Safety Alert – Faulty Circuit Breaker & Electric Shock

Just putting out a safety alert to electricians and end users of older electrical switchboards.

We have recently encountered a situation where the casing of and old style Clipsal circuit breaker was found to be live. We had never seen this before and want to put the word out that this could cause electric shock to any member of the public. Being a member of NECA – National Electrical & Communications Association, we have reported it to them and also to the Qld. Electrical Safety Office for an awareness campaign.

Fortunately this was discovered with a non contact voltage test pencil, however it could have easily resulted in an electric shock.

If you have any of these circuit breakers in your switchboard or have seen any around we suggest you contact a trusted electrical contractor to change these out. They are typically very old though still commonly found in residential and commercial switchboards from time to time. They are clearly identifiable by their distinct brown colour. Please share this around to help prevent unecessary electric shock.

Faulty Clipsal MCB