Masterplug Non Latching RCD Safety Adaptor Review

For operating electrical power tools where there is a risk of cutting through the power cord, the use of an RCD (residual current device) is an absolute must. If you were to accidentally cut through a mains power lead, and an RCD was not present, then you would find yourself at a very real risk of a serious, or possibly even fatal electric shock.

How does an RCD work?

In simple terms, an RCD is able to detect a fault in the electrical circuit that your lawn mower or other device is hooked up to. If it detects a fault it immediately shuts the power off. These days most homes are fitted with fixed RCDs on the consumer unit, which effectively cover every circuit connected to them. However some older electrical installations do not, and therefore you should use an RCD adaptor, or special socket with an built in RCD to protect you.

The Masterplug RCD Safety Adaptor

In our experience this particular RCD adapter is far and away the most popular on the market, with a proven track record among thousands of users. For less than £10 it’s almost a no brainer to add one of these to your shopping list when buying a new electric garden tool.

This RCD couldn’t be simpler to operate, and every effort has been made to ensure that it’s as safe as possible, chiefly this comes in the form of a test button that should be pressed every time the unit is used. This lets you know immediately that the unit is working and that it’s safe to proceed. The other button a ‘reset’ switch must be pressed every time the device being used is switched off, this isn’t a problem for tools, but for applications that must be left unattended (such as pond pumps) you’ll need to use the other type of RCD, known as a latching RCD which stays set regardless of the state of the equipment it’s connected to.

In terms of visual indication to let you know the unit is operational, a small orange tab will slide across behind the small inspection window on the unit when it is switched on. Whilst this works well, it must be said that it would be preferable if this were an LED instead, purely because it would be easier to view from a distance. The only other minor quibble that we’ve found is that the test and reset buttons are a little hard to push to engage, so there’s a little room for improvement to the design in this respect.

Overall though, this Masterplug unit is all you’ll need to protect you when you’re out mowing on slightly damp grass, or you accidentally cut through the power cord. Even if your consumer unit has an RCD built it, we would still recommend using this just for the extra security and piece of mind, and because it will act before the consumer unit RCD does.