Dodgy trade pictures for your amusement! - 1 Million Views!

[Darkwood]

Right ... Just been nudged to set this up by Paul.M and sounds a good idea following recent threads I've done in the Arms..

Rules....No Offensive material... edit if required before posting as this is the public arena.
Anything to do with the trade or in and around it ...H&S pic's welcome.



I've posted this a few times and this is at a mates house following a kitchen refirb several yrs ago. mg_smile:

 

[James]

Doing some alterations to a ring as part of a refit.

In the center of the room was trailing socket that had been fitted to a pedestal desk, just lying on the floor, to be dealt with later.

Anyway opened up the ring on a wall socket, being a good boy and testing before butchering, and did some end to ends r1 and rN fine r2 was like a roller coaster up and down from open circuit to 2.0 Ohms.

Checked the leads, checked the crocs, looked at the CPCs, all ?

It was almost as if me moving was affecting the reading, hang on..

Under my foot was the T&E of the trailing socket..

View attachment 60250

Who'd ha thunk it?

nice earth sleeve, I did tell the customer that it was ok to use and i would be back next week to test and issue the cert when they had installed the desk but they never called me back. was it my £421 bill that upset them??

 

[T Wilson Elec]

Single Handedly the sketchyisy s**t I’ve found this year !! The rest of the property matched the workmanship if anyone was wondering ?

 

[littlespark]

So much for having confidence in your work.
“Just test it again after a year... don’t want to be waiting 10 on this job!”

 

[westward10]

This is in a small precinct car park. Consumer unit and contactor enclosure replaced, aside from being a lash up there are no cpcs from the dist board. Zs at lighting columns 16.33 ohm.

 

[pc1966]

This is in a small precinct car park. Consumer unit and contactor enclosure replaced, aside from being a lash up there are no cpcs from the dist board. Zs at lighting columns 16.33 ohm.

Zs low enough to trip the RCD though! Oh wait...

 

[telectrix]

This is in a small precinct car park. Consumer unit and contactor enclosure replaced, aside from being a lash up there are no cpcs from the dist board. Zs at lighting columns 16.33 ohm.View attachment 60376

to say that that was as rough as a badger's arse would be insulting to badgers.

 

[Dustydazzler]

That is rough and some , plain old rough as you like...proper Badgers

I would be ashamed to leave an installation in that state

I also hate those copper busbars that Saddle underneath the neutral , but that is more manufacturer Roughness than installer roughness...

 

[Taylortwocities]

That is rough and some , plain old rough as you like...proper Badgers

I would be ashamed to leave an installation in that state

I also hate those copper busbars that Saddle underneath the neutral , but that is more manufacturer Roughness than installer roughness...

I have no idea why they need to do that. The main switch could have the L on the inside, next to the MCB, then the busbar doesn't need to go round behind the N connection.
Probably some legacy arrangement for incomer arrangements. Maybe I'll ask Schneider, do you think they'll know the answer?

 

[Simon47]

My WAG would be that their main switches have L on the right (because that's what a previous product needed), so L has to be on the right. Now, it's not worth the extra cost having two versions of the main switch - and they decided that it would be cheaper to just include the saddle in the busbar. It's not just a case of changing the printing - it's another SKU to manage right through the supply chain. And you can guarantee that some sparky would need a new main switch and have the wrong one in his van - with the obvious result that someone ends up with a wrongly labelled main switch.
Now sits back and waits for someone to point out that their catalogue already holds a "L on left" main switch

 

[westward10]

Even though it was old a few years back at least everything was earthed, this was an upgrade

 

[Simon47]

Just as a thought ...
When people come across stuff like this, do you ever report it as dangerous ? The lack of CPCs in that bodge surely warrants a report to HSE ?
Even if the bodger didn't put their name to it, the responsible person in charge of the car park would be responsible for having employed a competent electrician - it would fall on the RP to identify the sparky concerned even if said sparky didn't put his name on it and has since gone on an extended holiday to incommunicado.
But I guess after a few years the sparky would just claim "it was OK when I left it, someone must have nicked the CPCs to weigh them in"

 

[westward10]

They are all two core bar the one with the yellow conductor which was a cpc, it now floats on a block connector within the contactor enclosure.

