and as far as I am aware still use the older designed voltage ratings for new generators.

Agreed they aren't . Especially given that the CEGB no longer exists post privatisation.

The photo of the new amplifier with the wiring issue is of an FU29 "Hi Fi" amplifier sold to the customer on fleabay, direct from the factory in China.

Interesting to note that direct sale means that the customer is the "Economic Operator" in the UK and as such is legally responsible for compliance issues...

 

[JohnRoberts]

BS7671:2018 includes a newer type of RCD or GFCI breaker. It has a spark detector within it and detects bad connections by monitoring the current waveform for persistant noise spikes in both Spur and Ring mains. eg loose terminals, faulty kettle leads etc.

30mA trip is standard. I used to use 10mA in my workshop but too many appliancess with RFI filters kept tripping it for no other reason.

Very expensive at present and mandatory fitment in care homes, HMOs, nursing homes and hostpitals upon rewiring and new builds.

Fender Blues Juniors in particular suffer badly, almost to the point of being a fire hazard, when run in the UK before modification to set the mains voltage down to 240volts. Over voltage HT, over heating the heaters, coupled with over current draw of the output valves, causes premature failure of the valves and can cause a burn up on the PC Board. See attached;

As discussed in earlier posts, the UK mains supply was 240volts, the generators produced 240volts AC at 50HZ and now the regulatory boffins have changed the rules of tollerance to fudge the figures down to allow for the 240 volts mean voltage agreeing with the EU who stated 230 volts.
The CEGB are not going to replace completely serviceable Generators on their say so and as far as I am aware still use the older designed voltage ratings for new generators.

(Nothing wrong with pints, gallons, pounds, ounces and inches. {Millimeters are too fiddly anyway} ).

The photo of the new amplifier with the wiring issue is of an FU29 "Hi Fi" amplifier sold to the customer on fleabay, direct from the factory in China.

"arc fault circuit interrupters" detect for loose wire connections that can cause fires. Relatively new.

JR

 

[Mr. Moscode]

"arc fault circuit interrupters" detect for loose wire connections that can cause fires. Relatively new.

JR

A vacuum cleaner with arcing brushes can trip it. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Its a good idea if it prevents house fires, but they may be optimistic about how effective it is in light of false triggers (RCDs are a little notorious for false triggers in damp weather).

caveat I have no personal experience with AFCI. I have personally incorporated a number of GFCI outlets into my old low tech house. AFCI, not yet.

JR

 

[abbey road d enfer]

And what about the company that made it

Unless they ship their products without testing them at all, it shows their electrical installation is utterly unsafe. Dangerous people in dangerous premises...

 

[user 130681]

A vacuum cleaner with arcing brushes can trip it. Don't ask me how I know.

That is a classic fault. Caused by an over worked motor or a faulty suppressor capacitor. Either way a fault.
(Don't need to know how you know, I can guess ).