Discuss Greater experience/knowledge in the UK Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

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I chose Gas/plumbing because my wife said she didn’t want me to be a spark, yet I now have to deal with certain electrical aspects of my job, and I do enjoy it. What I want to know is, how does one build up on knowledge and experience in electrical work. I don’t want to become a full time spark, but wouldn’t mind being able to install wiring as in add to ring main, add maybe an outside light, power to a shed, etc - is this feasible using my essential electrics knowledge with the diy research or do I just need to become a domestic installer?

Any advice/ideas welcomed.

Thanks in advance.
 
I chose Gas/plumbing because my wife said she didn’t want me to be a spark, yet I now have to deal with certain electrical aspects of my job, and I do enjoy it. What I want to know is, how does one build up on knowledge and experience in electrical work. I don’t want to become a full time spark, but wouldn’t mind being able to install wiring as in add to ring main, add maybe an outside light, power to a shed, etc - is this feasible using my essential electrics knowledge with the diy research or do I just need to become a domestic installer?

Any advice/ideas welcomed.

Thanks in advance.
Become a Plumber or Builder they seem to cope somewhat????
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I chose Gas/plumbing because my wife said she didn’t want me to be a spark, yet I now have to deal with certain electrical aspects of my job, and I do enjoy it. What I want to know is, how does one build up on knowledge and experience in electrical work. I don’t want to become a full time spark, but wouldn’t mind being able to install wiring as in add to ring main, add maybe an outside light, power to a shed, etc - is this feasible using my essential electrics knowledge with the diy research or do I just need to become a domestic installer?

Any advice/ideas welcomed.

Thanks in advance.
I quite fancy becoming a Gas Fitter, do I need to become Corgi registered????
 
Simple jobs aren't always that simple, you need to gain enough understanding of the regulations and types of installation to be able to assess whether it is safe to make any alteration to an installation and to be able to understand the factors you need to take in to account when designing the simple job.
 
I chose Gas/plumbing because my wife said she didn’t want me to be a spark, yet I now have to deal with certain electrical aspects of my job, and I do enjoy it. What I want to know is, how does one build up on knowledge and experience in electrical work. I don’t want to become a full time spark, but wouldn’t mind being able to install wiring as in add to ring main, add maybe an outside light, power to a shed, etc - is this feasible using my essential electrics knowledge with the diy research or do I just need to become a domestic installer?

Any advice/ideas welcomed.

Thanks in advance.
You probably already know the principles of electricity and how it all functions. There is not a great deal to know about that to be honest. But the rules and regulations that you need to determine not just the size and length of cables, the types and designations of components like MCBs and RCDs, how it all fits into the Consumer Unit and all that good stuff is quite voluminous. There is a guy on YouTube called John Ward who does a lot of videos. I would check his vids out. He is very thorough and, if nothing else, you get a great feel for how much more involved it is than it might seem on the outside. You could also pick up a copy of the industry guidelines that John and other often refer to in their presentations. It's handy to have them available for reference. At least the BS7671 On Site Guide. If you are going to get involved then do so on an informed basis. There are certain things you can do and certain things you are not allowed to do as detailed in Building Regs Part P. Do it by the books. Electricity takes no prisoners.

 
You probably already know the principles of electricity and how it all functions. There is not a great deal to know about that to be honest.

Whilst the principles of electricity are taught in schools and everyone should know them, very few people seem to actually have a clue, electricians included.

I've met very few electricians who could even provide a simple explanation or what voltage is.

To say there is not a great deal to know is nonsense, there is an enormous amount of science to electricity and depending on exactly what they do an electrician will need to know a greater or lesser amount of it.
 
To say there is not a great deal to know is nonsense, there is an enormous amount of science to electricity and depending on exactly what they do an electrician will need to know a greater or lesser amount of it.
There are electricians... and there are electricians...
 
Whilst the principles of electricity are taught in schools and everyone should know them, very few people seem to actually have a clue, electricians included.

I've met very few electricians who could even provide a simple explanation or what voltage is.

To say there is not a great deal to know is nonsense, there is an enormous amount of science to electricity and depending on exactly what they do an electrician will need to know a greater or lesser amount of it.
The OP said in his original comment that he has a HNC in Electrical Engineering. He therefore knows the principles. I also have a BSc in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and it is my opinion that there isn't a great deal to know about the principles. Certainly not an enormous amount of science. Principles are one thing. Applying them is another.
 
Last edited:
Whilst the principles of electricity are taught in schools and everyone should know them, very few people seem to actually have a clue, electricians included.

I've met very few electricians who could even provide a simple explanation or what voltage is.

To say there is not a great deal to know is nonsense, there is an enormous amount of science to electricity and depending on exactly what they do an electrician will need to know a greater or lesser amount of it.
Like most subjects. The more you know the more you realise you don’t know ;)
 
The OP said in his original comment that he has a HNC in Electrical Engineering. He therefore knows the principles. I also have a BSc in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and it is my opinion that there isn't a great deal to know about the principles. Certainly not an enormous amount of science. Principles are one thing. Applying them is another.
The OP said in his original comment that he has a HNC in Electrical Engineering.
EDIT:
Actually that's not true. That's another OP with a similar question on a different thread.
I can't edit the commnet for some reason. Just thought I would set that straight.
 
I did wonder @Ray Pooley. Thanks for the reply, on both counts. Tbh I think I’ll just stick to my current job. It would seem there’s too much involved for the time being.

Thanks to all the others who have replied also.
I’m competent at bending and soldering copper tube and can make repairs alterations.....but haven’t the knowledge of your regs to go into someone properly and know what I’m doing is right......that’s where you will find yourself.....easy just to bang a spur in or add a light but once you’ve touched the installation your responsible for it, is the circuit/electrical installation ok for any alterations/additions? Earthing and main binds in place? Then you’ll need to test and understand the results.......to be fair there are a few plumbers/electricians around but not many probably a good reason for that....all the plumbers I know are scared to death of electrical works....it’s all white magic to them ?
 
To make something electrical work is easy, anyone with a grasp of standard grade school physics can do it.

To make it work safely and reliably is why we have 500+ pages of wiring regulations, and why it takes a couple of years to gain electrician qualifications.

I guess it is similar in the gas industry.
 

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