Just Had A Power Outage. Should I Be Concerned?

[chicat]

Just this Tuesday I had an electrician do an inspection and fixing and replacing some things.

Just today my house had a power outage.

Does anyone think this may have something to do with the inspection I had this Tuesday or was this just the usual appliances being overpowered (thus causing outage)? Thanks.

 

[telectrix]

recently fitted a RCD in my underpants. no leakage so far. told you i wasn't incontinent; senile maybe. .

 

[Octopus]

Back to the op .

Did the inspection flag any issues? How long was the spark in the house?

 

[chicat]

Back to the op .

Did the inspection flag any issues? How long was the spark in the house?

I'm not very technical when it comes to this, so I will try and explain things as clearly as I can.

When the electrician first came to try to diagnose and fix the power outage (was permanent then) a few months ago (this week Tuesday was his second visit), he told me something about the current in the second half of my house not being at a level as it should - he also remarked that this was something he expected from an old house but our house was only around 15 years old (he found this odd).

He also found the source of the power outage was in the kitchen. One of the sockets got some sort of moist (this socket was about a feet away from the stove). He replaced the socket and de-rated the socket circuit as a temporary fix (meaning I had to avoid using the washing machine, microwave, and kettle at the same time).

When he came back this Tuesday for an inspection, he found the wire (I think it was two wires stuck together) wasn't installed properly and was what caused the uneven current level as previously mentioned. He then briefly told me that in 2005 the Government had a law that prevents all builders from "doing whatever they want."

Before he left he told me that he will send me the test results and a certificate.

 

[mhar]

Hello Chicat,
It can be quite difficult knowing how to explain a technical issue to a non technical person. I hope that your last posting demonstrates that a poor job has been done explaining, not that a poor job has been done.
I am not sure if anyone here is going to have anything helpful to add without seeing the test results you have referred to, even then a visit to investigate is likely to be required.
How did you choose this electrician? The fact that you are posting may imply that you do not have much confidence in him.
If you are after a second opinion or a fresh pair of eyes then post your location to see if anyone on here is local to you

 

[chicat]

Mhar,
When we had a permanent power outage earlier this year I just called a service and he just happened to receive the job from his employer.

After the first visit he gave me his mobile number and months later I contacted him to arrange an inspection (after two previous unsuccessful arrangements with other electricians - one never turned up and one never gave me a time and just showed up without us preparing).

I didn't mean to show a lack of confidence in the electrician. I'm just frustrated that a power outage has happened even after an inspection (which only took place earlier this week) and I don't know what the problem is this time (going to investigate if it's just a faulty appliance). I'm living with my parents; they're old and don't have that much money, so any visit from an electrician would be at their inconvenience.

Personal annoyance aside, I have been looking around my house for a bit and noticed 3 (unused) sockets turned on. I believe they've been on for 5 days since Tuesday. Do you think they could be the reason why the RCD tripped?

Also I'm based in North Somerset, so 20 or so minutes away from Bristol. I can also post test results here when I get them, if that would help anyone here.

 

[johnduffell]

sounds like it was tripping originally as designed, due to a damp socket. In the process of testing it the electrician presumably discovered the ring was broken and has now repaired it.
If the tripping is still occurring, there could be water ingress into the same or into another socket. Perhaps water is coming down the wall from above, is there a shower or anything wet e.g. pipes above?. If it happens repeatedly, it's important to call someone competent to do some more testing.

 

[Dave OCD]

I don't normally say this, but reading through it sounds a lot like a wind up.

 

[Dave OCD]

Back to the op .

Did the inspection flag any issues? How long was the spark in the house?

Probably about 5' 9"

 

[Deleted member 9648]

If there's an RCD on an installation it is quite likely that nuisance tripping will be an occasional annoyance. It does not necessarily indicate a problem unless it is happening frequently or there is difficulty resetting the RCD.

 

[DPG]

Post the results when the electricians gets them to you.

 

[Pete999]

recently fitted a RCD in my underpants. no leakage so far. told you i wasn't incontinent; senile maybe. .

Kinky booger

 

[chicat]

Test results,

Results - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gwi6b21ps9lnbr4/AAACfxRJvohwQBouIZSzR0FOa?dl=0

 

[wildwest]

inspection usually followed by testing,
to ensure neutral not knicked putting back plate or something like that.
sounds reasonable , young electrician , rural location,
not sure though, something about the feet and the damp socket.
trust chicat ? download random file ?

 

[chicat]

You don't even need to download the images. Since I've used dropbox, you could just view them on the site.

 

[johnduffell]

The images are extremely slow, but I managed to get the first page and even I can tell it's a very poor report.
Just from first reading I doubt you have a 2 phase supply and if you had it wouldn't be possible to confirm polarity.
Also most of those C3s are rubbish, codes specify things that don't comply with the standards at the time. He's claiming that the board doesn't comply with the 16th edition standard because it's a 16th edition board? Fan extremely old that's a new one! And earth exported to garage is perfectly good design, assuming everything's bonded correctly.