spark V'S plumbers.........

[fancypantsyeah]

we all know the complexities of becoming a good spark today and the endless courses and qualifications that we need to be able to keep working,,, there is always another course to do or updates ,, yarda, yarda , yarda..
I dont know the plumbing that well but i have mates who are plumbers and apart from GAS SAFE what else do they have to get , or have....LOL........
MY POINT BEING AND I MIGHT BE CONSIDERED BIAS AS I'M A SPARK, BUT WHO HAS THE MORE COMPLEXED TRADE?????? SPARKS OR PLUMBERS ??????
NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE ME HOW EASY THEY SEEM TO HAVE IT THIS NEW PVC PIPE THEY USE JUST CLICKS TOGETHER EASY AS PIE...IT TAKES ME 5 DAYS TO REWIRE A HOUSE PLUMBERS CAN PUT A SYSTEM IN IN 2 DAYS..... JUST SEEMS THEY HAVE IT EASY AND IF YOU WHERE TO ASK ANYONE ON THE STREET THEY WOULD SURGEST THAT PLUMBERS JOB IS MORE COMPLEX THAN A SPARKS........I THINK THAT IS TOSH...............:wink_smile:
COME ON , LET ME KNOW YOUR VIEWS ON THIS ONE ...:wink_smile: I KNOW THIS SHOULD PROVOKE A GOOD RESPONCE.......ALWYS DOES.......

 

[Geordie Spark]

Yes but more like 300 quid a year and no need to get any test equipment calibrated every year.

Unless of course you throw away your old fashioned water gauge & buy a hi-tech electronic one & what about the Flue Gas Analyser ???

 

[Geordie Spark]

weight of the world is on a plumber. if he gets it wrong, a pipe leaks, could drown someone.

........... and if it's a gas pipe ?

 

[alarm man]

good as each other really,plumbing isnt just domestic plastic pipes as sparks dont live on just t&e,theres some pretty big water pipes out there..tho those lads call themselves meccy engineers,still a plumber to me..:wink_smile:

 

[Geordie Spark]

I've done it all .... sparking, plumbing, gas fitting & heating & I can honestly say ALL of these trades have their pros & cons & as such NONE are any easier or harder than the other.

As for the quality of the work, cowboys or "near-enough-is-good-enough" merchants exist in all trades. Thankfully I wasn't one of them. My original trade was as a Precision Engineer which was a 6 year apprenticeship and near enough WASN'T good enough EVER !! That ethos has stayed with me throughought my life and in every job/trade I have undertaken.

Early on in my appreticeship, I was told by my boss that a good engineer can turn his hand to anything. He was right.

 

[telectrix]

Early on in my appreticeship, I was told by my boss that a good engineer can turn his hand to anything. He was right.

not quite right. i tried turning my hand to adult movies. i was a complete flop

 

[Geordie Spark]

Early on in my appreticeship, I was told by my boss that a good engineer can turn his hand to anything. He was right.

not quite right. i tried turning my hand to adult movies. i was a complete flop

Nowadays there's a little blue coloured pill to sort that problem for you.

The difficulty lies in getting it through the hole in the end !!!

 

[Amp David]

So gas doesn't kill people?

No its the explosion that does!

 

[Amp David]

Unless of course you throw away your old fashioned water gauge & buy a hi-tech electronic one & what about the Flue Gas Analyser ???

What about it? If people aren't getting a yearly visit from whoever their body is, then I don't reckon many will be having these things annually checked. I know personally of 3 who don't.

 

[Geordie Spark]

No its the explosion that does!

But more often it's the "products of combustion" that does the killing. Carbon Monoxide - the silent killer.

 

[Amp David]

But isn't that because of an appliance not combusting or venting correctly that can cause CO deaths?

Not actually the gas installation work and testing

 

[Dave 85]

All this pretending that nothing can possible go wrong for a plumber, whereas thousands of lives depend on every single move a sparky makes is a bit silly no?

If something leaks from an electrical circuit the RCD shuts it out. No RCD? the mcb will usually get it before it gets bad. Ok so a loose joint on a high current circuit can potentially start a fire but even this is VERY unlikely. If somone gets a belt off an RCD'd circuit the chances of it doing them any damage or even hurting are virtually zero.
Ok so someone could pull the main fuse out and stick a finger in the live incomer whilst they got they're tongue on the earth block it might do some damage but this isn't a sparkies problem.

