Bizarre find on an EICR

[Rockingit]

I did a 'friends and family' EICR this morning for a friend putting her place up for rental and found the most bizarre fault...

No earth. As in, none whatsoever! Mid terrace house, built I'd say early 80's, PME supply head but the MET had literally never been touched, no earth cable had ever been presented. The houses either side were fine when I took a peek in the meter boxes just this one missed out. But that wasn't just it.... there was a rod present. A shoddy, poorly terminated rod, but a rod..... that was basically just bonding the boiler installed the other side of the wall. So my guess is that somewhen back in time a plumber had put a new boiler in and wondered where to bond to so had just dropped a rod down and walked away. In doing so there was a 900Ohm Ze via I'm guessing the concrete path that's been formed around the copper gas pipe.

Quelle Suprise - there was also an NICEIC D.I. test label from two years ago. No way in hell that got a proper test or pass!

Took me about five minutes to fix it

 

[James]

A gas boiler often uses current from flame detector to earth for part of the control function.

if there is truley no earth, boiler won’t stay lit, it will go into lockout.
I wonder if the plumber just put rod in to make it work.

 

[UNG]

I did a 'friends and family' EICR this morning for a friend putting her place up for rental and found the most bizarre fault...

No earth. As in, none whatsoever! Mid terrace house, built I'd say early 80's, PME supply head but the MET had literally never been touched, no earth cable had ever been presented. The houses either side were fine when I took a peek in the meter boxes just this one missed out. But that wasn't just it.... there was a rod present. A shoddy, poorly terminated rod, but a rod..... that was basically just bonding the boiler installed the other side of the wall. So my guess is that somewhen back in time a plumber had put a new boiler in and wondered where to bond to so had just dropped a rod down and walked away. In doing so there was a 900Ohm Ze via I'm guessing the concrete path that's been formed around the copper gas pipe.

Quelle Suprise - there was also an NICEIC D.I. test label from two years ago. No way in hell that got a proper test or pass!

Took me about five minutes to fix it

Another CPS member out of their depth then but it must have been right because they are NICEIC

 

[westward10]

Do you have the Report from two years ago.

 

[radiohead]

NICEIC DI's are not permitted to carry out EICR's under the NICEIC banner. Perhaps the sticker was for installation work carried out, even so that does not excuse missing such a fundamental safety issue.

 

[westward10]

NICEIC DI's are not permitted to carry out EICR's under the NICEIC banner. Perhaps the sticker was for installation work carried out, even so that does not excuse missing such a fundamental safety issue.

We don't know if he has seen the Report a test notice means nothing, the Report could contain the issues.

 

[Rockingit]

Do you have the Report from two years ago.

No, I don't, but as the 'client' is a close personal friend what I do know is that she'd have had anything in a report attended to ASAP.

 

[westward10]

That may be true but as it stands you have no idea what the Report contained.

 

[pc1966]

Seen a house before (35-ish years ago, no RCDs) with no main earth connection.

A friend reported getting shocks off his dad's garage door, turned out they had a new electric fire fitted in the living room and the fixing screw had punctured the L cable. But with no meaningful earth to cause disconnection the whole house CPC system was sitting at 240V including the outside garage!

 

[radiohead]

That may be true but as it stands you have no idea what the Report contained.

I would not apply a test sticker where I had identified such a major issue until it was rectified.

 

[Rockingit]

That may be true but as it stands you have no idea what the Report contained.

I've just realised that I've confused the issue - sticker was dated retest in 2018 on what I'm guessing was a DB change in 2012-13 (age of the board makes that make sense)...... which makes it prime short-course-and-no-experience territory.

 

[sparksfly]

Well....upside....??? it keeps us in a job.

 

[Deleted account]

Seen a house before (35-ish years ago, no RCDs) with no main earth connection.

A friend reported getting shocks off his dad's garage door, turned out they had a new electric fire fitted in the living room and the fixing screw had punctured the L cable. But with no meaningful earth to cause disconnection the whole house CPC system was sitting at 240V including the outside garage!

I presume the equipotential bonding and insulation was all that was keeping everyone alive.

 

[pc1966]

I presume the equipotential bonding and insulation was all that was keeping everyone alive.

Basically, but I can't imagine how it was not frying something as it had central gas heating as far as I remember, so there must have been quite a few amps going in to the pipework but not enough to blow the 30A fuse!

 

[Vortigern]

I've just realised that I've confused the issue - sticker was dated retest in 2018 on what I'm guessing was a DB change in 2012-13

I think it was 10 years then and now for private dwellings so 2008?

 

[UNG]

I've just realised that I've confused the issue - sticker was dated retest in 2018 on what I'm guessing was a DB change in 2012-13 (age of the board makes that make sense)...... which makes it prime short-course-and-no-experience territory.

I think it was 10 years then and now for private dwellings so 2008?

The longer this thread goes on it get worse, any advance on possibly 10 years without an earth

 

[Rockingit]

The longer this thread goes on it get worse, any advance on possibly 10 years without an earth

As I said, looked to me that there'd never been one since the 80's when it got built.