6 Simple Electrical Troubleshooting Tips

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The process of analyzing a faulty circuit in order to determine what’s wrong with it and identify defective components is called electrical troubleshooting. Many people think that they can do this by themselves; however, depending on the type of equipment, electrical troubleshooting could be both dangerous and quite challenging.

Therefore, it’s always best to seek professional help from an electrician if you notice any kind of electrical fault at your home. And, if you want to get the best electrical services Brisbane, look no further than Thomas Blake Electrical – the most experienced and highly-professional electrician in the area.

However, if you are a handy person and have some experience with home maintenance in particular electrical maintenance, to be sure you can check it yourself. Make sure you have proper safety equipment and follow these top electrical troubleshooting tips:

Top Simple Electrical Troubleshooting Tips

  1. Check the Faulty Device

First and foremost, before you even continue to look at whether or not there’s an issue with the wiring and switchboards, ensure you check the faulty device. It makes more sense to check the appliance first and then continue checking other parts. This way when you contact your electrician, you will have a better idea of what’s going on and you can answer more of their questions.

  • Determine the Size of the Fault

Then, once you’ve identified the fault, it’s time to observe how much the fault has spread. This is what every experienced electrician does since it saves lots of time in the electrical troubleshooting process. If the fault is widespread, it is very likely that transients occur, and that circuit breakers and surge protectors trip.

  • Check for Switch Connectivity

Checking the switches is the next step in the electrical troubleshooting process. In fact, switches often wear and tear, and cause electrical faults too, because they have parts inside that move when you turn it on and off. To check them you need to have an Ohmmeter. So, if you don’t have one, ensure you contact the best electrician – Thomas Blake Electrical.

  • Look at Circuit Breakers and Fuse Boxes

Next, you should inspect your circuit breakers and fuses because the issue could sometimes be as easy-to-solve as a tripped circuit breaker or blown-up fuse. Hence, check the power points or the house residual current device (RCD) to see whether they’ve tripped.

  • Take a Look at Your Electrical Schemes

The electrical schemes, which every household should have, can be really helpful in electrical troubleshooting. So, taking a look at yours can help you identify the issue, which is why an electrician would often ask for your electrical schematic drawing.

  • Inspect the Wires

After localizing the faulty circuit, you should shut it down (which is a necessary precaution measure) and check specific electrical wires to locate the flaw. You should look for discoloured fixtures or melted wires as a potential cause of the circuit fault. After that, scan the neutral wires because if a neutral wire can’t return the current back and complete the circuit, leading to the circuit shut down.

The Bottom Line

Although you can try to perform electrical troubleshooting yourself, we don’t suggest you do unless you have experience in this area. The number one electrician – Thomas Blake Electrical – can help you with any and all of your electrical maintenance needs. To ensure you get the ultimate electrical services in Brisbane – contact Thomas Blake Electrical.

Top 5 Household Electrical Myths

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For everyday people, it’s easy to fall for some common household electrical myths. Although we all use electricity, handling or repairing electrical appliances requires an experienced electrician who offers professional electric services. Trying to do their job is not only a waste of time but it can also be very dangerous.

For that reason, the number one electrician providing the ultimate electrical services in Brisbane and the surrounding areas – Thomas Blake Electrical – has come up with the following list of top household electrical myths to help you avoid misconceptions and keep your family safe.

  1. Rubber Objects are Enough to Avoid Accidents

First and foremost, some people believe that wearing rubber shoes or gloves and taking off metal objects is enough to avoid accidents when trying to repair electrical appliances. However, the truth is that rubber objects aren’t always well insulated. In fact, most gloves or shoes aren’t made of 100% rubber and only pure rubber objects are well insulated. That’s why every professional electrician has special equipment which you can’t find at home.

  • Power Lines are Always Insulated

We usually see birds standing on power lines without getting hurt which makes us think that power lines are always insulated. But this isn’t completely true because birds remain unharmed as they don’t touch other electrical wires with a different voltage or the ground. Therefore, regardless of the fact that cables and wires connected to appliances are properly insulated with rubber or plastic, make sure you stay away from them.

  • Only Old Wires Go Bad

The third household electrical myth is that only old wiring can cause problems and accidents. Namely, there are also cases where new wiring systems go bad soon after being installed. And, even though it sounds strange, wires should be properly and regularly maintained, just like any other object in a household. Rodents or overload are the main culprits for wires going bad. Therefore, ensure you contact an electrician to do a regular check or replace any dangerous wiring.

  • Static and Outlet Electricity aren’t the Same

Furthermore, people tend to believe that these two: static and outlet electricity, are completely different. That said, it’s important that you understand that the only thing different about them is that static electricity is instantaneously equalized whereas outlet, or flowing, electricity flows constantly. In other words, as soon as you plug in an appliance, the current remains constant until you unplug it.

