Here's a very NEWBIE question

[Mr.Si]

Hi all,

Purely for informational requirements...

Ok, I'm asking this question because I'm one of those newbies who's done the 2330 levels 2 & 3 and still trying to get an electrician to take me on to do the 2356 NVQ3 part, therefore not sure.

When you do PIRs etc, how can you tell what edition of BS7671 was used to install it and thus inspect and test it against? If the previous inspections information was not available.

The house I've got in mind is from the 1970s and has a BS3036 consumer unit.

Also, are there any books which would enable me to understand which values to test against? Such as an old BS7671 (I suppose ebay would help there) or an old GN3?

Are there any particular things I could look out for to tell me which edition to inspect against?

Thanks all,

Si

 

[IQ Electrical]

You ALWAYS test and inspect to the current edition of BS7671.

BS3036 fuses are not a defect so long as they provide adequate circuit protection.

 

[telectrix]

agreed with IQ. test to current regs. code 4 is there to enter anything that does not comply but did when installed., if that makes sense.

 

[IQ Electrical]

code 4 is there to enter anything that does not comply but did when installed., if that makes sense.

Or, something that did not even comply at the installation date but is not a safety issue.

In short, forget about when and to what edition the installation was installed.

 

[telectrix]

correct as usual, IQ. ideally all installations would be compliant with current regs, but that is not always practicable..£££££££. our remit is to test/inspect/advise, and where possible bring up to current standards

 

[Mr.Si]

Ah, ok, so if earthing and bonding is not to current regs, you'd put code 4 (not in line with current edition). But... how do you know if it was OK at time of install if you don't know when it was installed and what regs it would have had to comply with then...? Do you just compare with current regs? It just confuses me slightly.

Sorry, I know I should have brought it up at college when doing the theory, but kinda forgot to ask and it probably made sense at the time anyway.

 

[IQ Electrical]

Ah, ok, so if earthing and bonding is not to current regs, you'd put code 4 (not in line with current edition). But... how do you know if it was OK at time of install if you don't know when it was installed and what regs it would have had to comply with then...? Do you just compare with current regs? It just confuses me slightly.

Sorry, I know I should have brought it up at college when doing the theory, but kinda forgot to ask and it probably made sense at the time anyway.

It's not as simple as that, depending on what the defficiency is in the earthing system, read this: http://www.esc.org.uk/pdfs/business-and-community/electrical-industry/BPG4_08.pdf

It still doesn't matter what edition the installation was installed to, you always compare the installation to the CURRENT edition of BS7671.

 

[Phil]

no just compare to current regs mate. we would all have to be 90 years and a life time in the trade to know what edition it complied to don`t worry too much asthis comes with experience

 

[Mr.Si]

Ok, it's making good sense now. Thank you all for helping me on this one!

Case closed