Periodic Nightmare

[pjb1]

Hello everybody
Went to do my first Periodic Inspection Report on a single storey flat for a letting agent,not yet occupied. TN-CS suppiled 25mm tails 16mm Earthing conductor Good Start? enter the property.
Found good old rewirable fuse consumer unit. in the bottom of the enclosure a 2" hole not good possible to touch a live busbar. straight away Code 1 me thinks?
Isolated and removed fascia what a rats nest of wiring all single, Bonding cable 2.5mm earth cable code 4
1/ Cooker 6mm/2.5mm single type of wiring B pvc in Metal Conduit, Continuity and I/R tested fine.
2/Ring final circuit for socket end to end continuity on neutral and cpc live conductor meter reading show open circuit.
Spent the rest of my time there trying to find out why live conductor was not in a ring went from socket to socket looking for broken or loose conductor checked to see if termination tightened onto cable insulation.

Any way you guys can help to solve this problem ? Or do I have to break the ring down completely and test continuity ie consumer unit to first socket, first socket to second socket etc etc. But still leaves me guessing where the ring has been split when I come to the last socket.

I have let the letting agent know, And advise them that the Installation is not safe, Would it be better just to change the socket RFC to a radial circuit and down rated the protective devise? Also advised them to have the consumer unit changed.

As it a single store would I still need to use a split load dual rcd consumer unit, Or would I be able to replace it with a board that all circuit are rcd protected?

 

[Des 56]

My first thought is that you are there to identify the problems and report on those findings
Remedial work or tracking down and remedying problems is not usually part of the remit

Given that you may have this already agreed with regard fixing problems

I would probably use a split board,rcbo for lights and rcd the rest
Nothing much wrong though, with one rcd over the whole of the installation,however, it doesn't fulfill the "minimise inconveniance" requirement as good as some might argue

The remedial on the ring,depending on payment,I would first try to repair whats there and think about radials if I couldn't remedy
I would dis connect one leg of the ring at a time to see what is made live by each leg and take it from there
You will need to locate the break even if you consider radials,in order to break the neutral in the correct place

 

[pjb1]

Des 56
using the R2 method using a wandering lead I found 12 sockets on one leg, and a single socket in the hallway on the other leg. If that makes sense?

 

[Des 56]

There you go then,
Problem position found,now the decision ?
Rectify the ring,by perhaps replacing the offending cable or turning them into radials with reduced capacity

I would let the customer decide

Explain that the system can be used as it is, with reduced capacity and with little cost or effort.ie the radial otion
Then explain that there is a chance that the occupier may be a heavy handed user of equipment and that future problems could occur

Maintaining the existing capacity will involve installation work and cost in the future
It their option, their decision, and their responsibility to their tennants, and most of all, their money to spend as they may wish to chose

 

[pjb1]

Found out today after a phone call to the letting agent that the landlord had another report done at the start of the year. Asked if i could see it to compare findings. The first report shows what I've already said, But they carried out a full report.
They also say the storage heaters are on a RFC but is also showing as not complete? Could it be as they are singles someone has cross connected the two rings???

Also aren't storage type heater suppose to be on separate radial all with their own protection? That the way I've seem it before separate board 16A radial circuits connected to the economy meter?

 

[pjb1]

Thought I'd have more help and guidance on this post? Thanks anyway Des56.

 

[Sintra]

A ring final circuit must not supply an immersion heater, storage heaters or a cooker rated more than 2kw. p362, 433.1.5

 

[pjb1]

Thanks sintra

In installation i've seen in the past this type of heating has been feed from a separate board on the economy feed. feeding each heater via radial circuits