For newbies and trainees!!!!!!!!!

Octopus · Feb 8, 2012

Yesterday I got an email from a friend of a friend asking me to come and look at a faulty shower isolator switch, so I duely popped in on my way home.

This is what I saw when I removed the switch from the wall:

Obviously before I took it off the wall I went to look at their shiney new CU (which had been installed as part of building works in the summer):

Hum, I'd like to see the certifcate I said:

and the schedule:

So what do you observe??

lofty84 · Feb 10, 2012

puts his glasses on and go's back for another look

Des 56 · Feb 10, 2012

needasparks said:
Thats naffit for you, you just have to spell your name right and your in.

I think thats a little unfair on our membership as a whole

Dez 56

Octopus · Feb 10, 2012

lofty84 said:
Great post Murdoch wish there was more like this. Ive tried to reply loads and look at one pic at a time but when I move on to the next pic it just gets deleted which is proper annoying after 3 gos.

of the top of my head

pic 1 - exposed conductors - looks like they have cut the insualtion back to much on one of the line conductors and remedyed it with some black insulation tape -I can see some dust and particulates in there (it might matter?) - looks like a little bit of dammage on the neautral at the bottom but I cant see any exposed copper so its likely to just be how its been squashed up in its house

Pic 2 - well nothing is labeled and as others have said the mcbs have just been stuck in in any order again like others I was told to stick the biggest closeist sp?lol to the main switch. I cant see any RCDs on there either. Should there not be a rcd to protect the shower circuit at least.

ill have to go back and look at pics 3 and 4 and then come back with what im seeing

ps murdoch how much did he charge the customer for the instalation, and was the customer out or something when he did it.

hopefully after eveyone has made there observations we could have a post to summerise the problems in each picture.

makes me want to go out on myown even more seeing things like this

No idea about the charges and that's nothing I'm interested in.

Going back next month to do some work for them so will take a closer look and update the thread with what I find.

DNS1 · Feb 10, 2012

Mark_Burgess said:
circuits 5 and 6 have Line and CPC as 2.5mm.

Ah, I wondered about that, but assumed the CPC size was 1.5mm, written in poor handwritting!

Octopus · Mar 2, 2012

Murdoch said:
No idea about the charges and that's nothing I'm interested in.

Going back next month to do some work for them so will take a closer look and update the thread with what I find.

Update:

Been back on site today to do another job and was chatting to the customer.The chap who tested and signed off the whole job was only there for 1 day during the first fix - another sparky did all the work, then the first chap returned to do the testing.

I tested one ring and found that its not a ring on the neutral or the earth and the live has a very high reading - going back to sort this one out too. Wonder what I'll notice next time.

What a shambles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But

At least the client doesn't mind paying.

i=p/u · Mar 2, 2012

well i say we all guess he was a 5 day wonder... hahahahahahah the 5 day wonder training providerssssssssssssssssssssss but there hahahahaha'n cause they got 4k

mr murdock · Apr 16, 2012

Des 56 said:
I cant see any RCDs on there either. Should there not be a rcd to protect the shower circuit at least.

In the film the Lion king,when the lion couldn't see the image the Baboon said
Look closer

the RCBO does the job of a MCB and RCD therefore that isn't an issue here...

sedgy34 · Apr 16, 2012

mr murdock said:
the RCBO does the job of a MCB and RCD therefore that isn't an issue here...

work of a builder or a very bad electrician

mr murdock · Apr 16, 2012

sedgy34 said:
work of a builder or a very bad electrician

you might be right there, but please explain why the RCD is crucial here in this example, i have seen loads of rcbo protected shower curcuits, in fact don't many shower units come with RCBOs these days?

is not the CU pictured on this thread a 100A mainswitch board fitted with RCBOs "high integrity" unit? how could you put a RCD in it!

sedgy34 · Apr 17, 2012

Split the tails fit 80a 30ma rcd before main Sw

WPD Lad · Apr 17, 2012

sedgy34 said:
Split the tails fit 80a 30ma rcd before main Sw

On an all RCBO board? You smoking crack?

mr murdock · Apr 17, 2012

WPD Lad said:
On an all RCBO board? You smoking crack?

maybe he is a "builder or a very bad electrician" !

as far as i'm aware there should be no issue using an RCBO for shower circuit as long as it's 40A or less - I notice that the shower cuircuit on the picture is referenced at 40A but has a 32A RCBO.... that could be a problem!