Discuss Tell us about your faults! in the Australia area at ElectriciansForums.net
big bollox.
No one with new faults?
Makes a change to have a nice and easy one, a busted electric kettle trips RCD and takes out ring circuit and few other circuits with it.
Found a ring main fault today. I was doing the testing after adding a socket on a spur. The signs of a problem started with open circuit on the ring neutral and then a N-E insulation resistance measurement that took just a little longer than usual to settle. But things had changed after deciding to double check appliance on the ring was isolated. I was sure I had ring continuity earlier. I finally found the fault in a switched fused spur to a washing machine. One of the ring neutrals connected into the load side of the switch, and the load neutral was where the leg of the ring should have been. It had been like that since the property was built in 1996. If the washing machine isolator switch was on then the ring sort of worked OK, but when it was off all was not well.
Two months ago in the same property I did a direct replacement of a DSSO on the same ring that had an overheated (charred) line (live) connection terminal. My first thought today was the was the overheating was caused by overload on the broken ring. But of course it could not be because the line ring was always OK. The only common factor between the loose terminal on the DSSO and the mis wired 13A Fused Spur was the installer in 1996.
View attachment 22101
Pulled back one layer of insulation to find this. It was a live lighting circuit. Not even insulation tape around this one. Oh and the green/yellow sleeving is missing as well.
Imagine the scene,Friday afternoon about 3 oclock,office gets a call,a 2KW heater gone down in the securitys site office,(cant have the security guards getting cold,they wont be able to fall asleep)anyway i get the job to go and replace said heater,site was around an hours drive from where i was,i eventually get there report to site manager,then have to show my cscs and get inducted on site,all the usual rubbish.No risk assesment no method statement,site manager reluctantly lets me get to work,its around 5 oclock now and not even got my screwdriver out,site manager standing over me,i guess he wanted to go home,im rushing around like somebody possessed,isolate heater circuit and disconnect heater from SFU fit new heater to wall wire it up energise circuit test heater nothing aaaarrrrhhhh.Lots of colourful language by this stage,site managers pacing up and down,i ask him any chance of a brew. Well didnt get brew tested SFU,its not swiching no probs run to van get new SFU safely isolate again,but now have to dissconnect circuit cables,CPC and N touch taking out whole site,ask site agent for keys to CU,their on the way to liverpool,site sparks got them in his pocket.When a very angry site spark returned i set main switch and everything was fine.I left site at 19.30.The moral behind this story is rushing gets you nowhere fast.Istill didnt get a brew,but the guards were nice and warm.
That reminds me of a new block of social housing flats I worked in, no continuity on the ring in the kitchen at all, opened all the spurs/skts, some idiot does not known load from supply!!!
Found this last week on a domestic Safety Inspection for a home buyer
Ah, yes, I should not have used capitalisation on safety inspection which may have confused you. The choice of words not ideal either. It was a priced quick visual (mostly) inspection offered to a potential buyer in to advise and quote for other work that might be necessary for example a replacement CU, a rewire or just a periodic inspection. A better description for the job would have been a chargeable visit to quote for other work.What on earth is one of these?
Jesus!. Is that mains voltage? Daz
Reply to Tell us about your faults! in the Australia area at ElectriciansForums.net
We get it, advertisements are annoying!
Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.