Is my boiler wired right?

[rewireIT]

To be fair to the OP (see post #7) he is using a Fluke voltage tester, a lot more use than a chocolate fireguard.
It's not a 'proper meter', but safer as a basic tester than a cheap multimeter!

Electrical Tester | Fluke T90 Voltage and Continuity Electrical Tester | Fluke

Fluke T90 Two-pole Voltage and Continuity Electrical Tester. This voltage tester is the basic tool you need to check voltage presence. Slim design and fast answers available anywhere

www.fluke.com

To be fair to me, i was using it to test whether the power was off, so basically using it for what it's made for. Just noticed it was giving voltage on what should be the switch live.

I also accidentally called it current above - i don't know what else to call AC but it flashes up AC when voltage is detected. I figured since it's 50v AC i could call it 'AC current' since AC is alternating current. Is there some other terminology i should be using?

 

[MJPD29]

To be fair to the OP (see post #7) he is using a Fluke voltage tester, a lot more use than a chocolate fireguard.
It's not a 'proper meter', but safer as a basic tester than a cheap multimeter!

Electrical Tester | Fluke T90 Voltage and Continuity Electrical Tester | Fluke

Fluke T90 Two-pole Voltage and Continuity Electrical Tester. This voltage tester is the basic tool you need to check voltage presence. Slim design and fast answers available anywhere

www.fluke.com

My apologies, thought it was a non contact volt stick. I won’t admit I was wrong because I’m too stubborn, I just wasn’t totally right.

 

[rewireIT]

My apologies, thought it was a non contact volt stick. I won’t admit I was wrong because I’m too stubborn, I just wasn’t totally right.

Oh no i learned very early on to basically shove that to the bottom of the bag and forget about it.

 

[oscar21]

Bad practice at any time, but not actually contravening regs until the recent amendment, as long as it was sleeved with a 'live' colour at each end, (which this one isn't.)

Which new reg is that and how are you supposed to know about them unless you read all 6000 pages of wafle

 

[loz2754]

Which new reg is that and how are you supposed to know about them unless you read all 6000 pages of wafle

As a practising electrician, you should make it your business to be aware of any changes in the regulations, which are not waffle, but are designed to improve the safety of electrical installations. There are update courses, and numerous YouTube videos outlining the changes.

 

[davesparks]

Which new reg is that and how are you supposed to know about them unless you read all 6000 pages of wafle

You are supposed to know by keeping yourself up to date with changes to the regulations, laws, developments in technology and scientific advances.

 

[DefyG]

Which new reg is that and how are you supposed to know about them unless you read all 6000 pages of wafle

Looks like Ive been short changed as there only about 600 in my copy!

 

[rewireIT]

I read my copy to the kids of a night time, gets them off to bobies nice and quick

 

[DPG]

Which new reg is that and how are you supposed to know about them unless you read all 6000 pages of wafle

If you don't keep up with changes then you will likely end up doing some things that are not compliant. Surely it's part of being a professional electrician.

 

[brianmoooore]

Surely it's part if being a professional electrician.

Exactly this. An integral part of the job.

 

[pirate]

Just a wee comment here...I have the Fluke T150 and if you probe with the one probe only it warns you of voltage being present, albeit it can't display what that voltage is. So it acts like a non-contact tester, except you have to make contact! Basically it's just a warning.

 

[DPG]

Just a wee comment here...I have the Fluke T150 and if you probe with the one probe only it warns you of voltage being present, albeit it can't display what that voltage is. So it acts like a non-contact tester, except you have to make contact! Basically it's just a warning.

Same as the Kewtech 2 probe tester. I'm never sure it's a good feature - I wonder how many people use it for proving safe isolation.

 

[pirate]

That's a fair point, @DPG
However, it's maybe handy to have the feature as an extra check, just in case!

 

[oscar21]

Looks like Ive been short changed as there only about 600 in my copy!

Meant to put 600

 

[oscar21]

Exactly this. An integral part of the job.

No its being a nerd, most of the modern changes are ludicrous and we shouldn't need to know about them in a modern world. Saying that using the earth to carry current in a multi core flex is dangerous must be saying it was always dangerous, so how come they used to allow it? and if its not dangerous what does it matter whether I know about it or not.

