Can up rating a 6A MCB to 10A 'blow away' water ingress?

[rod1924]

Scenario - 6A MCB trips, not on the RCD bank. Shower had leaked, causing lights to dim over 6 weeks, went off a few times. MCB will not reset. Spare MCB will not either. Cables found and routed directly under the shower tray (200mm from drain hole) - 99% certain there is one or several JB's in this bathroom.

Could up rating the MCB to 10A clear any residual water?

 

[Brightspark2]

No the same fault current would still flow but even so no moisture would be 'blown away'

Thats quite sometime to find the fault 3 and half days...

Why did they ditch the original spark in the first place?...

Sometimes false readings can send you on a wild goose chase, if a load was still connected etc...was the pir disconnected?...

Also it's one of them things isn't it, not much you can do. It seems they already have a spark anyway so I wouldn't worry about it too much...onto the next job...

Sent from my Xperia S using next doors WIFI

 

[ezzzekiel]

three half days to find a lighting fault in a domestic property!! sorry but sounds pretty unaceptable to me. could of rewired the whole circuit in half a day and cost lot less than time its taken.

 

[Geoffsd]

What load was on the circuit?

 

[rod1924]

It's a working business not a 'domestic' dwelling. Working on 3 floor levels, ceiling height (6 tread ladder just enough if you want to balance like a trapeze artist) and conforming to clients requests as you only can. Believe me, worked like a bugger! However, I note your comments and thanks for that...

 

[Rockingit]

Well, either 1 of 2 things has happened here:

1) You've chased your tail and spent 3.5 days to find a fault that another sparks corrected in 1.5hrs - or -
2) The original sparks realised what they'd messed up and fixed it whilst you've spent 3.5 days finding 'less than ideal' additional problems.

'MCB' as described by Joe Blogs customer could mean anything really - they'll only be saying what the sparks told them and that could have been hammed up/down or not even true if the sparks had just messed up the first time.

Either way, it's really not looking great for you from a customers perspective - if this went the distance and you tried to demand payment via the courts I kinda fancy which way a judge might side.

Tomorrow is another day - dust yourself off, appease the client as best you can, learn whatever is to be learnt and move on to the next job.

 

[markc123]

He's probably just replaced the MCB with a chockyblock :laugh3:

 

[rod1924]

Brightspark - Thanks for your constructive reply. Yes PIR disconnected and fuses pulled in Emergency lights, no bulbs missed. Obviously my concern is the routing under the shower whereby IMHO there is one or several JB's, so the problem has not really been solved nor made safe?

Re load, MCB is not resetting with all bulbs out

 

[Geoffsd]

Re load, MCB is not resetting with all bulbs out

Oh. right. so 10A would make no difference, then.

If it was a faulty mcb, why replace with 10A.

Something we, you and client not being told.

 

[ezzzekiel]

my apolgies didnt really read post, even so far too much time spent on tracing the fault.
not sure why you would think uprating the mcb would fix the problem though?
seems to me you been ir testing with some load somewhere connected and next spark picked up fault quicker.

regardless now the damage is already done, the client isnt impressed and unfortunately thats just the way it goes. forget it and move onto next job.

 

[rod1924]

my apolgies didnt really read post, even so far too much time spent on tracing the fault.
not sure why you would think uprating the mcb would fix the problem though?
seems to me you been ir testing with some load somewhere connected and next spark picked up fault quicker.

regardless now the damage is already done, the client isnt impressed and unfortunately thats just the way it goes. forget it and move onto next job.

Let's leave the time bit, let's say you had to be there

Re up rating MCB? I didn't. I checked the spare MCB....Long odds on both being jeffed, though a possibility! However, if the IR? tests are showing L-N fault from CU and from separated cables going back to CU, and I visually see the cables routed under the shower which has leaked (Shower is on gable wall with feed coming in) do I no longer trust the readings (meg 1730)??? Do I just ignore 17th edition zone 1/safety? Genuinely baffled! Scratches head

 

[Knobhead]

Gave up the will to live before paragraph 3

 

[Knobhead]

I replaced 450A fuses with 2" x 1/4" copper bar, that found the fault.

But I knew what I was doing!

 

[rod1924]

I replaced 450A fuses with 2" x 1/4" copper bar, that found the fault.

But I knew what I was doing!

Constructive Tony, constructive

 

[Crosswire]

Sounds like you did everything by the book, and honestly tried to find the fault. However, in my experience all customers want is for their lights to come on when they press the button on the wall. There was very little you could have done since the property is decorated and damage is not really an option.

However, by the end of the first day I would have made them aware of the extent of the problem and asked them to weigh up how much they wanted this fault fixed against the amount of damage/expense required to do so, taking into account other possibilities, such as renewing the circuit from scratch.

I have had experience of trying to do a top notch job, only to be met with an irate customer who doesn't realise/care about the many problems us sparks have to deal with, when going in cold to fault find on an old installation.

 

[ezzzekiel]

I replaced 450A fuses with 2" x 1/4" copper bar, that found the fault.

But I knew what I was doing!

i imagine the smoke would give it away after a while

 

[Silly Sausage]

i imagine the smoke would give it away after a while

I vaguely remember that story. I think it involved a loud bang and a tree!?!?

 

[rod1924]

Sounds like you did everything by the book, and honestly tried to find the fault. However, in my experience all customers want is for their lights to come on when they press the button on the wall. There was very little you could have done since the property is decorated and damage is not really an option.

However, by the end of the first day I would have made them aware of the extent of the problem and asked them to weigh up how much they wanted this fault fixed against the amount of damage/expense required to do so, taking into account other possibilities, such as renewing the circuit from scratch.

I have had experience of trying to do a top notch job, only to be met with an irate customer who doesn't realise/care about the many problems us sparks have to deal with, when going in cold to fault find on an old installation.

Thanks for that....All a learning curve. My day rate was explained to the customer and at the close of play each day as to what would be required and why.......don't forget, they were trying to blame the builders! Then they owned up to the shower leak after I visually showed the location on the shower.......You are spot on about wanting their lights on regardless.

Sadly, as already commented, I was not there to see the 'fix', albeit both MCB's seemed to have failed! Life is a learning curve

 

[Knobhead]

I vaguely remember that story. I think it involved a loud bang and a tree!?!?

That's the one. The cable exploded under the tree, the tree fell over. The root had disturbed a joint.

 

[PEG]

Old boy i know has similar story re;Generator hall lighting problem. In days before MEWPS,fuse blown,new fuse blown,UNF bolt in,smoke and bang from one of 30 odd hall lamp units,turns to apprentice,"thats where we set tower in morning..."