After re-reading some of the threads and a bit of searching on Google I think this might be worth replacing - even if that isn't the fault - as it's an updated design.

EV Switchgear | 40 Amp 30mA 1P+N 2Mod Type A - DC Sensitive (10KA) RCB

Type: Electro-magnetic type Residual current characteristics: A Pole No: 1P+N Tripping curve: C Rated short-circuit capacity: 10kA Rated current: 20/40A Rated voltage: 240V AC Rated frequency: 50/60Hz Rated residual operating current: 30mA Tripping duration: Instantaneous__ 0.1s...

evonestop.co.uk

 

That would be replacing a bit of garbage with another bit of garbage, though. Rolec stuff is complete crap, the cheapest and nastiest bits of Chinese made tat they can buy in and stick their name on. I've lost count of the number of Rolec branded RCBOs that have burned out, massively more than any other brand I've ever seen in over 40 years experience. In fact I can say that Rolec stuff overheating for no external reason is a pretty much uniquely Rolec way of trying to start a fire, every other case of an overheated MCB, RCD, etc I've seen has been from poor installation, usually insufficiently tight terminal screws.

A decent brand name, like Garo, will be a great deal more reliable and cost very little more. This one would do the job, just watch the polarity when installing it, as it's the opposite of the Chinese standards that Rolec use: Garo TYPE A EV RCBO B Curve 2P 40A 6kA 30mA

 

Thanks for the link. I've ordered that Garo unit and have seen the wiring explained in the main Rolec thread, so hopefully I should be okay.

 

You should find swapping the Rolec RCBO for the Garo one straightforward. Things to watch (other than the Garo being the standard polarity) are making sure that the gate terminals are fully open when you put the wires in, that the wires are stripped to the right length so the copper is fully in the terminal, so the insulation isn't trapped, that as little exposed bare wire is visible as possible outside the terminal and that the terminal screws are tight, really tight. They need to be tightened to 2.5 N-m, and this is around the point where your hand might be starting to slip around the handle of a small size screwdriver, so a fair bit tighter than some might think.

 

I've had a couple of nuisance trips this week a few hours into charging - the first time that has ever happened. I've done a residual current test and the value is way below 30mA so it could be an intermittent fault, but my money is on it being the breaker, which is a ~2016 blue model RCBO. So I'm now considering what to replace it with.

Given that the charge point was installed to 17th edition, I need to think about upgrading it to include the latest protection. One option is to replace the Rolec RCBO with a Type B RCD. I don't need the over current protection because the unit is fed from a 32A RCBO so the 40A over current would never have operated anyway. The Rolec case can take a 3 module device. As far as I can see there isn't much choice. I've found these:

• TORD4B
• ELK6
• WEV263B

The problem is I don't recognise any of the manufacturers and I don't want to replace one poor quality device with another, but the equivalents from Hager or Schneider are coming up at twice the price.

Apparently Western Automation make Type B and Type EV RCDs but I can't see anyone who sells them.

I am going to upgrade to a Viridian EPC2.0+ to get the PEN loss protection so I could also use that controller with an RCM14 DC residual current detector but that means additional wiring and having to fit it inside the case.

Very few ideal options!

 

I am going to upgrade to a Viridian EPC2.0+ to get the PEN loss protection so I could also use that controller with an RCM14 DC residual current detector but that means additional wiring and having to fit it inside the case.

That's the option I'd go for but how long until you can get one?

@mikeselectricstuff and @Jeremy Harris tested an inexpensive RCD from AliExpress and felt it suitable - they might provide a link but I don't have one.

 

I fitted the EKL6 Type B, seems fine, and tests out OK. I compared it with a cheaper one from Aliexpress in this thread, where @mikeselectricstuff had taken apart a Tongou brand unit, and @sometime sent me a different Tonghou unit to test, and it was OK as far as I could tell : Tongou Chinese Type B RCDs

 

I should add that I have a different Chinese made Type B RCD on order, really just to test to see whether it meets the specs. It's this larger, 4 mod unit: 61.93US $ 23% OFF|ETEK Type B Earth Leakage Circuit Breakers RCCB RCD Din Rail DC EKL6 100B 2P 40A 63A 30mA 10KA|Circuit Breakers| - AliExpress

 

You can fit all the Viridian bits inside, I did this to my Rolec a while back. I just used the EPC 2.0 Basic, the + wasn't out then, so none of the new comms stuff they've added. Details here: Rolec Dumb Charger upgraded with DC Leakage Protection...

 

My Rolec lives inside the gge, and the EPC 2.0 has it's own built-in LED anyway, so I discarded the Rolec LED unit (rather a nice little item, despite what some say about Rolec's choice of bits!!!) and simply stuck some heavy-gauge clear tape over the hole to act as dust&spider-proof window. I did look on eBay for a clear window that would screw into that hole & seal it properly, but couldn't find one. And couldn't be bothered to 3D print my own holder either! You could perhaps silicone-seal a small bit of perspex to the inside of the hole, that would look ok.

If the new EPC 2.0+ has reversed the polarity, this should show in the wiring diagram in the manual for it. If you want to keep the LED unit to operate outdoors, you could decide just to use one pair of wires to the LED, choose say the blue, and wire that up to whichever of the EPC/s r/g/b outputs you prefer. But you'll be reducing diagnostic info by doing this.

Note: just looked, can't see the new EPC 2.0+ on ecoharmony.co.uk, so no idea where manual will be. I think the 2.0 Basic is what I used, and that the polarity is backwards to Rolec LED unit.

 

I’ve gone with the Tongu. £45 all in from Ali Express. The RCM is £68 plus a bit more aggravation to fit.