 

[ChrisElectrical88]

Trunking just behind a gas hob
And when it was changed to gas, connections were just cut, the 45A switch was on when I arrived, live conductors millimetres from the metal oven housing.

Edit... don’t worry though, this happened before a 2017 satisfactory condition report which didn’t pick it up ?

 

[Mark Wright]

This is in a small precinct car park. Consumer unit and contactor enclosure replaced, aside from being a lash up there are no cpcs from the dist board. Zs at lighting columns 16.33 ohm.View attachment 60376

I've never seen contactors for anything but a DOL what are there purpose?

 

[LewisM]

I've never seen contactors for anything but a DOL what are there purpose?

Control circuits, say you wanted a 6a rated light switch to turn on 40A worth of lighting.

 

[davesparks]

I've never seen contactors for anything but a DOL what are there purpose?

Contactors are used where you don't want, or can't have, the full load running through a switch, or when multiple circuits need to be switched by a single device.

Contactors allow a low current switch to control a much bigger load.

Contactors are also used to make remote switching easier by avoiding significant volt drop in the switch cable.

 

[Mark Wright]

Thanks, makes sense makes me think of electronics and Relays etc.

 

[littlespark]

Thanks, makes sense makes me think of electronics and Relays etc.

Just another word for a relay.... although contractors are combined relays.... to switch so many poles through one switch.
Also can use a 12v momentary push button to switch and hold in a 400v 3 phase load (like a motor) or as described above, a simple light switch turning on a much higher load than the switch itself could handle

 

[Mark Wright]

Just another word for a relay.... although contractors are combined relays.... to switch so many poles through one switch.
Also can use a 12v momentary push button to switch and hold in a 400v 3 phase load (like a motor) or as described above, a simple light switch turning on a much higher load than the switch itself could handle

I didn't want to go totally off-topic just been trying to get a better understanding of DOL and there always wired in such a way that there latched providing undervoltage protection totally forgot really there just like relays and do what relays do, also never seen them used for anything but DOLs.
Doh..

 

[westward10]

The control circuit for the contactors is a dawn to dusk sensor so when the lighting level drops it switches the contactors on.

 

[Mark Wright]

Wow that's more interesting than your domestic circuit

 

[pc1966]

In a way a relay and a contactor are the same - both use an electromagnet to operate the switch contacts. The difference is more of size and application.

As a general rule "contactors" are high current, say 20A and above, and usually single-throw (i.e. on/off only, but can be 2, 3, 4, etc poles that are simultaneously switched).

Relays come in all sorts of shapes & sizes and are generally low-medium current, so some have gold contacts for "dry" switching of signals in the microvolt / milliamp range, but most have some sort of silver alloy contacts for up to the low tens of amps range. Often relays are available in double-throw (i.e. change-over contact) configurations with commonly 1 or 2, sometimes 3, rarely 4, simultaneous sets of contacts.

Also some relays are magnetically latched so have typically two coils and you momentarily energise one to set it "on" and the other for "off" (but with changeover contacts that is really positions 1 & 2, etc).

 

[davesparks]

As a general rule relays are used in control circuits and contactors are used to switch loads.
Generally contactors provide simple switching with limited or no function beyond a simple make/break when the coil is energized, but they can have current ratings in the hundreds of amps.

Relays can provide all manner of functions for control, protection, sensing, latching, timing etc etc, and generally are rated for lower currents (usually in t

However there is no actual definition or hard and fast rule to what the difference is.
Relays can and do exist with current ratings in the hundreds of amps, and some contactors can incorporate timing or latching functions etc etc.

 

[pc1966]

davesparks raises anther aspect: often the term "relay" is used more generally in electrical engineering (rather than electronics) as a control block element, not just as an electromagnetic switch.

