"Nigel Heather" wrote in message
...
Did a test with a multimeter - did look like an earth fault as you
suggest.

So I took it back to the shop and got them to test it with a megger. They
confirmed an earth fault and are getting a replacement for me.

So on the whole looks promising.

good

The only niggle remaining is whether another fault could have caused the
insulation breakdown and the same will happen again tomorrow.

no its not the machine probably an old stock element that has absorbed
moisture
What does the Inlet Thermostat do?

Is it a saftey cut designed to come on in abnormal conditions?
Or is it a there to regulate the temperature?

it regulates the temperature of the element

If it were faulty could it cause the element to overheat and breakdown?

no the insulation breakdown in your case is moisture, there is another
cut-out to protect the machine from overheating on the rear panel the black
one with two blue wires on it.

However bearing in mind that the element was on less than 5 minutes I
doubt that this could have been the case.

correct

Thanks for the help,

Nigel