Note: just looked, can't see the new EPC 2.0+ on ecoharmony.co.uk, so no idea where manual will be.

I think the bulk of the manual is common between the units. Main thing the 2.0+ adds is the Modbus. The RS485 connections are in the main manual and the Modbus address register was posted in another topic.

The 1.0 had the LEDs driven for common cathode. I believe this was opposite to the Rolec controllers. The 2.0 is wired for common anode but I don’t know if the voltage is the same. EPC 2.0 is 12v; I think the Rolec is 5v. A quick check with the voltmeter will tell.

 

No surprises, burnt out Rolec blue breaker, which has now failed completely.

Now without a charge point until the new unit arrives. ☹

 

No surprises, burnt out Rolec blue breaker, which has now failed completely.

Now without a charge point until the new unit arrives. ☹

The monotonous regularity with which these Rolec RCBOs fail never ceases to piss me off. They truly are complete and utter crap. I really need to update the rogue's gallery of burned out Rolec tat, as it's now a few years old and there have been a fair few failures since then:

 

Mine was fine for a long time. I put this down to mostly charging at work in the early years so there must be a time element to the failure.

For a long time, the device looked fine but now it has failed, you can see the discolouration on the Neutral terminal. I guess that’s an indication so if it’s starting to look cream or brown, it probably time to start looking at a replacement so you aren’t stuck without a charge point.

To check, isolate the power at the consumer unit and take the six screws out of the front of the charge point box and just pull the cover towards you. I put a box under it when you take it off so as not to lose the screws.

When you have finished, put the cover back on. You might need to open up the smoked plastic cover to wiggle the breaker back in the hole so the cover goes on. Be careful not to over tighten the screws; it’s possible to break the posts they screw into inside the case. If they break, it’s harder to squeeze the waterproof seal around the cover.

 

It does seem as if the newer, green text, Rolec RCBOs are better than the older blue text ones, but as @barneyd highlights above, there does seem to be a usage time factor involved, and the newer green text ones are starting to show signs of burning out, but in a different way to the blue text ones.

My concern is that it's very rare to find inherent failures in RCBOs from other manufacturers. Failures are almost always due to terminal screws not being tightened properly. Rolec stand out as being way ahead of all other manufacturers in terms of serious failures, and it seems to be something of a miracle that none have yet resulted in a serious fire.

Best course of action is to replace the Rolec crap with something safer, IMHO. The cost is around £20, and seems a small price to pay for peace of mind.

 

I ordered my replacement RCBO months ago but it took me a while to replace the faulty one. The impetus arrived when the charger finally stopped working a few weeks ago. I swapped the faulty one with the replacement and the charger is back up and running.

This was the scene inside before replacement...

 

Do you have a set of testers or a volt meter? if so then find out where the power stops (starting from the supply) and that will give you an idea of where the power stops.
once youve identified the point at which you lose power, youll then be able to think about getting a replacement component or replacement charge point.

 

Here's another Rolec RCBO that's failed (it was installed at the distribution board for the cable to the garage, where the charger is). It was installed just over two years ago and has seemingly welded itself in the permanently On position.

 

So, 8 months later and my seven year old Rolec charger is tripping again.

In April I replaced the RCBO (it was burnt out). In June I replaced the cable as the previous one was faulty (old cable and new cable both 10m). Then last month I replaced the case as there was a massive crack in it and the charger had started occasionally tripping (I suspected moisture was getting in).

I had it checked by an electrician when the cable was swapped and they could see nothing wrong. And it worked fine for months.

Now I would say 50% of charges fail after a few hours (usually at 1am). What to do? Is there anything else I can replace? Is the cable too long? Is it because it's cold? I'm guessing it's not the car as it happens on two different EVs.

Is it time to bite the bullet and just get a new one? I have zero confidence in this one at the moment. Maybe a Zappi so that if/whenI get solar I can utilise it...

 

In April I replaced the RCBO (it was burnt out)...

With what? Anoher Rolec-brand RCBO? Hopefully a Garo/similar, rated 40A. Ditch any Rolec RCBO.

Now I would say 50% of charges fail after a few hours (usually at 1am). What to do? ...

I had my first-ever 32A charge trip out on my RCD Breaker in the mini-consumer unit after about 10 minutes.
These current-sensitive devices derate the trip-current as they warm up a little, mine had de-rated to the 31.5A that my car drew, then tripped! Solution was fit a 40A rated one, Rolec fine since then. Check that whatever's doing the tripping is rated for 40A - I assume you have a 7kW unit? If a 3.5 kW 16A one, again, needs to be rated a bit above 16A.

Is it time to bite the bullet and just get a new one? I have zero confidence in this one at the moment. Maybe a Zappi so that if/whenI get solar I can utilise it...

Hard to see what else could be causing the trip, if you've eliminated damp. As a check you could take the cover off and place a few pre-dried silica-gel sachets in there and see if it's ok for a week. Damp could be getting in from the mains cable entry, the mounting holes where box is screwed to the wall, any cracked/missing of the 6 internal lugs that are prone to snapping off, screw hole at the front where a broken lug isn't holding the screw tight & the case-seal leaks locally, or even from the socket where Type-2 cable is, anywhere there's a passageway through the case. Lots of silicone sealant & a re-mount might be your friend!

 

After replacing my Rolec RCB with a Garo mine was fine for about 2 years then started occasionally tripping in the small hours. When I opened it up to check I found some of the mounting points had cracked and the case wasn't sealing so I am guessing moisture was getting in. After letting it air for a while (no moisture actually visible) I sealed the case with gaffer tape around the edge then ordered a repair kit from Handy Andy. Haven't fitted it yet but all seems well at the mo so I am guessing it was moisture.