This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Kettle earth - why?

Hi guys, just curious.  I have a plastic electric kettle that has an earth lead in the flex.  I can't see much point in it.  It will trip the RCD in the event of an element insulation breakdown so there's some use there.  Any thoughts?
  • If a metal sheathed kettle element was not earthed it could become live if defective.

    Whilst not easily touched, consider the risk of the “live” water being poured into a metal tea pot whilst the user is holding the metal handle of the teapot.

    Tap water has a fairly high resistance, but I suspect that stream of water from the live element into the metal teapot could still conduct current to give a dangerous shock.

    As for reversing the polarity when connecting an appliance flex to a 13 amp plug, it can not matter that much as much of the rest of the world uses non polarised plugs.

  • The biggest issue with doing an earth continuity test on a Class I plastic kettle element is scrapping the lime built up on it off to get a low reading. 

    387640b877abdc0ce33393c3d9686c6a-original-20210913_083335.jpg

     

  • 8d1f2fd432ce42db3f002e4ccf518997-original-20210913_083433.jpg

     

  • And on the vigilance of the owner of the equipment under test

  • error