Pet Hates ( Excluding Customers)

[telectrix]

as title. let's have some of you pet hates with the trade.
I'll start off with a couple:

1. Captive screws that fall out and get lost when nothing in your parts stock will do.
2. terminal screws that you can't see the head and need to tighten by feel ( many ceiling roses are this).

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Yeah when I wrote it I thought it didn't read very well; sorry!
Anyway, I meant CUs which are a mess inside Pete, with far too many cables in them. Also meant the neutrals and CPCs are terminated in no particular order, so when testing it can take 20 minutes finding the right conductors in order to test.

As an example I had the one below a few months back, finding the CPCs on the ring I was working on was a reet pain...get some cable markers on em! And had to take 6-7 RCBOs out to get to the cables I needed to. They should have had more ccts coming in through the bottom or on the left hand side..

View attachment 38147

One of our regulars has a 20 module loadstar DB with 18 RCBO's. I wish I had a picture of it to post, without doubt the most crammed board I've ever seen. It once took me half an hour to replace one faulty RCBO. The space above the RCBO's is literally solid copper.

 

[Pete999]

Nice shiny hand tools on show at exhibitions, that are expensive but I must have, but can't in all honesty afford, roll on ELEX Coventry

 

[Octopus]

Being told we need to fit dual colour labels - which are unnecessary IMHO and tend to make 2 way CU's look a bit daft!

 

[FatAlan]

The cultured English voice over guy that does the false Scandinavian radio ads for Volvo and Ikea! Really patronising! Why don't they get a real Swede

 

[Octopus]

Pedestrians walking whilst on the phone and not looking before attempting to cross the road ..

 

[Pete999]

Condescending remarks in wholesalers from spotty youths in hoodies chewing gum and yakkng on their cell phones. And the Electrician they are with doing the same. And lookng at you as if you are something they have trodden in. Bloody Chavs

 

[Rpa07]

What do you mean ? practice what they preach.

I was doing some hot works, grinder style, with permit, in basement - our safety rep picked up that we didn't have an extinguisher right next to us. Fair enough though he could have said it with less words! So I set it up, finished the works, put everything away, come back literally 3 minutes and he's up a step ladder preparing to grind a stud bolt off the ceiling with no extinguisher back up and definitely no permit! I mentioned it in passing!
He comes back later and picks up on my 'one handed grinding' and I mention the irony to him and he gets defensive. Quite amusing.
It has taught me to always have an extinguisher though and to direct the sparks away from my hi viz!

 

[FatAlan]

Surely it must be dangerous to do hot works with a high viz on as no one can tell whether you're on fire or not? Run that past the health and safety mob!

 

[Spoon]

Surely it must be dangerous to do hot works with a high viz on as no one can tell whether you're on fire or not?

Do you not have high vis with iron filings embedded in them?
Then if you catch fire the people round you can say "Oooooh" and "Ahhhh" as you run past them....

 

[telectrix]

The cultured English voice over guy that does the false Scandinavian radio ads for Volvo and Ikea! Really patronising! Why don't they get a real Swede

here's a couple of Swedes, or are they Katie Price's implants?

 

[Pete999]

here's a couple of Swedes, or are they Katie Price's implants?

Subtle as ever Tel

 

[FatAlan]

I prefer them mashed with butter and lots of pepper. PS Don't tell the Mrs!

 

[buzzlightyear]

DIY numskulls that go on this forum asking how wire up stuff.
trying to save money and should no better .

 

[telectrix]

I prefer them mashed with butter and lots of pepper. PS Don't tell the Mrs!

mashed? YUK. chopped into bite size pieces and not cooked soggy.

 

[ED17]

Telesales who usually ring you when you're in an attic or up a ladder!