Electric current restarter

We have the same problem with storms. The power goes on and off all the time. I've no idea about the technical stuff. Mr Noddy does that. But it's blown our computer up several times, and other stuff. And we've been away only to find our freezer contents fermenting when we return home. We had the Gewiss put in this summer, along with a couple of lightning spikes into the ground. Touch wood, it's been a dream. I've been at home several times when the power has been going on and off within seconds. And the Gewiss kicks it all back into life effortlessly. Unfortunately the kitchen circuit has it's own breaker, so we still have to do some fine tuning to get it 100%. Definately a must for areas such as ours getsett.

Thanks Noddy and I am glad that you have found the Gewiss has almost sorted your problems. Hope you get 100% solution. I was beginning to think that I was the only one whose electric current went off in storms as no-one replied!! Glad to get your reply Noddy. Thanks.

We've often had problems with a RCD (aka "salva vita") tripping for reasons that seem to have nothing to do with electrical equipment in the house, most recently a couple of days ago when we had some fairly strong winds during the night.So I'm certain you're not the only one with the problem, but I didn't respond because you asked to hear about people's experiences with the Gewiss 90 Restarter and we don't have one of those.Now that I've learned that such a device exists, we will be installing one as soon as possible, so thanks for raising the subject.Al

Well my partner told me our electricity went off yesterday and again this morning in storms. I had never heard of the Gewiss but now I have and also that Mrs Noddy says it works a treat, I will be getting one on my return. A must have I would say. Thanks.

For those who are interested, the one fitted for the friend of a friend wasGEWISS SERIE 90 RESTART GW 94 819P There are a wide range of restarts as can be seen on the following web page (though the catalogue is dated 2008) and it might be a good idea to seek advice from an electrician as to which is best for your system. http://www.gewiss.si/FILE/ZGS/CAT08_90RESTART_GS_EN.pdf

Excuse my ignorance, but how do these things work? Do they manage somehow to reset the manual tripswitch on the modern white external ENEL meters, in which case I might find one very useful? Or are they an alternative to an indoor salvavita, in which case it'd be no use to me at all - it's always the external ENEL switch that trips.

The devices being discussed here are for use in conjunction with an RCD (commonly called a salva vita in Italy). This isn't a normal circuit breaker that trips only if there's a major fault, but one so sensitive to an imbalance in the electrical current on the two wires of the supply that it will turn off the electricity so quickly that you won't feel anything if you should be daft enough to grab a live wire while standing barefoot in the shower.Unfortunately, this sensitivity also means that they seem to trip if there's an imbalance on the wires supplying electricity to a house, as will happen often in rural areas of Italy with its long stretches of electric lines running above ground, since these are subject to all sorts of electrical interference.So, no, they're not really an alternative to the normal salva vita, more an improvement on the normal sort.Unfortunately, I really doubt if one would do anything to sort out your problem with the ENEL meter circuit breaker tripping. If that happens to you regularly and the circuit breakers and RCD on your side of the meter never trip, I suspect you either have a faulty meter circuit breaker or - more likely - you're simply exceeding the current which your contract with ENEL allows you to draw.Al

Thanks - you're right, wouldn't help. I do exceed my 3 kw occasionally, but a restorer wouldn't help much in that situation as you'd have to turn something off anyway before it could work. I was particularly thinking of what sometimes happens in severe electrical storms (quite frequent around me), when again the ENEL circuit-breaker will sometimes trip, but only very rarely the internal one.

Hi tasso. I have just got back from Italy where I discussed with the electrician the best place to site the Gewiss restarter and he advised that it could either be sited next to the "salva vita/trip switch and fuses box OR next to the ENEL white meter with trip switch. You may need to get an electrician to investigate the reason why the main trip switch keeps tripping but it is feasible to fit the restarter next to it. As far as I understand it (and I am not 100% sure so you need to make your own enquiries) if the switch trips more than 3 times in 3 minutes the restarter will not switch the current back on again. Nor will it work if the fault is due to the electric circuit being faulty/dangerous. I hope this helps.