Voltage between live and earth

[The Oaf]

I've finished rewiring the upstairs in our house (in Bulgaria). This is 3 bedrooms and the living room on separate ring mains. I bought an earth rod and put that in the yard and as I was connecting up the earths, I decided to check if there were any voltages between various points.
With the earths not connected to the board, there is voltage between live and earth but not neutral and earth.
Needless to say, I went and checked everything that I could.
There is no continuity anywhere between live and earth or neutral and earth. I took out each outlet and inspected and nothing is wrong. I also tested voltage between live and the earth rod and it's the full 220v. The earth rod just has a cable from it to the board.
Is this right, do I just connect up the earths to the rod?

 

[Sparkie30]

Cant see a problem there mate.
You should Test how good that earth is really.

 

[westward10]

If you are picking up 220v between line/earth without the electrode connected the earth from your circuits must in some way be grounding themselves. Why would you liven it up without a reliable earth connected.

 

[Pete999]

Looks like the OP isn't an Electrician, so he understandably wouldn't know the answer to these questions, Advice would be to get someone who is a Bulgarian Electrician in to test and certify the work, not sure uf that's what happens in Bulgaria, if it's similar to most of the ex Soviet states I would doubt very much, if the Bang test is not the norm.

 

[The Ghost]

Perfectly normal if there was no voltage, now there is a conundrum. Sounds like you are taking chances?

 

[The Oaf]

There's a British guy in our village who has also just rewired. I'll ask him. Not sure if he's a qualified electrician either. There don't seem to be many rules at all out here. Most houses have no earth and I heard somewhere that ring mains are illegal here.
So, getting a reading between live and an earth rod that's not connected to anything but the soil is normal? Is that the pd between the live and the earth?

 

[Pete999]

There's a British guy in our village who has also just rewired. I'll ask him. Not sure if he's a qualified electrician either. There don't seem to be many rules at all out here. Most houses have no earth and I heard somewhere that ring mains are illegal here.
So, getting a reading between live and an earth rod that's not connected to anything but the soil is normal? Is that the pd between the live and the earth?

Ring Mains are not allowed in domestics in the UK either mate IT's a RFC Ring Final Circuit now it's all became touchy feely European carp.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Being the old eastern bloc you never know whats in the ground! possibly giving funny readings and the bang test could literally be just that... whack that rod hard enough you might strike a old landmine or two ... then BANG! had an ex girlfriend from Moldova and she showed me pictures of a field down road from her house full of piles of RPGs and mortars still in the boxes on pallets! the local mafia gangs were flogging them, during the balkans conflict a lot of stuff was sent down there on the black market but then the war on terror and all that changed things so the EU and USA paid for them to be destroyed. when the red army left in early 90s most of the kit was left behind and sold. she said there is fields with tanks old tanks lined up, abandoned runways with old soviet fighters and planes decaying... did fancy a weird tour of the place after hearing this but she had to go back home :-(

 

[Percyprod]

I thought a ring main was on the dno 11kv system.

 

[Pete999]

I thought a ring main was on the dno 11kv system.

It is, mind you itcould be an open or clsed ring, depending on who the opperator is.

 

[GeorgeCooke]

I new of someone who put in a ring (and UK sockets) in Bulgaria and the inspector told him to rip it all out and rewire it to Bulgarian standards.

 

[PEG]

I new of someone who put in a ring (and UK sockets) in Bulgaria and the inspector told him to rip it all out and rewire it to Bulgarian standards.

What,with the earthing disconnected?

 

[The Oaf]

Roughly a mile away is a large underground storage facility for old ordnance.
Well, if it turns out that the earth rod needs moving then there's no way that thing's getting pulled out, I'll just sink another.
Can someone tell me then, on a nice and perfectly wired house, what reading, if anything, would you normally get between earth & live and earth & neutral? Will there likely be a few milivolts?

 

[Risteard]

Why are you doing this? You clearly have no idea what you're doing.

 

[telectrix]

L-E should be same as L-N. 240V. N-E should be 0V but could read as mich as 2V.

 

[davesparks]

I thought a ring main was on the dno 11kv system.

They can also be used at low voltage for distribution circuits.

Ring mains are used for gas pipework too.

 

[davesparks]

Ring Mains are not allowed in domestics in the UK either mate IT's a RFC Ring Final Circuit now it's all became touchy feely European carp.

It has been a ring final circuit or words to that effect since it first appeared in the regulations.
Nothing to do with European nonsense

 

[mhar]

I thought a ring main was on the dno 11kv system.

According to my youngest who works on the distribution systems hot glove it is the 33kV that is operated as a ring. The 11kV is an open ring (so not a ring!) but the link can easily be made when required to facilitate maintenance and keep continuity of supply. The 11kV 'ring' usually encompasses two 33kV subs, again to facilitate continuity of supply in the event of faults