Smoke coming from electric meter/fuse box area

A14n · Jun 13, 2017

Hi just a question, this morning I noticed a 2 gang socket had no power to it, went to check the fuse box/electric meter in the cupboard... and there was a lot of smoke coming out from somewhere? Its not smoking any more. The 2 way gang socket is completely dead. All other outlets seem fine and not affected.

What would be the problem? Is this an expensive job, still waiting to here back from an electrician.

Thanks

A14n · Jun 20, 2017

Gas bond is on the pipe in the cupboard next to the CU. Niceic say they don't have any company by that name at the given address registered with them, and advise contacting them to get an enrollment number. The electrician did say they will be issuing a certificate for the CU.

ChrisElectrical88 · Jun 20, 2017

Hope you get it sorted mate. It's not nice to see people not doing a proper job for a genuine customer.

davesparks · Jun 21, 2017

A14n said:
Gas bond is on the pipe in the cupboard next to the CU. Niceic say they don't have any company by that name at the given address registered with them, and advise contacting them to get an enrollment number. The electrician did say they will be issuing a certificate for the CU.

Then you might actually find that niceic will be helpful, they get very excited about prosecuting people who use their logo without paying for the privilege.

They won't give two hoots about a dangerous installation, but they'll pursue a misuse of their logo to hell and back.

Kuffs · Jun 21, 2017

This is the first time I have posted on this forum. I read this with great interest and despair. I'm someone who 4 years ago went on one of the very much loved Part P two week courses. Now before you guys get stuck into me, you need to know that I paid 4k of my own cash to do this course, as I wanted to improve my knowledge and do a good safe job for my customers. I have my own business renovating bathrooms, so clearly if I want to provide electrical work as part of that business it is hugely important that it is done to a high standard and tested accordingly. I am only writing on this post because even with my limited knowledge, having read through this post, I was able to pick up on a large number of the issues that you guys were spotting. This kind of shameless awful work is totally unacceptable! I wanted to talk briefly about what my thoughts were around the course I took. I should also point out that I have a background in automotive electrics, so although this is clearly not the same as domestic electrical work, there is a degree of crossover. Most of the people I met on the course were really good guys but in spite of this, there seemed to be a high percentage of them that should not have been let near a screwdriver let alone be aloud to do live testing. I was working in one of the bays with two other guys doing practical stuff and they sussed that I (Without wanting to sound immodest) was quite capable. Once they latched onto this they kept asking me how to do things and all the while I'm thinking "I'm paying £4k for this" One of the fellas was from India and told me he had only been in the country for 6 weeks. Prior to this course he was studying law, but gave up. My point is, this fella passed the course and like most of the others that were on it, including myself. They could well be out there working in peoples homes, and I find that very worrying. I should also point out that I decided not to become a scheme member and ended up substantially out of pocket, because I didn't believe that I could develop sufficient knowledge and keep on top of the Reg's etc. Can I test, can I wire a circuit safely? Yes! but I'm I totally confident that I can provide a safe service to my customers? No! You can probably appreciate how P**t off reading about the joker in this forum makes me in light of all I have written. Sorry for the length of this post.

telectrix · Jun 21, 2017

Kuffs said:
This is the first time I have posted on this forum. I read this with great interest and despair. I'm someone who 4 years ago went on one of the very much loved Part P two week courses. Now before you guys get stuck into me, you need to know that I paid 4k of my own cash to do this course, as I wanted to improve my knowledge and do a good safe job for my customers. I have my own business renovating bathrooms, so clearly if I want to provide electrical work as part of that business it is hugely important that it is done to a high standard and tested accordingly. I am only writing on this post because even with my limited knowledge, having read through this post, I was able to pick up on a large number of the issues that you guys were spotting. This kind of shameless awful work is totally unacceptable! I wanted to talk briefly about what my thoughts were around the course I took. I should also point out that I have a background in automotive electrics, so although this is clearly not the same as domestic electrical work, there is a degree of crossover. Most of the people I met on the course were really good guys but in spite of this, there seemed to be a high percentage of them that should not have been let near a screwdriver let alone be aloud to do live testing. I was working in one of the bays with two other guys doing practical stuff and they sussed that I (Without wanting to sound immodest) was quite capable. Once they latched onto this they kept asking me how to do things and all the while I'm thinking "I'm paying £4k for this" One of the fellas was from India and told me he had only been in the country for 6 weeks. Prior to this course he was studying law, but gave up. My point is, this fella passed the course and like most of the others that were on it, including myself. They could well be out there working in peoples homes, and I find that very worrying. I should also point out that I decided not to become a scheme member and ended up substantially out of pocket, because I didn't believe that I could develop sufficient knowledge and keep on top of the Reg's etc. Can I test, can I wire a circuit safely? Yes! but I'm I totally confident that I can provide a safe service to my customers? No! You can probably appreciate how P**t off reading about the joker in this forum makes me in light of all I have written. Sorry for the length of this post.

as you have discovered, a short course is not fit to train people up if they don't have the aptitude. you seem to have that and the right attitude. stick to doing non-notifiable jobs for now.build up your confidence and experience, then, when you are ready, apply to join a scheme. plenty of good advice on this forum. and good luck with your chosen career.