Continuity RFC error??Help please

[Gudoldtom]

I am back from mars sorry for the previous post I was on my phone & didn't mean to post it. I am just frustrated at been conned out of thousands of pounds & having nothing to show for it really. Hopefully I will get something back out of it. So I shall continue my quest to be a responsible sparky one day & hopefully be able to test a circuit correctly lol. Thank you for all the advise given

 

[Gudoldtom]

If you want to use a trailing lead to test the R2 of the lounge and cellar sockets,connect one end of the trailing lead to the main earth terminal (met) in the consumer unit,the other end onto your meter probe
Using the other probe of your meter take a reading at the sockets earth terminal

You need beforehand to either measure the resistance of the trailing lead so that it can be deducted from your result,or you can null the meter by testing the end of the trailing lead to the met prior to testing the circuits

I agree with others and suspect these circuits are radials,given the 20 amp mcb ratings
Do a earth loop test and check if the reading at the sockets are within the specified maximum for the 20 amp mcb

Thank you

 

[Gudoldtom]

Please don't misunderstand me, I am not discouraging you or criticising your knowledge or standing. Please use the forum, you will get invaluable help even if just doing your own properties. It is just getting that experience under your belt that will help you feel more confident. While I understand you can test a ring circuit I feel that courses in general don't go into what one should do when the figures are awry, and what do they mean. That is the difficult bit after all. In fact if you sit down and take time and think about it, you will be able to work out what is going wrong, and that is quite a buzz when you are successful. Be assured I was not having a go at you or your efforts on the contrary I applaud them.

Thanks

 

[Octopus]

If you are "looking" for the end of a radial, using the Zs setting on your tester can help - just make a note of the readings at each socket, and the highest one is normally the "end of line" - if the sockets are old this doesn't work as they can give very inconsistent readings.

Have fun

 

[buzzlightyear]

I had my house rewired about 10 years ago

looking at that consumer unit looks like a tin of Heinz spaghetti . get grip man we have standards you know on this forum.

 

[Gudoldtom]

looking at that consumer unit looks like a tin of Heinz spaghetti . get grip man we have standards you know on this forum.

You get a grip you prat, if you read the thread correctly you would see that I didn't make that mess I'm just trying to correct it

 

[happysteve]

The "19.99 error" is your KT63 telling you that the continuity is >19.99kΩ



I'm not surprised. Your cellar circuit (left hand breaker) and lounge circuit (2nd from the left) are both radials. It says so, in blue Sharpie, on the breakers. (Actually, the lounge one says "lounge radial x2"). Maybe once upon a time it was a ring; now it is 2x radials, which explains the 20A breaker and the two wires going in to it.

 

[happysteve]

(Duplicate post, deleted)

 

[Gudoldtom]

(Duplicate post, deleted)

The "19.99 error" is your KT63 telling you that the continuity is >19.99kΩ

View attachment 39489

I'm not surprised. Your cellar circuit (left hand breaker) and lounge circuit (2nd from the left) are both radials. It says so, in blue Sharpie, on the breakers. (Actually, the lounge one says "lounge radial x2"). Maybe once upon a time it was a ring; now it is 2x radials, which explains the 20A breaker and the two wires going in to it.

Thanks for the heads up

 

[Spoon]

get grip man we have standards you know on this forum.

I don't.....

 

[Pete999]

I don't intend to become a spark as means of income. I certainly don't feel confident enough to work on other peoples properties but I do have several properties myself that will require wiring at some point. I think I will get a job with the local council for some experience in the meantime.

Don't take long to learn how to lean on a shovel.

 

[Madocks]

Give the lads at truetech training in cardiff a ring, they teach their courses on KT63 and have a "idiots guide" with step by step testing using that meter, get yourself a copy of the PDF and keep it in the bag

 

[buzzlightyear]

Give the lads at truetech training in cardiff a ring, they teach their courses on KT63 and have a "idiots guide" with step by step testing using that meter, get yourself a copy of the PDF and keep it in the bag

if ask most of the sparks on this forum and did pole on which test equipment do you use most would say a Megger .why because they are easy to use and under stand .

 

[Madocks]

I use a KT65DL

 

[buzzlightyear]

I use a KT65DL

you poor sod!

 

[I2C]

The Kewtech KT63 user-manual shows that the maximum continuity result shows as 19.99kOhms, meaning that the conductors tested are open-circuit.

The scary thing is, ring-final circuits can still function as normal when a single live-conductor is open-circuit, presenting a danger of over-current on the remaining conductors. Conversely radial-final circuits will not function when a single live-conductor is open-circuit, resulting in a relatively safer mode of failure.

Check between all terminations to identify the fault.

 

[marconi]

Just a thought - and I have read this all late - what about paying an electrician with some experience to visit your home and do the work with you, using your test kit, and thereby providing you with some 'words from the wise' and consolidation of what you have learned but not much practiced yet? Money well spent I would have thought and perhaps someone to refer to at a later date. You can show him your certificates and explain the course you did to him. But this approach would provide you with some self-confidence with your test kit and interpreting wiring.

 

[dksanders]

Kewtech meters show 19.99 for an open circuit. It sounds to me that it's two radials rather than a ring circuit and thats's why it's been protected by a 20A breaker, had it been an open circuit ring circuit I would have expected to see a 32A MCB instead. Awful job been done there with that wiring.

 

[dksanders]

Kewtech meters show 19.99 for an open circuit. It sounds to me that it's two radials rather than a ring circuit and thats's why it's been protected by a 20A breaker, had it been an open circuit ring circuit I would have expected to see a 32A MCB instead. Awful job been done there with that wiring.

 

[elsparko]

probably old storage heaters turned into sockets when re-wired