If a plumber has a leak or a connection pop under pressure after they leave a job there is no such safety cut out systems in place to protect the tens of thousands of pounds worth of property that could be damaged.

Its all very well saying "we're better because electrics kills so there" but that would make the monkeys who work in kwikfit SIGNIFICANTLY better than us sparkies because cars kill by the thousand.

A debate about 'who is better, plumbers or sparks?' is akin to 'who is better, my dad or your dad?'
Well mine obviously.

 

[Geordie Spark]

But isn't that because of an appliance not combusting or venting correctly that can cause CO deaths?

Not actually the gas installation work and testing

Unless the installation wasn't installed with regard to the correct siting/fitting of the flue or taking into consideration ventillation issues.

What is not often appreciated is the fact that a very sizable chunk of the training & assessment that needs to be undertaken in order to become qualified to work on gas appliance relates to flueing & ventillation.

(where's Chris Murphy when you need him ??!!)

 

[trev]

A debate about 'who is better, plumbers or sparks?' is akin to 'who is better, my dad or your dad?'
Well mine obviously.

Pahh My dad's way harder than yours

 

[Geordie Spark]

All this pretending that nothing can possible go wrong for a plumber, whereas thousands of lives depend on every single move a sparky makes is a bit silly no?

If something leaks from an electrical circuit the RCD shuts it out. No RCD? the mcb will usually get it before it gets bad. Ok so a loose joint on a high current circuit can potentially start a fire but even this is VERY unlikely. If somone gets a belt off an RCD'd circuit the chances of it doing them any damage or even hurting are virtually zero.
Ok so someone could pull the main fuse out and stick a finger in the live incomer whilst they got they're tongue on the earth block it might do some damage but this isn't a sparkies problem.

If a plumber has a leak or a connection pop under pressure after they leave a job there is no such safety cut out systems in place to protect the tens of thousands of pounds worth of property that could be damaged.

Its all very well saying "we're better because electrics kills so there" but that would make the monkeys who work in kwikfit SIGNIFICANTLY better than us sparkies because cars kill by the thousand.

A debate about 'who is better, plumbers or sparks?' is akin to 'who is better, my dad or your dad?'
Well mine obviously.

Exactly !!

There are good, bad & indifferent in all trades & professions.

 

[Amp David]

Thats fair enough Geordie.

I don't want people to start thinking I'm arguing who's better, not all that bothered TBH. Its more a little banter

 

[Amp David]

Whos Chris Murphy?

 

[Geordie Spark]

Thats fair enough Geordie.

I don't want people to start thinking I'm arguing who's better, not all that bothered TBH. Its more a little banter

I agree with you. I'm old enough & I hope wise enough to recognise an argument when I see one.

so far, I haven't seen one & I enjoy the banter here.

 

[Geordie Spark]

Whos Chris Murphy?

He's a member here & he's a heating engineer. Search for him in the Members List, then search his posts.

 

[alarm man]

Whos Chris Murphy?

cough...

 

[timo1]

Im jealous of plumbers and plasterers. Plumbers because generally the customer is really happy to see them as they are there to fix a leak or get the heating going - plasterers as once they finish the place looks completely transformed. Nobody seems that amazed when you've messed around getting 10 downlights to switch in sections, and from about 4 different points - is it just me or does nobody just want all the bloomin lights to come on all at once anymore??!!

 

[fancypantsyeah]

A lot of the plumbers I know say they wish they had been sparkes. IMO in the domestic setting both are technically **** easy. I sub for a kitchen bathroom company quite a bit. The plumbers are expected to do tiling/plastering/carpentry/painting the lot 9 hours a day for £170. I only do wiring, sometimes start late, leave early and get £225. Personally I think I have it easy.

is that 225 a day..... or a week.... or worse a month....lol.....

 

[fancypantsyeah]

Im jealous of plumbers and plasterers. Plumbers because generally the customer is really happy to see them as they are there to fix a leak or get the heating going - plasterers as once they finish the place looks completely transformed. Nobody seems that amazed when you've messed around getting 10 downlights to switch in sections, and from about 4 different points - is it just me or does nobody just want all the bloomin lights to come on all at once anymore??!!

i rcently rewired a kitchen and the customers wife , nice she was,,, ... she loved her bloody lights....
she wanted sp[ots in the ceiling under every cuboard and in the kick boards all in different section/ switches,,,,,, they don't seem to realize that you have to actually route cables to make the shiny things sparkle ,, and it can be a reall ball ache....lol...