Has anybody ever had a problem with condensation tripping a type B 4a breaker on 240v ground lights. I have 20 light on 3 separate circuits and can see condensation inside several of the lights. This has been the first night below 4 deg
Yes 4 amp. Total load adds up to 3amp so In the control panel running the garden i installed a 4 amp 1 amp lower than the DB breaker. As I said its all been running fine for weeks until the cold spell. I can see the condensation on the glass so its probably dripped down.
Do you have access to any electrical test equipment to carry out an IR test? Can you upload some photos of the lights with condensation and how they've been wired.
Yes there are many choices from 1a up to 32 See picture of the light with condensation. I have 3 circuits all wired with SWA 1.5MM up to IP65 JB. The light is then wired in and secured with a PG compression gland. I the sealed the box with Silicone. I also water tested every light by submerging them in cold water for 24hrs and had no water ingress. See picture
Is there a 30 mA RCD protecting the circuit if so, is it tripping? If there isn’t a 30 mA RCD protecting the circuit, why not?
Submerging the lights in water isn’t actually a conclusive test for leaks. As the lights heat up the air inside the fittings it will increase in pressure pushing it out through the leaky seals, then as the air cools it will create a slight vacuum inside the fittings and moisture will be drawn in through leaky seals. If you hold a glass upside down in water it won’t fill up with water.
That That makes a lot of sense. How on earth can these lights be sealed 100% ? I did leave the power on to the light when they were submerged. But I guess the water would keep them cool ?
If you had left the lights in the water for several hours after turning them off there may have been a different outcome.