Exposed: Cash for logos and drive by inspections

18th Edition says "Shall" ... why would I think it is only optional?

The 18th also says colour coding of conductors shall be according to table 51 - i.e. brown/blue. So should it be a C2 to have red/black?

    - Andy.

I think a degree of balance is required here.

Safe, safer, safest.

Note - there's no 'unsafe' written there.

So, installation to 15th ed and no faults. Safe according to 15th ed.

15th ed installation but with RCD protection added - so safer.

15th ed installation with all type A RCBOs added - safest.

Important to note: - all 3 versions are safe.

Other problems - installers and inspectors unduly focused upon filling boxes with test result figures without understanding what the figures actually tell them.

maximum permitted number values being constantly altered without real necessity by BS 7671 - is this constant fiddling really needed? Take Cmin for example - in the real world a Zs measurement will never be the same if repeated, same with the tinkering with the nominal voltage figure - 230 instead of the real world 240v we all regularly see? Was that really necessary?

How accurate in reality do r1+r2 values really have to be? How frequently will these change with wearing light switch contacts for example? Surely at best they could be substituted with a 'Go-No-Go' test and still be satisfactory?

Some testing is indeed vital, and in certain environments critical, but this rush ti fill in the figures boxes without understanding what the figures represent is a waste of time. When I did my 2391 the lecturer said 'forget the fancy test kit in the 1st instance - that should come much later. To begin with, use the senses God gave you and you will find around 90% of the problems, which your test instruments will confirm for you later on in the process. How many actually go round an installation with their eyes, ears, and nostrils open? And how may jut whip off the CU cover and bang the test prods straight on and brandish the pen and notebook 1st?

Experienced inspectors? I did the old 2391 back in 2002, the old version with the non book 1 hr written exam. I spent 9 months solid doing I&T for a LA. I have now ceased doing it completely because everyone wants a 'pass' for nothing, and I couldn't compete with drive-bys.

Sometimes I just wonder at how valid and necessary some of the tests we are required to carry out really are?

I am just posting  at the bottom of this disfunctional forum system. What a muddle. Posts popping up here, there and everywhere but not in order. A mess.

Do not forget the risks involved when users are careless.

415.1.1

Z.

Zoom, you cannot legislate nor regulate for stupid. The only answer would be to have each household under the care of a 'competent person' regardless of mental ability and experience. Do you really want 'The Electric Police' sitting next to you on your sofa for eternity?

Sometimes you just have to let Darwinism take its course however unpalatable.

I would rather have a safe modern electrical installation with sensitive working protection devices than risk the health or lives or my loved ones or others. And if I rented out a home I would want it as safe for the tenants as well. They are not lessers.

I remember fitting a new Current Operated Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker, albeit a 500mA sensitivity version, to my home electric shower circuit 50 years ago. If I considered it a wise move then when I had less knowledge than now, I certainly consider it a good investment now.

A good old school friend's son was playing with a mains water pump in the garden whilst we were all out walking. The electrical connections were dangerous. We returned and had the device disconnected immediately. The house at the time had NO R.C.D. protection at all. Just what could have happened if we had not returned home at that time? Would you really want Darwinism to take a life in this case?

Z.

I would rather have a safe modern electrical installation with sensitive working protection devices than risk the health or lives or my loved ones or others. And if I rented out a home I would want it as safe for the tenants as well. They are not lessers.

I remember fitting a new Current Operated Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker, albeit a 500mA sensitivity version, to my home electric shower circuit 50 years ago. If I considered it a wise move then when I had less knowledge than now, I certainly consider it a good investment now.

A good old school friend's son was playing with a mains water pump in the garden whilst we were all out walking. The electrical connections were dangerous. We returned and had the device disconnected immediately. The house at the time had NO R.C.D. protection at all. Just what could have happened if we had not returned home at that time? Would you really want Darwinism to take a life in this case?

Z.