German Wiring , is it superior /?

[Dustydazzler]

So , like most things the Germans are generally considered the top of the class...Making Cars , engineering , Construction and so on...

What do we think of this new domestic install??

 

[Julie.]

Nein

und fünfundzwanzig Zeichen.

 

[nicebutdim]

I'd like to know why he writes everything twice - ink doesn't grow on trees!

Also unimpressed by the conduit installation - surely this can be representative of German standards? No bending, slip bends or adapters and everything cut short.

 

[Julie.]

I actually quite like his videos, he does some good electronics stuff, which is a bit of an interest for me , and he is quite entertaining.

 

[nicebutdim]

No criticism of the guy in the video, but his method of writing seems rather laborious.

As for the conduit installation - is that really how Germans do it?

 

[Risteard]

I'd like to know why he writes everything twice - ink doesn't grow on trees!

Also unimpressed by the conduit installation - surely this can be representative of German standards? No bending, slip bends or adapters and everything cut short.

My understanding is that is the norm in Germany and Austria, and probably much of continental Europe.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Flex run in conduit like that is pretty standard across most of Europe , they never use elbows or sets. The conduit is just straight bits

 

[Risteard]

Flex run in conduit like that is pretty standard across most of Europe , they never use elbows or sets. The conduit is just straight bits

They were using NYM-J as opposed to flex. NYM is very common throughout Europe actually, including in the south of Ireland.

 

[nicebutdim]

Not what I would have expected of Germany.

 

[lozarus]

Certainly my experience as a regular visitor to Germany is indeed, conduit is straight only, no elbows, glands etc. Generally just pushed into adaptable boxes. Metal fixings etc I don't think are talked about. Not sure what the word is on RCDs . At my Girlfriends old flat lights sockets etc shared breakers. Not sure if thag was just her iffy landlord though. But as the appliances don't have fuses then there's no reason the couldn't be. Everything was wired in 1.5 in her flat, sockets and lights. Their round NYY is definitely a world above t&e to work with though.

 

[brianmoooore]

I'd like to know why he writes everything twice - ink doesn't grow on trees!

I always write everything twice on cables. Once where most would write it, and once a bit further back the cable. Useful when you find the labelling on the cable you're looking at is actually on the bit of cable sheath you cut off and threw in the bin.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Think of the conduit just as a means of supporting cable neatly as an alternative to a line of cleats. It's solid-core sheathed NYM-J, used throughout Europe instead of T+E; it doesn't generally need the conduit for protection in domestic work. Obviously where conduit is needed due to the environment, it is continuous with elbows etc.

Re lights and sockets on the same circuit, this is common in many countries, we are one of the few that doesn't. Historically we sometimes had 2A / 5A sockets and lights sharing circuits but the coming of the 13A socket and 32A ring stopped that.

As for whether German wiring is better, each system has its merits. I prefer many aspects, E.g. I would much rather wire Schuko sockets with NYM than 13A sockets with T+E. But the UK 32A circuit is a very good and versatile idea that you can't mix with unfused plugs. So you can't have all the best features in one system.

 

[nicebutdim]

I always write everything twice on cables. Once where most would write it, and once a bit further back the cable. Useful when you find the labelling on the cable you're looking at is actually on the bit of cable sheath you cut off and threw in the bin.

Good practice, but not what I was getting at. He over-wrote everything on the plans he drew. Every single word as it was written, he went over a second time - an obsessive perfectionist.

 

[nicebutdim]

Think of the conduit just as a means of supporting cable neatly as an alternative to a line of cleats. It's solid-core sheathed NYM-J, used throughout Europe instead of T+E; it doesn't generally need the conduit for protection in domestic work. Obviously where conduit is needed due to the environment, it is continuous with elbows etc.

This is the information I was looking for - thank you.

 

[Julie.]

Good practice, but not what I was getting at. He over-wrote everything on the plans he drew. Every single word as it was written, he went over a second time - an obsessive perfectionist.

I think it's more to do with getting the message across/teaching.

The more times you repeat or go over things the more likely the viewer will remember or understand.

 

[123]

Good practice, but not what I was getting at. He over-wrote everything on the plans he drew. Every single word as it was written, he went over a second time - an obsessive perfectionist.

To be honest I thought he maybe just needed to buy a better pen?

 

[pc1966]

I remember seeing German wiring with the conduit and no joints as strange, but as Lucian says it is fine for support in light commercial / office style environments when used with sheathed cables instead of singles.

I think most of the EU has had RCDs of sorts for years as they seem to favour TT supplies, but never had to work on any as we would have any site work already done before we installed stuff, etc.

 

[pirate]

I don't like that idea of conduit with no bends etc...aesthetically speaking anyway, but yes, it does protect the cable where it needs protection, and the small areas of exposed cable are unlikely to be a problem...but for me, its one or the other...

Except in my common entrance hall where i am spurring off a communal socket to supply a feed to the bin store! I'm going conduit up the wall from the socket, then at height, clipped direct into a nice adaptable box, switching to H0Rn through the wall to the outside, clipped direct to external porch ceiling, then into bin-store and direct to microwave sensor bulkhead fitting.
It won't look pretty, but the 1mm t&e Linian clipped to the facing-brick wall 7' above floor level will be almost invisible, compared with trunking or conduit. It's horses for courses sometimes...

 

[brianmoooore]

I've done something similar to this in old farm outbuildings from time to time. Crumbling cob walls or stone and lime mortar make for very difficult fixings, so lengths of 20mm round conduit fixed about every metre, with T&E fed through.
These are small buildings with only a single light in each, and the odd socket. Levels keep changing, so no real prospect of a 'proper' conduit system with boxes and bends, etc.