Mistakes you have made

[ChrisElectrical88]

Somebody in the wholesalers told me he'd wired a whole ring in 1.5mm on a new build once.....which only got noticed during the second fix, don't know what the outcome was but it sounded like a real horror show.

Seen it on site with the ring wired in 3 core. Luckily for the bloke who did it it was top floor with a loft space and trunking drops. We didn’t half look confused though when the apprentice asked us what to do with the greys and blacks ?. He stripped every point ready for the sockets before asking us aswell ?

 

[7029 dave]

Somebody in the wholesalers told me he'd wired a whole ring in 1.5mm on a new build once.....which only got noticed during the second fix, don't know what the outcome was but it sounded like a real horror show.

Don't surprise me, somebody on here said their cooker circuit was wired in 4mm.

 

[Let me think]

Not willing to admit any of the 'alleged' mistakes I (sorry I mean any 'friends' of mine) may have' inadvertently' made in a public forum, just encase they are used in court of law advice against me (sorry I mean 'him').

I do recall a 'friend' of mine was helping out another electrician during his apprentice, in which he was knocking into a brick to fit a socket (wall of adjoining house) and brick was working itself loose (unable to dig it out), when asking the electrician what he should do, he was told to just knock brick into the cavity and he'll be able to deal with. So tried knocking brick into cavity and but getting some resistance, expressed his concerns, and told just to hit f'en harder, which he duly did. Only to find a whole family was living in the cavity. Turns out only a single skin wall between houses.....a rather expensive fix....new wallpaper for the cavity family and compensation.
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I’ve always been a fan of the Micky Flanagan approach.....turn up the next and start shouting ohhhh who’s done that!?!

North of border we call that doing a 'Begbie' - All makes sense if you've seen trainspotting - bar scene.

 

[7029 dave]

Not willing to admit any of the 'alleged' mistakes I (sorry I mean any 'friends' of mine) may have' inadvertently' made in a public forum, just encase they are used in court of law advice against me (sorry I mean 'him').

I do recall a 'friend' of mine was helping out another electrician during his apprentice, in which he was knocking into a brick to fit a socket (wall of adjoining house) and brick was working itself loose (unable to dig it out), when asking the electrician what he should do, he was told to just knock brick into the cavity and he'll be able to deal with. So tried knocking brick into cavity and but getting some resistance, expressed his concerns, and told just to hit f'en harder, which he duly did. Only to find a whole family was living in the cavity. Turns out only a single skin wall between houses.....a rather expensive fix....new wallpaper for the cavity family and compensation.
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North of border we call that doing a 'Begbie' - All makes sense if you've seen trainspotting - bar scene.

When he broke through did he say hello .

 

[Let me think]

Trying to do an RCD test the other week.
Kept coming up ERR--- checked the rcd was on, changed my testers batteries....TWICE! Was almost at a loss 5 mins later....
Can you spot my little mistake?

Easily done, if only they had some sort of colour coding to help

 

[Baddegg]

When he broke through did he say hello .

Morning! Turned out nice again! ?

 

[Let me think]

When he broke through did he say hello .

If he had been smart enough, he would have said 'Here's Johnny!!!'

 

[littlespark]

When he broke through did he say hello .

Nooo.... “here’s Johnny!”

X post

 

[G1ZQC_David]

Here is a little story that will amuse and make you laugh at my expense. I really don’t mind how loud you laugh. I am helping some friends refurbish an old cottage, I have done the re-wire and fitted most of the Kitchen up to date. I volunteered to plumb in the two toilets (one up one down). I got all the pipework fixed and the pan seated, turned the water on, and to my surprise, no leaks. I let the tank partly fill, and pushed the flush. One slight problem, I hadn’t yet connected the waste, so the water flooded out onto the floor-boards and ran through to make a small lake in the room below. Oops!! ????

 

[7029 dave]

Here is a little story that will amuse and make you laugh at my expense. I really don’t mind how loud you laugh. I am helping some friends refurbish an old cottage, I have done the re-wire and fitted most of the Kitchen up to date. I volunteered to plumb in the two toilets (one up one down). I got all the pipework fixed and the pan seated, turned the water on, and to my surprise, no leaks. I let the tank partly fill, and pushed the flush. One slight problem, I hadn’t yet connected the waste, so the water flooded out onto the floor-boards and ran through to make a small lake in the room below. Oops!! ????

