Lighting Via Central box

[OWLelectrical]

Just had a call out for a lighting fault. Whilst looking for all the cables as every light and switch had 1 cable I found a junction box with all cables in. How often were houses wired like this as never come across it myself? Well the fault was the Xmas stuff had been dumped on the jb and smashed to pieces. Where could I find a similar box as it was fairly discreet and tidy. Cheers

 

[MDJ]

Ive seen lead cable systems with several Jbs linked under floors, but they were 1940s and 1950s systems, not 2013 lmao

 

[MDJ]

as rare as a joint box in gloucester

Someone has their Knickers in a twist :lipsrsealed2:

 

[tigerpaul]

If you use a big JB with lights just spidered off of it, you will end up with many end of lines.
They will all need continuity testing and loop testing. I wonder how many sparks actually do this properly?

 

[not clever]

Around my way a lot of houses were wired using a completely seperate Neutral in single&earth , JBs all over the shop, no logical use of red and black singles. Very hard to fault find and trace where everything is. My own house has a big horrible JB on each floor with cables coming out all over the place. It's much easier to have all connections in the switches and light fittings in my opinion!

did an eicr at two flats today both lighting circuits wired in the old double sheathed singles, not a cpc in sight.

 

[sjhall]

And the world is actually round

 

[sjhall]

I'm so drunk btw

 

[Engineer54]

I would say if anything the loop in method was devised to save cable ,just a pest to connect really never liked it for that fact.
in my neck of the woods a 1930- 50 house would originally be done in steel conduit
1960s would be trs and early twin and earth using the joint box method
1970-80s would be twin and earth using joint box or loop in method
90s to present looped at switches
hardly a new fangled method
suppose it depends on the area you are in what methods are employed

The only system you got right there is the conduit in the 30/40's, as well as lead covered twin. From then on, be it TRS or PVC, it was always multi-core twin/T&E, and 9 times out of 10 using the 3 plate system. Nothing to do with saving cable, it's a logical wiring system.
As for your JB's, if it was that successful for wiring houses and the like, the Octopus system would now be flourishing, it's not, so it wasn't!! Looping at the switches, ...well that says it all!!!

 

[telectrix]

nothing wrong with looping at switches if you have multiple lights, e.g. 12 downlighters. it's a bugger pulling them all out till you find the 1 where the switch wire is.

 

[Engineer54]

nothing wrong with looping at switches if you have multiple lights, e.g. 12 downlighters. it's a bugger pulling them all out till you find the 1 where the switch wire is.

Fine for a situations where you NEED a neutral at the switch, or as you state, have multiple lights in a room, but then you don't need to loop at every switch in the house to achieve that!!

 

[Dipzy]

nothing wrong with looping at switches if you have multiple lights, e.g. 12 downlighters. it's a bugger pulling them all out till you find the 1 where the switch wire is.

Please pardon my ignorance, but wouldn't you wire the d/l closest to the sw with the sw/wire?

 

[snowhead]

The only system you got right there is the conduit in the 30/40's, as well as lead covered twin. From then on, be it TRS or PVC, it was always multi-core twin/T&E, and 9 times out of 10 using the 3 plate system. Nothing to do with saving cable, it's a logical wiring system.
!

The first house I bought in 1972 (built 72) had Red /Earth and Black sheathed and J/B.

The house I'm currently in, built 1988, has Red /Earth and Black / Earth and Loop in Ceiling Roses.

 

[MDJ]

seperate reds?

 

[Engineer54]

The first house I bought in 1972 (built 72) had Red /Earth and Black sheathed and J/B.

The house I'm currently in, built 1988, has Red /Earth and Black / Earth and Loop in Ceiling Roses.

I think that's what i wrote earlier on, ...that those Octopus JB systems had their day in the 70's. I can't for the life of me see any advantage of these JB's in a standard house wire, you'd need 2 JB's then anyway!! . Best suited in my opinion anyway, to smaller bungalows or single storey buildings with a loft space and the like...

 

[snowhead]

I think that's what i wrote earlier on, ...that those Octopus JB systems had their day in the 70's. I can't for the life of me see any advantage of these JB's in a standard house wire, you'd need 2 JB's then anyway!! . Best suited in my opinion anyway, to smaller bungalows or single storey buildings with a loft space and the like...

There seems to be a lot of confusion on this thread over multi terminal junction box Octopus type systems and plain Ashley 4 terminal traditional J/B.
Mine was traditional, not Octopus

 

[Engineer54]

There seems to be a lot of confusion on this thread over multi terminal junction box Octopus type systems and plain Ashley 4 terminal traditional J/B.
Mine was traditional, not Octopus

Well if that was the system of wiring (4T JB's everywhere) in a brand new house in the 70's, then it was a heap of crap!! No other words for it!! lol!!