Anyway I have done an update course and nearly all of the questions were irrelevant waffle, how long can a gangplank be for eg or what sort of ship needs what sort of cable or whatever it was. The new regulations are going nuts on the amount of things they keep altering, take sockets from a bath for eg, was 3M, everyone knew it was 3M then all of a sudden its 2.5M, no sense whatsoever. Now we don't even need to know the RCD x5 current yet it was vital a couple of years ago and if any old timer spark working from say the 15th or even 16 edition read the modern regs they would say they were insane.

You must be able to see they keep changing everything to flog us new books, that it. Its nothing to do with safety or efficiency.

 

[loz2754]

Of course there is an element of commercial gain behind many of the technological advances being made available in the electrical world, even greed perhaps.
But to argue that there is no improvement in safety from one edition to the next is ludicrous. It's not always obvious why a particular regulation or group of regulations has been modified, introduced, or sometimes removed, there are good reasons behind such changes.

 

[rewireIT]

^ i'm a bit with both of you on this one.

There are differences between countries in regs which both argue that they are for safety but both cannot be right at the same time. Electricity is electricity no matter location or colour jacket it has on.

It's the argument i make when someone says i'm being dangerous for driving at 80mph on an empty motorway. It's 'dangerous' here but completely acceptable in Germany. So are the German law makers playing with the lives of motorists? No. It's just a rule difference.

Same thing - plastic boards are A-OK in Europe but not here, even though they were.

That said, it doesn't take a lot to be up to date with what is currently required regs-wise.

 

[brianmoooore]

It could be argued that knowing the number of each and every reg off by heart is being a nerd, but knowing the content is essential to be able to install and certify your own work as satisfactory.
TBH, it was only when the reg regarding the use of yellow/green in flexes was changed that I discovered it hadn't been allowed before.

 

[davesparks]

No its being a nerd, most of the modern changes are ludicrous and we shouldn't need to know about them in a modern world.

Which changes are ludicrous? Why shouldn't we need to know about changes to the regulations?

The regulations change as our knowledge, understanding and technology changes. The regulations have to keep up with the latest changes to technology and those changes are coming thick and fast so the regulations have to keep up.

Saying that using the earth to carry current in a multi core flex is dangerous must be saying it was always dangerous, so how come they used to allow it? and if its not dangerous what does it matter whether I know about it or not.

Nobody has said it is dangerous, the regulations have gone back to prohibiting it.

take sockets from a bath for eg, was 3M, everyone knew it was 3M then all of a sudden its 2.5M, no sense whatsoever.

This is likely a result of the slow process of moving towards international harmonisation of electrical standards.

Now we don't even need to know the RCD x5 current yet it was vital a couple of years ago

I assume you mean tripping time, not current?
We can still do the test, the change is just simplifying the test results sheet.

and if any old timer spark working from say the 15th or even 16 edition read the modern regs they would say they were insane.

You must be able to see they keep changing everything to flog us new books, that it. Its nothing to do with safety or efficiency.

If you don't like it then do a different job.

 

[oscar21]

^^Davesparks

The difference is, you still have faith. Some people love rules, they love complying with everything anyone tells them to do because they think they are doing for the greater good and they must do as they are told because a superior person told them to. I'll bet you followed every lockdown rule going when the pandemic struck.

People like me on the other hand think that as long as you don't do any harm to anyone, murder them, rob them etc then nothing else really matters too much, I see everyone else as equals not my superiors. Take the wiring to the boiler scenario, I need to wire a thermostat receiver, its made of plastic and only needs three wires so I use a bit of 3 core flex and sleeve the earth up with brown. So what if the regs don't allow it, you are free human being and are capable all by yourself to make a decision whether it might be safe or not, so what if it breaches a technical rule in the £90 book.

What experience has taught me is no-one else is interested either, you could do the best job in the world for someone, you could go out of your way and do things like put ferules on the end of every termination, make an artwork of all the cable you clip, fit the most expensive stuff going and whilst you are doing the job the client will treat you like family but when it comes time to price the next job for him if you are £500 dearer than a complete stranger, even on a £10k job they will get it and not you, everything you have done would have been a waste of time.

As for getting another job just because I dont behave like a bod and follow every single rule to the letter, no chance, all my work is safe and no-one will ever come to any danger, there are a load of people out there doing way worse jobs than me. That last job I posted on the trade pictures one was an abomination, done by someone in NICEIC apparently who makes his money by signing several jobs off every day for other people at £100 a pop so I'm told. And the money is too good.