Look on the bright side, someone could have put one down.

 

[Baddegg]

Look on the bright side, someone could have put one down.

We call em foreigners down here ?
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Here is a little story that will amuse and make you laugh at my expense. I really don’t mind how loud you laugh. I am helping some friends refurbish an old cottage, I have done the re-wire and fitted most of the Kitchen up to date. I volunteered to plumb in the two toilets (one up one down). I got all the pipework fixed and the pan seated, turned the water on, and to my surprise, no leaks. I let the tank partly fill, and pushed the flush. One slight problem, I hadn’t yet connected the waste, so the water flooded out onto the floor-boards and ran through to make a small lake in the room below. Oops!! ????

I’m only laughing because you just reminded me I’ve done that ????

 

[Highresdis]

Rushing to finish a rewire I put my foot through a ceiling...(seriously)

Me too! Right up to the rather high portions of my leg, slightly painfully...

 

[nicebutdim]

Once watched a colleague tip water from a waste pipe into the basin he'd just removed it from.

No major issues from such a small amount of water, but clearly remember scratching my head and wondering how he could be so daft as his face turned increasingly red.

 

[Phil L]

A colleague once had a young lad doing work experience with him, he asked him to strip back the cables ready for fitting sockets/switches young lad came back to him really chuffed and said he had cut them back and stripped them as asked, colleague went to check and asked where are the earths? Young lad just stood there and said I thought that was for stripping the cable back so I cut it off when I had stripped the cable, needless to say there were some expletives bounded about that Day

 

[FatAlan]

A few years back I remember doing a bit of soldering at Windsor Castle.

 

[7029 dave]

A colleague once had a young lad doing work experience with him, he asked him to strip back the cables ready for fitting sockets/switches young lad came back to him really chuffed and said he had cut them back and stripped them as asked, colleague went to check and asked where are the earths? Young lad just stood there and said I thought that was for stripping the cable back so I cut it off when I had stripped the cable, needless to say there were some expletives bounded about that Day

If he did not show the lad how to prepare the cable, its hard lines.

 

[Phil L]

If he did not show the lad how to prepare the cable, its hard lines.

100% agree and our boss had exactly the same thoughts and made it well known to the spark where the blame lies

 

[Andy78]

Somebody in the wholesalers told me he'd wired a whole ring in 1.5mm on a new build once.....which only got noticed during the second fix, don't know what the outcome was but it sounded like a real horror show.

1.5mm 3 core was used on one job I saw. By mistake. It got corrected though. Well at least the two legs from the board did. Still like that as far as I know. The house renovation was for the son of the owner of a local electrical wholesaler ?

 

[David Prosser]

Could of been a fatal mistake by my novice self. Good few years back after just starting out I worked maintenance in a factory. One time looking for a fault on a production line I went to remove a blown fuse. Got my tester, only one I had, (YEP ----ling multi-meter) and proved dead ??(multi-meter Only thing issued for us to use and as a novice I knew no better).

Just about to unbolt fuse (300A I think ABB switch fuse isolator 19mm socket) with an uninsulated socket set when the guy I worked with said (say with SA accent as that what he is) "Hey, W.T.F. you doing ? You F-ing stupid or something". "You've got your meter on DC, it's still live bell-end"!

Now I can't lie I was flipping livid, not that it was live or that I had F'd up and nearly killed myself but that probably the biggest, laziest useless MF bloke I have ever worked with most likely saved my life. Trust me this bloke did nothing for the four yest we worked together.

I am know an SAP, you wont get on my sites without the proper equipment for proving dead, if I catch you chancing it with a multi-meter your out.

I look back on that incident and shudder, It could of done for me and no good the investigation finding poor/non existent safe isolation training and lack of correct test equipment.

 

[Baddegg]

1.5mm 3 core was used on one job I saw. By mistake. It got corrected though. Well at least the two legs from the board did. Still like that as far as I know. The house renovation was for the son of the owner of a local electrical wholesaler ?

That’ll be fine then these no chance they’d spot the difference anyway! ?