Knocking out traffic jams in the apartment: what to do and where to go?

Almost every person has encountered the problem of knocking out plugs, especially when it comes to living conditions. Although rarely seen lately, they have been replaced circuit breakers. In principle, the reasons for the operation of the protection that disconnects the circuit with the help of these devices are almost identical. However, before considering them, you need to clearly understand: what are these devices for and what to do in case of emergency with them. Next, we will tell you why traffic jams are knocked out in the apartment and how to solve this problem yourself.

Content:

Design and purpose
Possible reasons for triggering
Troubleshooting methods
If you cannot fix the problem yourself

Design and purpose

An electrical plug is, in principle, the same fuse, but with a screw-in structure for connecting conductive parts. Its base is very similar to an ordinary incandescent light bulb, which is still applied in many apartments and houses. The main purpose of this electrical device is to protect circuits from

short circuit and exceeding the load above the established one. The body is made of a dielectric material (non-conductive) so that it can be screwed in and out even without dielectric gloves, unlike fuses.

Plugs are of two types: with a fusible link and automatic with a button to turn on and off. The version with a fuse-link after operation requires replacing the fuse inside and, as a result, replacing the fuse-link. Moreover, its characteristics, namely the voltage and current strength, should be the same as those of the burnt one. If you install, due to burnout, an insert with a suspended rating, then in the event of a short circuit in an apartment or, for example, in a private house it is not a protective mechanism that disconnects the consumer from the network, but the electrical wiring will burn out in some place, and the search for an open circuit is enough problematic.

Automatic plugs, which have a quick reclosing mechanism, do not have a fusible link, which means they are protected from installing a protective element with an inappropriate rating in it.

Such or similar protective devices against overloading should be installed in all circuits, and preferably with their division into groups. For example, the light in the country, from one machine or plug, and sockets for connecting an electric stove, water heater or kettle from another. This will make it easier to establish the reason why the traffic jams are knocked out in the apartment.

Possible reasons for triggering

The reasons for the tripping of circuit breakers and plugs, if they do not have an automatic differential protection installed nearby, or RCD (residual current devices), there can be only three:

Short circuit. In this case, a sharp jump in current occurs in the entire circuit and, as a consequence, heating wires. At the same time, the voltage drops, but this all happens instantly and if there is no protective mechanism, then a fire occurs or the wiring burns out. This emergency mode is the most dangerous in electricity and it happens due to deterioration of insulation or improper switching of electrical equipment. The faster the protective device is triggered, the less damage a short circuit will cause. Very often this happens when the light is turned on, if the bare wires are closed in the cartridge, and sometimes the incandescent lamps themselves can cause a small short circuit inside the flask itself, which is most often pumped only by the failure of the source itself Sveta.

Excess load above par. You should not choose a protective device (fuse, circuit breaker) with a rating, current strength, strong exceeding the total load current, since then they will knock out only with a short circuit, which not right. If, for example, plugs are installed in an electrical circuit that includes an iron and an electric stove and their total operating current is 10 Amperes, then you need to install a protective device with a rating of 12-14 Amperes, since at the moment of switching on the starting current exceeds worker. It should also be taken into account that when the washing machine is turned on, the starting current will be greater than when the kettle is turned on. Devices that have an electric motor in their design consume more starting current. By and large, an overload is the same as a short circuit. Only in the second case, the current can increase hundreds of times, depending on the power of the source itself.

Malfunction the security element itself. Like any device, electrical protection devices can fail and turn off falsely. There is only one way out of the situation - to replace it with a serviceable one.

Troubleshooting methods

First you need to determine the reason why the plugs are knocked out on the meter. In any room, whether it is an apartment, a house or a garage, there is a meter located in a dashboard (miniature switchgear). If it is a plug with a fusible insert that is installed, then you cannot tell by its appearance whether it was knocked out or not. In order to quickly determine whether the voltage is on or not, on the meter, or rather, on its modern electronic type, there are indicators showing the presence of an input voltage, with the inscription "Network". If it is on, it means that voltage is supplied to the consumer and it is necessary to check the outgoing protection devices.

A knocked out machine gun is easily cocked, but there are two ways to check whether the fuse has blown or not:

Installing a new fuse and, accordingly, a fuse in it.
Using any multimeter in ohmmeter mode or a circuit probe.

If you touch the outputs one, which is in the center, and the other is connected to the base, then an indicator should light up, indicating the presence of a circuit. Checking voltage by indicator

After finding out that the protection mechanism of the machine has been triggered (knocked out), it is recommended to turn it on again, but do this only once. That is, install a new fuse-link or press the button on the cocking mechanism into its working position. Before turning it on, it is imperative to go around the entire room (house, apartment, site) and make a visual inspection. If the situation repeats itself and the plug does not turn on, then there is a malfunction on the outgoing line, or rather, in the circuit of the consumer himself.

To find out the location of the accident, it is necessary to understand what caused the excess current in the circuit. In order to find out what the matter is, you need to try to apply voltage without load, that is, by disconnecting all electrical appliances from the sockets and putting the light switches in the off position. If, after that, in a private house or apartment, the plugs are knocked out without load, then the problem is in the wiring. Most often, this is a short circuit, characterized by sparks, smoke and the smell of melting insulation. About, what to do if the apartment smells like wiring, we talked about in a separate article.

If, when you turn off all household appliances, the plug does not knock out of the sockets. This means that the reason is a short circuit or incorrect operation of the device. Immediately you need to pay attention to the outlet to which the connection was made, whether there are obvious signs of a short circuit, and only then turn on all electrical appliances one by one. When you plug the stove into an outlet, you must make sure that their parameters are consistent, otherwise sooner or later this will lead to heating, deterioration of insulation and a short circuit in the apartment. If everything still works and the protection is triggered regularly (constantly), then the reason this may be due to an increase in the total load in the consumer's circuit and the wrong choice of rating protection.

In the kitchen, in the bathroom, knocking out plugs can be due to moisture, since water is a conductor of current and, accordingly, can cause a short circuit between two different potentials.

If you cannot fix the problem yourself

If there is no access to the electrical panel, which, in principle, is absolutely not permissible either in the apartment or in the house, or there is no voltage after the meter, then one logical question arises - where to call and where to go? Naturally, only to the company of the electricity supplier with whom the contract for its consumption was signed. It is prohibited to open closed switchboards or meters. If the accident happened at night and it is impossible to fix it on your own, then in each area there are emergency round-the-clock services and the solution of the problem can be placed on their shoulders.

Now you know why the traffic jams are knocked out in the apartment and how to determine the cause of the operation. We hope the information provided was useful and interesting for you.

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