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1930s Wiring.

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I attended an ex WW2 military barracks hut today. Timber construction now. It is used as a holiday chalet for visitors. Nice rubber insulated cables. Not in bad condition considering their age. Nice brown circular M.E.M. bakelite tumbler light switches. Also the earthing conductor (7 strand tinned copper) at the earth rod just came away from the rod when inspected.


There was a problem though. A light switch did not turn off the kitchen light, it just stayed on.  It was suspected to be faulty. I removed it, lubricated it, although the original grease was still quite good but limited. The switch was replaced and the light still stayed on constantly. When the switch was taken off the wall again the kitchen light still stayed on continually with no wall switch fitted. I suspect that the switch live and permanent supply live have melded together under pressure at the lighting point.


These old installations are just so interesting.


Repairs tomorrow.


Z.
  • 0
    A casbah is the Arabic word for something like a large fort or castle, or a walled town, and in  jokey way for some UK folk who did national service in the middle east became a way to refer to the safety of the camp,  when "back inside the fort"  at the end of a patrol or whatever. 

    Presumably being a home in a Nissen Hut, of the army type, that was the joke.

    My late scout leader did his service in that part of the world shortly after the war, and had a number of these strange ways to refer to things, as I suspect many of his generation did.


    Mike.
  • 0
    When I was little we lived in a place that was an old army Nissan hut the owner lived in the nice end we had the mingy end. For reasons I don't know the place was called casbah yes really I remembethere was no earthing the wash machine used to bite when the hearer was on. The sockets were a mix of 2 5 and 13 amp  oh and we had mice lots of mice
  • 0
    broadgage:

    Yes can be interesting, have you yet found any "American 2 way light switching" Seems popular in ex army buildings.


    Uses standard two way, three terminal switches. Live and neutral connected to "L1" and "L2" at each switch, lamp connected between the two common terminals.

    Works fine and saves material, but is rather dangerous since 50% of the time BOTH lamp terminals are live when the lamp is off.

    Particularly useful when a socket outlet exists or is required at each switch position, with live and neutral already present very little extra wire required.

    Also used for long tunnels with the lights switched in sections.


    Prohibited in the UK since it is a switched neutral.

    Fine for 220 volt lights connected to a three phase, wire system at 127/220 volts, since BOTH sides are live it does not matter which wire is switched.

    Fine at ELV.


    In America they call it "[insert name of next state or city] switching" Obviously WE do not do it like that, but the primitives over in [other place] know no better.


    Another armed forces special is three phase for small installations, I have seen a hut with a three phase 40 amp supply. Four twin 13 amp sockets on each phase.

     


    Well there's something new. The American two way lighting switching system. I never knew that.


    Z.


     


  • 0
    Yes can be interesting, have you yet found any "American 2 way light switching" Seems popular in ex army buildings.


    Uses standard two way, three terminal switches. Live and neutral connected to "L1" and "L2" at each switch, lamp connected between the two common terminals.

    Works fine and saves material, but is rather dangerous since 50% of the time BOTH lamp terminals are live when the lamp is off.

    Particularly useful when a socket outlet exists or is required at each switch position, with live and neutral already present very little extra wire required.

    Also used for long tunnels with the lights switched in sections.


    Prohibited in the UK since it is a switched neutral.

    Fine for 220 volt lights connected to a three phase, wire system at 127/220 volts, since BOTH sides are live it does not matter which wire is switched.

    Fine at ELV.


    In America they call it "[insert name of next state or city] switching" Obviously WE do not do it like that, but the primitives over in [other place] know no better.


    Another armed forces special is three phase for small installations, I have seen a hut with a three phase 40 amp supply. Four twin 13 amp sockets on each phase.

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