Borrowed Neutral - Solutions

[telectrix]

could always change the landing light for a gas lamp.

so i get a dislike from some guy who's posted 48 times in 6 years. ask me if i'm bothered.

 

[westward10]

Are you bothered.

 

[westward10]

I have rewired a few of these including my own house by managing to pull new cables down the capping and only having the landing floorboards up.

 

[Captain Black]

Why is it a sin ? Two conductors for a stair and landing light circuit in your scenario is ok if you don't have any more slots for MCBs, etc. You will also solve the BN issue.

How does having extra slots help?

 

[Captain Black]

Only once have i been asked to do the remedial work, in part because they were getting plasterer's in so the making good wasnt an issue.
Would normally put both on the same mcb/rcbo and include a sticker on the cu and note in the EIC.
On another job, I took out/disconnected the parts of circuit with the borrowed neutral and replaced with the MK echo wireless switching kit. looked quite nice and matched other mk accessories. the wireless receiver is on permanent live and the wireless switch can go anywhere to activate it.

MK... I'd rather have a root canal treatment without anesthesia

 

[delano]

so i get a dislike from some guy who's posted 48 times in 6 years. ask me if i'm bothered.

Why are you bothered?

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

On another job, I took out/disconnected the parts of circuit with the borrowed neutral and replaced with the MK echo wireless switching kit. looked quite nice and matched other mk accessories. the wireless receiver is on permanent live and the wireless switch can go anywhere to activate it.

You've lost me a bit with that one. A wireless neutral?[/QUOTE]
Maybe I didnt explain it too well, the MK echo range takes the live and neutral from which ever floor the light is on into a small receiver that then acts as the switch, the conventional switche replacements on walls are wireless so can go any where, given its usually the switches that take the borrowed conductor from the other floor upto the landing or vice versa then the wireless switch resolves the issue, you can disconnect the switch cabling and use the echo kit. it removes the link between floors and different lighting circuits. I first came across the wireless stuff when working on a repair job on a budget hotel a couple of years back that had been flooded from a burst pipe. them card readers for the light in hotels are quite often wireless aswell.

 

[Wilko]

I'm probably just being thick - but does the 2way lighting still work then?

 

[ipf]

You've lost me a bit with that one. A wireless neutral?

Maybe I didnt explain it too well, the MK echo range takes the live and neutral from which ever floor the light is on into a small receiver that then acts as the switch, the conventional switche replacements on walls are wireless so can go any where, given its usually the switches that take the borrowed conductor from the other floor upto the landing or vice versa then the wireless switch resolves the issue, you can disconnect the switch cabling and use the echo kit. it removes the link between floors and different lighting circuits. I first came across the wireless stuff when working on a repair job on a budget hotel a couple of years back that had been flooded from a burst pipe. them card readers for the light in hotels are quite often wireless aswell.[/QUOTE]

That's fair enough but generally, in old houses, the live and neutrals are just looped between light positions. Finding and breaking into that T+E is generally the problem. If it's all at the switch, no problem.

 

[elsparko]

pop both lighting circuits into one mcb, problem solved, mark it on the fuseboard aswell so that nobody tries to split them in future

i would still class this as a remedial though and force them to pay with threats of violence

 

[telectrix]

Why are you bothered?

nope. just wondering why the dislike.

 

[Adam W]

so i get a dislike from some guy who's posted 48 times in 6 years. ask me if i'm bothered.

I suspect the dislike in itself doesn't bother you in the slightest, but the lack of an explanation really gets under your skin, otherwise you wouldn't have mentioned it.