S

STEPHEN KENNEDY

I am a retired Engineer who was an electrician. My name is Stephen .
I was changing a fluorescent light in my garage and was using a mains tester as a screwdrivet when I notice it lit up when I touched the lid screw.
Once in 50 years working on breakdowns in the NHS I had came across this so put tester on main earth terminal at incomer and it lit again. I tried my pipework, cylinder and socket earth pins, all lit.
I went to CU and identified what circ. was making this happen and found a wiring fault on a citcuit of sockets which I repaired.
The house was no longer "live" but I had no earth. I believe my house is TT as it is fed with overheads from a pole in my garden. ( Recently the overheads were renewed and the neutral at the top of the pole now has an earth down the pole to a rod.)
My CU has a few circuits with mo RCD and 5 circuits on a 100ma trip.
I have banged in a rod and took an Earth Loop Impedance of 14ohms. Is this acceptable?
Could I run a cable yo the earth at the pole?
Can I try to get PME done at my incomer which is only L and N.
I'm sorry I'm a bit rusty.
Oh and I checked my incoming water supply which has pladtic pipe. My earth bond is above the plastic on the consumers side of the supply.
Help
 
IT is unlikely that the "live" was a true live as you were testing with an inappropriate tester and also you would have been shocked on starting to work on the light.
If your house was a TT system then all circuits would've been RCD protected, having some circuits not protected should mean it is not TT or that the installation was dangerously unsafe.
You are not permitted to connect to the DNO earthing, the DNO may install PME earthing (especially is the supply has been upgraded) ring and ask your supplier.
 
if you've managed to measure the EFLI, i assume you have a meter of some sort. what's the voltage L-N and also L-E?
 
IT is unlikely that the "live" was a true live as you were testing with an inappropriate tester and also you would have been shocked on starting to work on the light.
If your house was a TT system then all circuits would've been RCD protected, having some circuits not protected should mean it is not TT or that the installation was dangerously unsafe.
You are not permitted to connect to the DNO earthing, the DNO may install PME earthing (especially is the supply has been upgraded) ring and ask your supplier.


RCD’s being fitted depends on the version of the regulations the house was wired to. They were a recommendation in the 14th not a requirement.
 
I strongly recommend getting a local electrician in, maybe post your location and a member may be near by. By your post i dont think you should be investigating any further no put down intended just for your own safety and the safety of every other user of the installation within the property.
 

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STEPHEN KENNEDY,
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bigspark17,
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