Ring Main at Consumer unit

dcbwhaley:

What advert?

The advert for your electrician.


Z.

The 'borrowed neutral' problem sometimes seen where upstairs and downstairs lights meet at the stairs in a dual gang switch, and current for one light flows back down the neutral of the wrong circuit.

Easy enouhg to avoid, but a sod to fix if the mistake is plastered in already - so the quick fix is to put the upstairs landing light on the downstairs wiring so it is not the wrong circuit anymore

About 20 years ago I replaced an old consumer unit with a new split load type. All went well and tested o.k., except that that evening when the central heating programmer called for heat, one of the R.C.D.s tripped out due to a borrowed neutral.


It was a Devil's own job to explain to the householders why this happened, even though I explained that the new equipment was more sensitive. They were not sympathetic.


I did rectify the problem though to my cost. "The customer is always right".



Z.


 

dcbwhaley:

Whilst cutting the seal may be an offence it would be almost impossible to identify the perp.   "A bloke I met in the pub did it for cash.  He was called Dave" :-)

But the person the DNO is supplying is the householder, and that is the person who gets the rude letter and threat of disconnection, or rather more serious if they suspect an attempt to abstract - it is the sort of thing they actually do talk to the meter reading companies about.

Its the same as if you employ a builder to do something to your house that does not meet planning permission or building regs. The council prosecute  the house owner, not the builder...

That said, most cases the cut out has not been fiddled and it just gets re-sealed. I think very few will work with live tails these days. The nearest I have seen is the live insertion of a single pole Henley block as a means of expedient isolation.

Mike.

Zoomup:

dcbwhaley:

What advert?

The advert for your electrician.


Z.

And only being a NICEIC Domestic electrician he is outside his scope to be doing EICRs. Not that you need to be NICEIC to carry them out. 

dcbwhaley:

Its only 240v, Z.  When I was with the CEGB they worked on live 400,000v lines.  With no deaths :-) :-)

If it shorts by your unprotected face you could be blinded. Is it really worth the risk? It is the current and explosive force that causes the injuries. Did you wear P.P.E. whilst working for the C.E.G.B?


Look......IET Forums - Live working (theiet.org)


Quote: "In case you were wondering, I am not against the use of PPE. I work in the electricity supply industry on the distribution side. We routinely use insulated gauntlets for both HV and LV, as well as full face shields. We do not work HV live (although we do replace pole-mounted HV fuses live), but usually work LV live. Our company procedures and safety rules cover the inspection (before each use) of the PPE and its routine replacement. The procedures also give advice on when the supply must be isolated."


Z.