So timers, phase loss protection, etc, are all often described as relays because they switch on something else happening.

 

[telectrix]

i have implanted relays in my head. 4 of them.

1. clicks in when it's time to get up.
2 . clicks in when it's time for bed.
3. tells me when it's time for beer.
4. tells me it's not yet time to die.

i love electronics.

 

[littlespark]

Let’s hope no4 doesn’t get a loose connection

 

[telectrix]

Let’s hope no4 doesn’t get a loose connection

no chance. there are too many people i still got to annoy. anyway, as i see it, i got to survive till 87 to recover all the taxes i've paid for 60 years, through the state pension.

 

[Baddegg]

i have implanted relays in my head. 4 of them.

1. clicks in when it's time to get up.
2 . clicks in when it's time for bed.
3. tells me when it's time for beer.
4. tells me it's not yet time to die.

i love electronics.

Bet it’s a messy day if 1 & 3 get connected arse about face ?

 

[telectrix]

Bet it’s a messy day of 1 & 3 get connected arse about face ?

1. and 3. generally are complimentary.

 

[Simon47]

Contactors are used where you don't want, or can't have, the full load running through a switch, or when multiple circuits need to be switched by a single device.

As in this case where four (?) separate high current loads are being switched by the one photocell. There's two contactors here because the ones used are only 3 pole - there are some with 4 poles, but often the 4th pole is relatively low current and used just for the hold-in circuit.
BTW - you can get a variety of add-ons for many contactors. Auxiliary contacts that clip on the side, delay relays (used to be pneumatic, I suspect some are electronic these days) that clip on the front and can be used for sequencing (e.g. start one motor, after a delay, start the second), interlocks that mechanically prevent two pulling in at the same time (e.g. for reversing or star-delta circuits). There's a lot of things you can do beyond simply switching on and off.

 

[Strima]

Went to price up for remedials today, 3L1 RCBO failed to trip when tested.

Easy enough I'll just replace it, then I saw this on site, no mention of damage to 3L2 and signs of water damage down the right hand side of the board. Luckily just external lighting so no major risk to life...

I think the water tank in the room above had sprung a leak at some point.

 

[littlespark]

Not just our wonderful trade.
Saw this in my neighbours house after
their system boiler changed to a Combi.
I think the extra 15mm’s shooting to the right must be feeding a basin in the bedroom above

Copper pipe comes supplied in straight lines for goodness sake.....

 

[freddo]

looks like they re used old pipework in the new position. I hate seeing plastic push fit fittings on copper pipe, rubbish.

 

[littlespark]

Yes, you can see the old pipe run where the wall hasn’t been painted.

 

[freddo]

Another non electrical seen when installing some heaters:
The 'weld' has completely failed and the bracket is no longer attached to the steel lintel.

 

[SparkySy]

Rough isn't the word! I don't think that could be classed as any sort of weld!

 

[Strima]

That's some proper pigeon poop!!!

 

[freddo]

Some of the others had bits of cut off MIG wire sticking out all over the place!
I can't laugh too much though, my first attempts at TIG welding were not good, at all. I did practice on scrap metal that went in the bin though, not on site!

 

[davesparks]

Another non electrical seen when installing some heaters:
The 'weld' has completely failed and the bracket is no longer attached to the steel lintel.
View attachment 60416

Even I can weld better than that!
[automerge]1598472448[/automerge]

Some of the others had bits of cut off MIG wire sticking out all over the place!
I can't laugh too much though, my first attempts at TIG welding were not good, at all. I did practice on scrap metal that went in the bin though, not on site!

Same here, I'm still in the early stages of learning TIG and so far I have managed convert a lot of good metal into scrap.

 

[freddo]

Same here, I'm still in the early stages of learning TIG and so far I have managed convert a lot of good metal into scrap.

I've also just started with TIG, It's probably one of the most difficult skills I've ever tried to acquire, very steep learning curve.