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Checking Appliance Earthing.

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Today I spoke to the manager of a local chain of domestic appliance retail shops. The chain sells and installs appliances like cookers and ovens etc. I asked the manager if they carry out an earth fault loop impedance test to confirm adequate earthing of the supply circuits and good earthing of appliances like cookers. He said that they did not. He asked me what test gear is used to carry  out the tests. I was shocked by this. People are having appliances installed by unqualified installers and the earthing effectiveness is not being tested.


Also his shop has nuisance tripping of the R.C.D. when several appliances are turned on. In particular washing machines cause tripping. Probably down to the 50 appliances each leaking a small current to earth via their internal mains filters. Get the cheapest quote. That''ll do. That's Norfolk for you.



Z.


Z.
  • 0
    I assume that this retailer is selling and installing new appliances? and most likely have 13A plugs attached to the supply leads? If so then the most difficult process for the installers will be to unpack the goods and remove the packaging safely. I know a couple of rascals who were quite happy for me to dispose of the packaging from a belling cooker after delivery as they sped of out of the door.....lol


    Legh.
  • 0
    Installing a hard wired cooker or hob however will involve rather more than a plug and socket, or at least it should do.

    Equally if it is a 'like for like' replacement of say a cooker, there is no legal need to leave the installation any safer than it was before, but I agree, at least morally, a plug in socket tester or a continuity check would be the right thing to do.
  • 0
    An installer who installs cookers, ovens, and other white goods day in day out having had a basic company training which is likely to incorporate shadowing a colleague for a couple of days is generally regarded as sufficient competence to continue at that level of work.

    I remember a young lady who enrolled on one of my courses to learn about electrical installation and maintenance as she was working for a national company installing and repairing/replacing hand driers in service station toilets. At least I made the electrical work as interesting as possible and she stuck it out for a year before the company decided she was qualified enough...shame, she had the right attitude and abilities to have been a proficient spakie.


    Legh
  • 0
    A householder is perfectly entitled to change a luminaire. Should he or she check the EFLI?
  • 0
    In an incident that I witnessed the company was to install a new free standing cooker that was to be wired in 6.0mm2 T&E to a cooker point.


    Z.
  • 0

    Chris Pearson:

    A householder is perfectly entitled to change a luminaire. Should he or she check the EFLI?




    Yes, a householder is better to confirm the adequacy of the earthing supplied to the new luminaire, especially if it is a Class I light fitting. Anyway that is D.I.Y. A company carrying out electrical work as a business has greater responsibility and liability I reckon.


    Z.

  • 0
    Question. The company's installers are to supply and wire up a new free standing cooker. They attend the customer's house and disconnect the old cooker and take it away. They connect up the new cooker in 6.0mm2 T&E cable to a cooker connection point. The cooker isolation switch (cooker control unit) does not have a 13 Amp socket incorporated in it. It is just a 45 Amp switch.


    Is the cooker correctly earthed? How would we test to confirm this?


    Z.
  • 0
    Shocking.

    https://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?/topic/105890-electric-shock-in-rented-house/


    Z.
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    And they charge up to £90 per appliance too.


    A friend of mine purchased a new fan oven and electric hob, Curry’s wanted £180 plus VAT to install them.  ?


    I installed (hard wired) and tested both in under an hour.
  • 0

    Fitzy71:

    And they charge up to £90 per appliance too.


    A friend of mine purchased a new fan oven and electric hob, Curry’s wanted £180 plus VAT to install them.  ?


    I installed (hard wired) and tested both in under an hour.




    I suppose that is the going rate these days Fitzi if the job is to be done correctly. It is a blanket cost to cover most eventualities I suppose. My local installer charges £60.00 plus VAT to wire up a cooker, including cable, and claims that customers won't pay any more.  20 per cent VAT makes the job even more expensive.


    Z.

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