Dodgy trade pictures for your amusement! - 1 Million Views!

brianmoooore said:

You think that's the floor? I'd assumed it was a raised cupboard.

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Yes, but again the photo is not really showing enough detail or context.

It is rough as a badger's proverbial in any case!

Mike Johnson said:

Trying to open that news story, the web site wanted me to accept its cookies, which I now days refuse, do I miss out, I don't think so, since refusing to accept cookies on any web site my spam and nonsense e-mails have reduced considerably.

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Open such stuff in a private window then cookies are contained and, once closed, gone afterwards.

Also I clear all of the browser history most days for similar reasons of general privacy and stopping advert-tracking. Though the #1 thing to stop that is not to be logged in to Google or Facebook at the time or, if at all possible, ever.

Kamikaze said:

A BS 5194-4 fuse!:biggrin:

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how much current do scissors take?

Jukebox mike said:

how much current do scissors take?

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No idea, but they are designed to cut out when you need them to.

Julie. said:

No idea, but they are designed to cut out when you need them to.

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not a sharp as you from reading that post.

pc1966 said:

Tripping / entangling in the cables on the floor is quite an immediate threat to anyone going in to read the meters or do any work!

The photo is not good enough to check things though, might be floating Henley blocks, but looked like tape to me. Also not much sign of grommets on trunking, and to the right just below vertical conduit there are some wires that might be taped or bare, or maybe just a trick with the brown live crossing the blue and G/Y.

Also a suspicious lack of G/Y earths around the wall of meters, etc, but maybe part of trunking?

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In my experience it's not uncommon when you have an area that's not one person/organisation's responsibility - you should see some of the mess in phone distribution cabinets
I would lay the blame on meter "fitters" - or rather their employers. Clearly inadequately trained (particularly in the aesthetics of a good job), and not given the right amount of time & incentive to do it right. So one person comes along and c.b.a. to refit the trunking lid properly, the next guy comes along and c.b.a. to refit it at all - especially if after a few meter changes the cables no longer lay nicely. And so it goes - each time someone comes along, sees a mess, it's not his responsibility to fix it and he doesn't have time anyway, and you end up like this.

And of course, there's a problem with division of responsibility. I assume the DNO is responsible up to that metal fuse box on the right. Energy suppliers, either directly or delegated to a meter operator, are responsible only for the tails to their meter - but not for that shared trunking. It could be argued that the building's responsible person isn't responsible for that trunking either since they aren't allowed to "fiddle with the mains supplies".

But as for those joined tails, I'd point my finger at an electrician told to do something with the supply up to the flat. The meter looks like one of the originals (or at least an older one), and I suspect those tails originally went up the side of the meter like they do with the one next to it. I wonder if originally there weren't switch-fuses and these have been added over time - hence the mish-mash of stuff on the left and right walls ?

This hot mess

Never seen that type of supply cable before for the flat above, seems to be a SWA type but the outer jacket is hessian ribbon wrapped round.

From the way it seems to be leaking compound, it's PILC with a bodge seal made in a piece of conduit with red and black PVC singles spliced on. I.e. those are not the cores of the cable itself emerging from the bush. I'm curious as to the colour of the insulation underneath the blue tape that covers one of the unsheathed cores of what might be SWA disappearing into the floor.

A little one but worth sharing. Report came in that the "heater switch" wasn't working and cracked. I went across with a new FCU assuming the obvious loose connection / poor quality FCU / over fruity heater causing an overheat. Transpired that the installer perhaps didn't double check the flex for the heater - it was inserted too far and screwed down onto the insulation, thus resulting in it only really making contact with a few strands, thus causing the HR joint.

As an aside this circuit is a weird one. I watched the conversion of this room from toilet to kitchenette being done by partitioners about 4 years ago (Management wasnted the whole job done by the one supplier without getting us on site guys involved). They were decent enough guys. Transpired there wasn't really a 'proper electrician' on the job though. That said the guy 'doing the electrics' was decent to talk to - and looking at the circuit this hangs off today he did actually make a generally good job - all terminations were tight and cables were dressed really well - but it shows how important training is. The RFC in here (which arguably may have already existed) was sitting on a C32 MCB with no RCD - by rights it really should have had one back then (massive serving hatch allowing the sockets to be used outside for a start)

Sounds like a case for a double bootlace ferrule, especially as it was flex.

Mike Johnson said:

Sounds like a case for a double bootlace ferrule, especially as it was flex.

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It was terminated in the new FCU with my OCD perfect bootlace kit.

Found this lovely on an EICR recently

Plumbers attempt at wiring the heating controls, same for the room stat downstairs 2.5mm t&e with CPC used as return live

Going by the scorch mark on the cylinder insulation, he's not great as a plumber either!

aahahahahahaha this thread is hilarious!!

Littlesparks genny thread got me thinking of this little treasure I found the other day.