Stupid Question

Deleted member 112675 · Sep 17, 2020

I'm on a roll with questions so I may as well keep going. This being the most riskiest as no doubt many might think what the heck am I doing playing with sparks if I don't even know something as basic as this. So here goes....

So normally, when I'm renovating a room (plastering especially) and I need to temporarily remove sockets and swtiches etc, I'll turn off the relevant circuits and cap the cores either with connector blocks or waygos then tape them and push them back into the backbox. Then during a break in plastering I can turn on the circuit.

If for whatever reason I'm dealing with cable without cores exposed, I strip some cable off and do the same to the cores (terminate & tape). Now here's my dafty question: do I need to do that? Could I just cut the cable clean and tape the end or with only a bit of tape even for a day or two is that dangerous? I've never liked the idea of only one form of protection (tape) - the other method uses two: blocks and tape.

westward10 · Sep 17, 2020

None of your methods are safe. Any connector or conductor must be enclosed wrapping them in tape serves no purpose as a barrier. Are these cables with no cores exposed live.

Deleted member 112675 · Sep 17, 2020

THat's interesting. So are you saying that in order to plaster my own living room I would either need to keep the circuit(s) mcb off for the duration (which I do when actively plastering/decorating) OR use something like a wagobox.

Using a strip connector or wago connector wrapped in tape pushed into the backbox is not safe even when no works are actively taking place in that room and nobody else is in the house except me?

Edit: THe use case is overnight when I'm half way through plastering and I want the rest of the main circuit turned on. So yes at that stage the cable would be live. (I'm now starting to feel really stupid for even thinking about just taping the end of live cable however temporary)

littlespark · Sep 17, 2020

If no one is in the house except you, then theres no inconvenience by leaving the power isolated while you are plastering.

tape, or no tape... connectors etc... no good if you slice into a live cable with the plasterers float

ChrisElectrical88 · Sep 17, 2020

That’s right. Connectors and tape are not safe. What you should do is Wago, Sokitz wrap around thing and then a blank plate.

James · Sep 17, 2020

Many years ago, methods like that were commonplace.

just like the pictures you see of guys in black and white photo's working on high rise buildings wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and a smile whilst walking on a girder 500ft above the ground.

they had what they called acceptable death rates, i.e for so many man.days of work they expected x amount of fatality's.
it was Simpley the norm. that people died building things. 96 people died working directly on the hoover dam. this was considered at the time to be very good as they expected more.

10 people died building the channel tunnel, for each and every one of them, a detailed investigation had to be completed and presented to the hse and the coroner.
it is generally considered to be 10 people to many.

times have moved on, it is no longer acceptable to leave a risk of death floating around.
do it right or not at all is the motto.