- Jun 29, 2020
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- If you're a qualified, trainee, or retired electrician - Which country is it that your work will be / is / was aimed at?
- United Kingdom
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- Practising Electrician (Qualified - Domestic or Commercial etc)
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- Dartlec
I do seem to pick only the weirdest properties to inspect...
Victorian terraced house today - with up front RCD to a Wylex fuse board and main bonding all in place to current standards....
No cpc on lighting, but all pendants and plastic switches - so far so fairly standard.
Then remove the CU cover and find this:
I'm guessing somewhere originally early 60s given the lack of cpc and tinned stranded connectors?
With 2 main issues:
1. Kitchen feed run from CU (30A 3036) in 6mm T&E (probably to an old cooker feed) - and then kitchen sockets run post 2005 in 2.5mm twin and earth.
At first I thought it was a lollipop arrangement, but not even that when testing at the sockets (No ring in sight)
Even so, that can be sorted for now with a drop to a 20A plug in MCB - not ideal for a kitchen with oven, but it's only doing 2 double sockets and a dishwasher in addition....
2. The rest of the sockets (only 1 in most rooms, with 2 in master bedroom) though are run in what I guess would be called "Twin" from another 30A 3036 - 2.5mm (imperial equivalent) with no earth. Perfect continuity of live conductors and when checking at the (very few) sockets - each one has a separate earth run to it, in bare twisted tinned copper imperial somewhere between 2.5mm and 4mm from eye.
Zs is fine at each socket, but the earths do not appear to run from the CU, so not possible to do R1&R2 at each socket. R1&RN fine at each socket though.
A RFC would have 2 x 1.5mm CPCs at each point - this has something akin to that at each point in a single conductor, with unknown source, but zs tests suggest adequate to deal with the short fault currents liable to occur before the RCD cuts in.
So do this count as a C2 for not having cpc continuity on a RFC - or is not technically a RFC but a hybrid that is non-ideal but safe? or in need of downrating to a radial to be safe for continued use? Or a C2 regardless of the OPCD?
How would you code that little lot?
Clearly the place needs rewiring sooner rather than later, but in terms of an EICR it ticks most of the boxes that older properties usually fail on...
RCBO board would fit nicely in the cupboard, replacing the up front RCD with an isolator switch, but not entirely happy reconnecting wiring with no CPC to a 'new' install - and I don't really want to do the rewiring job (it's not that local).
Victorian terraced house today - with up front RCD to a Wylex fuse board and main bonding all in place to current standards....
No cpc on lighting, but all pendants and plastic switches - so far so fairly standard.
Then remove the CU cover and find this:
I'm guessing somewhere originally early 60s given the lack of cpc and tinned stranded connectors?
With 2 main issues:
1. Kitchen feed run from CU (30A 3036) in 6mm T&E (probably to an old cooker feed) - and then kitchen sockets run post 2005 in 2.5mm twin and earth.
At first I thought it was a lollipop arrangement, but not even that when testing at the sockets (No ring in sight)
Even so, that can be sorted for now with a drop to a 20A plug in MCB - not ideal for a kitchen with oven, but it's only doing 2 double sockets and a dishwasher in addition....
2. The rest of the sockets (only 1 in most rooms, with 2 in master bedroom) though are run in what I guess would be called "Twin" from another 30A 3036 - 2.5mm (imperial equivalent) with no earth. Perfect continuity of live conductors and when checking at the (very few) sockets - each one has a separate earth run to it, in bare twisted tinned copper imperial somewhere between 2.5mm and 4mm from eye.
Zs is fine at each socket, but the earths do not appear to run from the CU, so not possible to do R1&R2 at each socket. R1&RN fine at each socket though.
A RFC would have 2 x 1.5mm CPCs at each point - this has something akin to that at each point in a single conductor, with unknown source, but zs tests suggest adequate to deal with the short fault currents liable to occur before the RCD cuts in.
So do this count as a C2 for not having cpc continuity on a RFC - or is not technically a RFC but a hybrid that is non-ideal but safe? or in need of downrating to a radial to be safe for continued use? Or a C2 regardless of the OPCD?
How would you code that little lot?
Clearly the place needs rewiring sooner rather than later, but in terms of an EICR it ticks most of the boxes that older properties usually fail on...
RCBO board would fit nicely in the cupboard, replacing the up front RCD with an isolator switch, but not entirely happy reconnecting wiring with no CPC to a 'new' install - and I don't really want to do the rewiring job (it's not that local).
