Advice needed on unconnected earth wire.

[Michael Lammas]

Hi all.

Apologies of this is in the wrong place.

I am looking for some advice. I had a new consumer unit in 2016 which is fine however I have just noticed an earth wire coming out of the bottom which isn't connected. I'm not sure if I has always been this way or not?

There is another earth wire running along the top connected to some piping so I'm not sure of that's why this one isn't connected?

Any advice would be appreciated. Didn't want to call an electrician and waste someone's time if it's not an issue plus if it just needs putting back somewhere I can do that.

 

[MJPD29]

It is very important and should be checked by a competent electrician. No point putting yourself or family in danger to save a few quid.

 

[Dustydazzler]

This often looks to me like a new pme has been provided but gets left up to the home owner to get it connected to rest of the house installation.

There is a massive council housing estate near me which since built relied solely on the 6mm water bond as means of earthing.
Some houses have been updated to pme but the ones I have seen are like above. The earth comes off the head to a mounted block but never connected to the old fuse boxes.

 

[freddo]

I got called out last week and asked if this was normal by a couple who selling a relatives house.

What is the unit between the tails and meter?

 

[Squid]

What is the unit between the tails and meter?

Piece of wood?

 

[freddo]

Of course I meant meter and cutout!

 

[stevels4]

I'm in mist of learning to hopefully get my 18th this year so correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't the bonding be before any joints on pipework and within 600mm of meter

Yes you are correct and also before the first T, the extended ECV pipework looks a bit dodgy too.

 

[stevels4]

What is the unit between the tails

It’s “Hotshoe” unit to convert the gas meter to smart when the electric is only a classic meter.

 

[Andrew Hunter]

Seems to be the norm these days but not neceseraly a new issue.
some years back i was called by a freind for some advice whose parents had just been informed by a boiler engineer that he could not carry out any remidial works on there boiler as the first thing they do is plug in a circuit tester and he had found that they had no earth connection to the boiler circuit so being the nice person that i am. I dropped everything (f. o. c.) i might add, to investigate thinking that possibly the earth connection in the fcu may have come loose and dropped out.
Anyhow i soon descovered that not only did they not have any earth connection on that circuit (which on visual inspection looked fine) they had no earth connecion anyware in the property. on further investigation i found that the main earth to the property had originally been sweated to the lead water pipe that originally fed the property.
The said lead pipe had been been disconnected and replaced with a polypropolyne pipe some 15 years before and therefore no earthing connection had been present from that day forward.
So it was a case of "sorry Mr and Mrs X i have to disconnect your supply as i am duty bound to inform you of the pontential dangers and the requirment that is needed to rectify. However i then noticed that not only had they had there water supply upgraded they had also had the suppliers facility (DNO meter) upgraded and F__c me there was an installation card with a date on it which supperceeded the date of the water pipe change. Bang had them by the balls.
I proceeded to contact the supplier and paint the picture of the situation and dangers this poor unsuspecting couple had been thrust into and left in for so long only for the lady at the other end of the phone to attempt to casually dimiss as someone elses problem.
"Well" i informed here as i had requested her name and the name of her supervisor "i was going to isolate the supply because it was now my responsability to ensure that the property was left safe. But should the customer turn it back on and as it was one of there engineers representing there company that had been to the property to change the meter and left it without conducting any test (as was apparent) then if the customer was to switch the supply back on and if anything should happen and if there should be a fatality then my dear it will be you and your supervisor and indeed your CEO that i shall be giving evidance against in court"
Instant result she immidiatly refered me to her direct supervisor who advised me that i should isolated as intended and there will be someone there shortly. not only did they arrive within 4 hours they supplied a generator for the use of and disconnected the supply then the following morning a team of engineers rocked up complete with diggers and installed a new split concentric cable to the property and had them back up on mains supply complete with a test cirtificate and reinstated footpath before the end of the day.
And all this free of charge for someone i considered to be a freind, only for three years later him to refuse me a favour which wouldnt cost him a penny. C__T. "No more mister nice guy!

 

[stevels4]

They did pretty well there,when I worked for a DNO it was usually a TT fix for a missing earth....removes any further responsibility!

 

[James]

I think the football was about to start, when they NEARLY finished that install.
on a more serious note, get that checked as a matter of urgency and to repeat the advice above, leave it well alone, the floating earth cable could become live and be dangerous to touch.

 

[tony clark]

i advice to get that checked by someone that is qualified and and the gas pipe should be connected 600mm before the first branch /tee /elbow. and i recommend having the lead pipe replaced.

 

[tony clark]

and to add insult to injury your main gas supply connected to the gas governor should not be in cooper pipe very dangerous in the event of a fire. and the cable entry to you cu dosent look like gits glaned proberly
you should contact gas safe and you dno.

 

[DC-backfrom the past]

this is another example not as bad as no earth, but a new build that's been signed off.
Are the main suppliers just getting slap dash now ?
Also should this have been allowed to be signed off ?