Discuss Should I have voltage to my earth rod? in the UK Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net
Disconnecting any earth from an energised installation is a very dangerous thing to do, and will often result in apparently random voltages between the disconnected parts even in a perfectly safe installation.
Why on earth are the lighting circuits wired as a ring?
Instead of performing dangerous, and quite meaningless, tests that don't follow a logical fault finding process you should be testing in a logical manner.
First you need to establish whether or not there is actually anything wrong.
Measureing IR and earth leakage might help with this. Also assessing the loads for what earth leakage you might normally expect might help.
What type of volt meter are you using
What you are measuring is probably perfectly normal. When the installation MET is disconnected from earth (in this fromthe rod) there is no path for even the tiniest amount of normal leakage, therefore it raises the voltage of the installation earthing system in an attempt to get to earth. When the only path is through your voltmeter, it will register a voltage, but the actual voltage does not tell you much and does not represent a voltage that will occur in normal operation. Therefore this is a meaningless and misleading test.
Also. NEVER DISCONNECT THE MEANS OF EARTHING WITH THE INSTALLATION ENERGISED.
I don't know why I bothered to ask, no one ever answers a question.
No as of yet it is not tested, I was waiting to get my cousin over to test it but hey recent pandemic kinda delayed that a few months.
All i want to know is what would be causing voltage to my earth? I've identified it on 4 circuits, both lighting rings, the white goods ring and the hob, which is a straight cable from the board to the hob.
possible N-E fault on the installation. only way to solve is with a MFT and a spark who knows how to interpret readings.
Maybe you have crossed your neutral with your earth at some points.
i hate spagetti, (and pasta, paella, fish, and mayonaise). your pic only qualifies for the first.
Maybe if you had done this legally and used a Registered Electrical Contractor you wouldn't be in this mess.
read Lucien's post.you may not even have a fault at all. an analogue meter might confirm this. ( analogue being a moving coil pointer instead of the new fangled LCD garbage ). I could loan you my analogue voltmeter, manufactured in 1934, at a sensible hire cost. just needs this year's calibration next month to be sure it's as accurate as i'ts been for the last 86 years.. .
there's always a use for everything. even mothers-in-law.The last electrician I paid for left socket on a metal back box hanging suspended in a void behind the electric fire for it to plug in to. He mustn't of had a plastic one to hand or a drill or screws either.
I put in every cable so I know none were pulled or stretched, I made every connection so I could be sure they were all tightened just right, I cut every tail so they are not too short or too long. I spent my childhood being taught to build control panels for factories but seeing as I didn't want to be a sparks I didn't. I have minimal experience in domestic wiring but I'm not a total novice when it comes to making electrical connections.
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I used to have one, seeing as i had no use for it i let it go.
I appreciate the risk of disconnecting the earth however I was the only person at risk and was aware of what i was and was not touching.
The logical process was to establish which earth wire was the source of the live voltage, I had anticipated finding 1 then simply testing along the cable till I found the faulty section and then replace it.
there's always a use for everything. even mothers-in-law.
The installation probably isn't neutralised. Incidentally that is a UK-style DB and not configured to comply with the National Wiring Rules.
I had wondered if there would be a difference.
Could you clarify what you mean by neutralised?
You've done well @davesparks - neutralising is where the DSO's PEN conductor is connected to the MET by the main protective conductor (also referred to as the neutralising link), which is subsequently connected to the Earth electrode via an Earthing conductor.Neutralising is one of the basic provisions for electrical safety in the Irish wiring regulations. It is the system by which a TNCS supply has it's PEN referenced to earth on the consumers side of the ownership boundary.
Unfortunately I don't know the details of the requirements to be able to explain it, I only know the general requirement for neutralising, purpose of it and theory behind it.
You've done well @davesparks - neutralising is where the DSO's PEN conductor is connected to the MET by the main protective conductor (also referred to as the neutralising link), which is subsequently connected to the Earth electrode via an Earthing conductor.
I've been at two properties in the last fortnight which weren't neutralised - both of them had been that way for years. One of them I was able to rectify as it had a new style cut-out whereby I could connect the conductor. The other had an old internal sealed meter (the DSO used to neutralise at the meter) and therefore required an emergency call to the ESB. They sorted it within a couple of hours after I fitted a main protective conductor ready to connect.
Almost all installations within the State are TN-C-S (although there are a very few TT installations left in rural areas - but practically none. Certainly much less than 1%).
I also don't see any main equipotential bonding present (although it's hard to be sure what's connected to what from a photo of course).
You've done well @davesparks - neutralising is where the DSO's PEN conductor is connected to the MET by the main protective conductor (also referred to as the neutralising link), which is subsequently connected to the Earth electrode via an Earthing conductor.
Reply to Should I have voltage to my earth rod? in the UK Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net
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