  • Only High-Voltage Shocks are Dangerous

Last in order but not of importance, one of the most common misconceptions people have is that only a low-voltage shock is dangerous. However, this is totally wrong because it is not the voltage that is dangerous but the electrical current (which is measured in amp). So, wall outlets aren’t the only hazardous concerns you should have, and especially those having small children, but batteries and other devices, too.

The Bottom Line

If you require professional electric services from an experienced electrician, don’t hesitate – contact Thomas Blake Electrical today.

Are you protected by an RCD safety switch?

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Just like it is a must to have a smoke detector from Smoke Alarms Cleveland in your home, every house must also have an RCD Safety Switch.

In this post, you will learn everything about the RCD Safety Switch and the protection it provides.

What is an RCD?

RCD is commonly known as the residual current device. It is a life-saving device that is specially designed to prevent us from getting a severe electric shock if touched, something such as a bare wire. RCD also helps to protect against electrical fires. Ordinary fuses and circuit breakers often fail to provide personal protection like RCD.

What does RCD do?

RCD is a safety device that switches off the electricity if there is a fault. Earth Faults often cause electrocution and fire. RCD helps to protect against that risk.

How exactly does it work?

An RCD keeps monitoring the electric current flowing through one or two circuits it is used to protect. If RCD detects any sort of electricity flowing down in different paths such as through a human who has touched a live part, then the RCD will immediately switch the circuit off. This significantly reduces the risk of injury or death. If you live near Coorparoo, then look online for Electrician Coorparoo to help you provide the best RCD installation and electrical services.

What are the types of RCD found?

As RCDs can help people stay protected from electric shocks in dangerous areas, they are available in different forms:

  • Fixed RCD: Fixed RCD provides the highest level of protection. These can protect an individual or groups of circuits.
  • Socket outlet RCD: In a place of a standard socket-outlet, you can put these special socket outlets that have an RCD built into them. Though this provides protection only to the person who is in contact with the particular equipment.
  • Portable RCD: These can be plugged into any standard socket outlet. Then the appliance can be plugged into the RCD. Try to get these only when the other two are not available. Just like socket-outlet RCD, they protect a single person in contact with the equipment, including its lead attached to the portable RCD. An electrician will provide you RCD according to your requirement.

How reliable is RCD or how quickly does the RCD safety switch disconnect the supply?

RCDs are very reliable when it comes to the question of safety. The ones manufactured for homes are very sensitive and are set to disconnect within 10 to 50 milliseconds of detecting any sort of current leakage.

Circuit breaker and RCD; are they the same thing?

The answer is no. Though both circuit breakers and RCDs are safety switches, they both work differently and serve a different purpose. Circuit breakers are meant to protect your home’s wiring by breaking the electrical current when a short circuit is detected. They fail to provide any protection to the people. For more information, you can contact South Brisbane Electrical Services.

Steps to Check a Faulty Safety Switch

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At your home, you will find safety switches in the circuit boards that have a special design to prevent any kind of electrical hazards to you and your family and save their lives. Like any other appliance, these switches also need checking at every interval to ensure they are working without any issues. If you have LED lighting at your house then it is important for an experienced electrician to properly check the safety switches.

In the following steps, we have discussed in detail the different ways a professional will check your safety switchboard:

Locate the switchboards

The first step is to detect the safety switches in the RCD circuit. People often get confused between safety switches and circuit breakers and fuses. It is to be known that each of them has their task to complete in the circuit. The safety switch is responsible for controlling the electricity flow through the circuit. When it detects any kind of leak, it turns the power off in milliseconds.

Check and clean

The next step for the Brisbane Electrician is to check the switchboard door hinge and along with its locking mechanism to make sure that it is working properly. The electrician often cleans the general area and the outside region of the switchboard.

Barcode RCD circuit

RCD circuits are barcoded to keep a track of the data management procedure.

Safety switch testing

During this stage, the Electrician in Capalaba has two ways of testing out things to keep people safe from any hazards:

  • Push-button test: This test confirms the status of the RCD. Electricians perform the test to ensure everyone is safe.
  • RCD testing: This is the process to check the safe tripping of the RCD. It is done to identify whether it can perform quickly to avoid any electrical problems. A good working RCD trips in as small as 40 milliseconds.

How to check your safety switchboard at home?

It is important to note that asking for professional Electrical services is always better than working without any experience as these tasks can be tricky and life-threatening.

When you are checking your switch, make sure you do this during broad daylight. While you check your switch, the lights will cut out for a short period. If you do this during the night, it will be difficult to see anything

Once you are prepared, open the switchboard and look out for the ‘test button’. Once you see it, press it firmly.

After pressing it if the safety switch trips off and if the lights go out then it is a good sign that everything is functioning properly.

Once you complete the process, flick the safety switch to its original ON position.

If you cannot find the ‘Test button’ along the row of circuit breakers, it is possible that your house does not have a safety switch and this could lead you and your family to great danger.

Bottom Line:

Take all the necessary precautions before doing any electrical tasks. It is crucial to seek professional advice prior to jumping into any fixes yourself. Chat to Thomas Blake Electrical for any of your electrical needs today!