A retired Yank from Nebraska is coming to Edinburgh on a mission trip

[gskrusen]

To the right person, I would make it worth someone's time for a couple of hours of face to face instruction when I got there. I have over 34 years of electrical experience over a wide range of avenues. I will be coming to Scotland the 2d week of September. Would enjoy exchanging a few back and forth messages with some of you

 

[oscar21]

Sounds like you need Big Clive, he's in Edinburgh next week doing the tattoo thing.

What were you thinking of doing on this meet up, dismantle the hotel room to see how it all works?

 

[gskrusen]

That's funny, because it would have to be the whole hotel not just the room. Just looking to discuss the few differences between the European loop system and the North American branch system

 

[littlespark]

I’m in Scottish Borders, about an hour south of Edinburgh. Glad to be of any help, if I can.

Ps, we drive on the left over here

 

[gskrusen]

I’m in Scottish Borders, about an hour south of Edinburgh. Glad to be of any help, if I can.

Ps, we drive on the left over here

I always wondered why the steering wheel was on the wrong side of the vechicle

 

[gskrusen]

Sounds like you need Big Clive, he's in Edinburgh next week doing the tattoo thing.

What were you thinking of doing on this meet up, dismantle the hotel room to see how it all works?

That's funny, because it would have to be the whole hotel not just the room. Just looking to discuss the few differences between the European loop system and the North American branch system

 

[gskrusen]

Sounds like you need Big Clive, he's in Edinburgh next week doing the tattoo thing.

What were you thinking of doing on this meet up, dismantle the hotel room to see how it all works?

I will be in Edinburgh on the 7th and 8th of September, before I head north to the project.

 

[littlespark]

So what is the project?

The big difference is that we separate the outlets from the lighting circuits….

Is it “loop” as in “ loop in” lighting? Also known as 3-plate?

Your “branch” circuits will be called “radial” here

 

[pc1966]

I'm guessing the 'loop' mentioned by @gskrusen is our Ring Final Circuit?

It is very different to most of the world due to us having fused plugs, and so we can have 32A (or more, e.g. 45A cooker socket) feeds to the sockets independently of the size of appliance cable, etc. The RFC is really a copper-saving way to do that, and over a wider area, compared to the radial circuit.

A recent debate covered here:

Ring Final Circuit (RFC) versus Radial. Yes, again. | on ElectriciansForums

Find Ring Final Circuit (RFC) versus Radial. Yes, again. Advice and Help. How-to Ring Final Circuit (RFC) versus Radial. Yes, again. in the Electrical Engineering Chat advice boards on ElectriciansForums.net | Free Electrical Advice - Electricians Forums: Electricians' Talk Forums. Ring...

www.electriciansforums.net

 

[pc1966]

There are a few folks on here from Scotland, and can meet up depending on what you are doing, or you might want to call in to see some on your way depending on travel arrangements.

Edinburgh is an excellent place for a short stay (assuming you can afford the hotel cost!) as it has lots to do and a good range of historic buildings. Glasgow is also a good place to visit, has more of an industrial/trade history compared to Edinburgh (was more government/banking/etc) and also a wide range of touristy stuff to see and place to eat.

The other significant cities going north (Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness) are all OK but a step down in terms of tourism.

However, one aspect that is worth doing as a counter-point to the cities is a visit to some of the highlands for the scenery. The A9 road (or taking the train) north from Perth to Inverness gives you a good view, but its a tedious road at times and also a bit dangerous as it flips from single carriageway to dual carriageway (with the opposite pair invisible at times) multiple times making overtaking, etc, a danger. Add to that lots of obscure junctions and you can see why its high accident rate has been a sore point for duelling for years.

Of course many other scenic options depending on your time, areas of interest, and itinerary, are available. The west highland rail from Glasgow to Mallaig is another good option, but you really need to stay over as not practical to go there and back in one day.

Weather is always unpredictable, assume any of the 4 seasons (possibly more than one) will occur on any given day!

 

[littlespark]

Or if you want the middle of nowhere, with a duel carriageway, a vast array of farm machinery on the roads, and no one around for miles on end…

Welcome to the borders.


Oh…. We’ve got castles.

 

[oscar21]

I did 2 weeks work in Edinburgh last year, great place but very expensive, nearest place we could find to stay that was affordable was across the bridge in Aberdour which was quite nice as well.

We even managed a day on the lash on the Saturday in the city centre.

 

[gskrusen]

So what is the project?

The big difference is that we separate the outlets from the lighting circuits….

Is it “loop” as in “ loop in” lighting? Also known as 3-plate?

Your “branch” circuits will be called “radial” here

Yes in my research that is one of things I learned that lighting and outlets are separate. There are several language differences such as the radial reference, but we are both talking about the same thing. We are converting a small cottage into a large kitchen for a Christian youth camp. So they can feed all the kids as they stay there for the week. There will be blue prints and inspections. They are running a larger feeder cable underground to the cottage as we speak.

 

[gskrusen]

There are a few folks on here from Scotland, and can meet up depending on what you are doing, or you might want to call in to see some on your way depending on travel arrangements.

Edinburgh is an excellent place for a short stay (assuming you can afford the hotel cost!) as it has lots to do and a good range of historic buildings. Glasgow is also a good place to visit, has more of an industrial/trade history compared to Edinburgh (was more government/banking/etc) and also a wide range of touristy stuff to see and place to eat.

The other significant cities going north (Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness) are all OK but a step down in terms of tourism.

However, one aspect that is worth doing as a counter-point to the cities is a visit to some of the highlands for the scenery. The A9 road (or taking the train) north from Perth to Inverness gives you a good view, but its a tedious road at times and also a bit dangerous as it flips from single carriageway to dual carriageway (with the opposite pair invisible at times) multiple times making overtaking, etc, a danger. Add to that lots of obscure junctions and you can see why its high accident rate has been a sore point for duelling for years.

Of course many other scenic options depending on your time, areas of interest, and itinerary, are available. The west highland rail from Glasgow to Mallaig is another good option, but you really need to stay over as not practical to go there and back in one day.

Weather is always unpredictable, assume any of the 4 seasons (possibly more than one) will occur on any given day!

Thank you so much for that information. I have a place to stay about an hour north of Edinburgh, where I will stay for the 10 days I am there. I am coming to Scotland on a working mission trip. Won't have much time to sight see.

 

[DPG]

Remember to do the full suite of tests ( both live and dead testing). The required certs will need to be filled in as well.

Also recommend RCBOs rather than split load (aka dual RCD type) boards.

Above all, I hope you enjoy your trip to the UK!