Discuss Earthing arrangement advice please in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Welcome to ElectriciansForums.net - The American Electrical Advice Forum
Head straight to the main forums to chat by click here:   American Electrical Advice Forum

D

Dave 85

Hi lads
Looked at a job today
3036 Fuseboard
Looks like TT but only 2.5mm earths visible, couldn't find a stake and 126ohms Ze on a wet day.
There is an old earth leakage breaker, it did not trip when put under 500mA RCD test, does this mean its f***ked?
The supply fuse looks Like a TNCS head but no earth coming out of it. I take it I cant just PME it of my own accord?
This would be ideal as the outside seems to be concrete everywhere so getting a stake in would be a challenge.

Im gonna recommend a new CU to the client. If they dont go for this is it acceptable to replace the earth trip with a 100mA RCD?
Im also recommending upgade of main earth and bonding but need to know for def that PME'ing is out of the question.....

Any advice would be very much appreciated

Oh yeah...here are some photos...
Earthing arrangement advice please IMG_0376 - EletriciansForums.netEarthing arrangement advice please IMG_0378 - EletriciansForums.netEarthing arrangement advice please IMG_0377 - EletriciansForums.net
 
That unit is a VO-ELCB, putting any amount of mA through it won't make it do anything due to it being VO (voltage operated).

These units are obsolete now as many of them have malfunctioned and should be removed/upgraded sooner rather than later.
 
It says it's voltage operated Dave, so no, a 500mA RCD test will tell you "not a lot". Does the test button work on It?
 
I wouldn't attempt to test that Voltage trip, I pushed the test button on one once just messsing around when I was apprentice and we ended up replacing it with an RCD for free, the customer said 'it was fine before you touched it'!
 
If a VOELCB on a TT system fails to operate when tested with an instrument or integral test button, this would warrant a Classification Code C2 (potentially dangerous).

But, subject to the VOELCB being proved to operate correctly, continued reliance on it for fault protection (protection against indirect contact) would normally warrant a Classification Code C3 (improvement recommended).

However, if the VOELCB relies on a water pipe not permitted by Regulation 542.2.4 to be a means of earthing, this should attract a Classification Code C2 (potentially dangerous).

From ESC
 

Reply to Earthing arrangement advice please in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc

Electrical Forum

Welcome to the Electrical Forum at ElectriciansForums.net. The friendliest electrical forum online. General electrical questions and answers can be found in the electrical forum.
This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by Untold Media. Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock