Tell us about your faults!

[kung]

Hi ALL
Just thought id put this one up for all those faults we find.
heres one to kick it off !
Domestic RCD tripped and wouldnt reset cause was a blown low energy light bulb.
There you go now for yours !

 

[bugsy]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Went on a job recently (free house) guy said he had a plasticy smell for about three weeks ,tested circuits found earth / neutral very low reading, at this point he said his mate had done a bit of work in the loft and put a light up on onspection hais mate had connected a neutral return to earth and this was the result

 

[Alynelec]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Just remembered some more. On the same job, an office/unit block. There was a double socket with no power, opened up the front and there weren't any cables behind the socket front, just the metal back box. Went to test the emergency lights on a stairwell, flicked the key and all the lights just went off, bloody batteries not connected and this block had been up for about 11 years. Nice.

 

[gorilla]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Just been at a job on Sunday there with my dad and it was to sort a few bits in a bathroom nothing electrical for us since he isn't a spark but we did have to take a couple of screws out the electric shower as we were replacing one of the wooden panels it was attached to that the electrician had split and was absolutely shocked to see what the so called electrician had connected the shower up with.

Just standard appliance flex not the appropriate twin and earth. I was so shocked by it that I went and switched of the supply at the CU and informed the customer who didn't believe a word I said, as I'm not a qualified electrician.

Now I'm just looking for your advice really fell annoyed at myself for walking away and leaving it but the customer just didn't let me explain the situation that her "electrician" has left her with a dangerous install, I couldn't exactly disconnect it either due to the customer. I also didn't want to touch it as I wasn't wanting the blame for something going wrong.

What is the best approach to get this looked at I doubt any paper work was issued and the local authority hasn't been informed.

 

[m4tty]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

What KW rating was the shower

 

[gorilla]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

What KW rating was the shower

It was around the 10kW mark. One of those power showers, definitely shouldn't be on standard low current appliance flex IIRC it was 2.5mm cable as well.

 

[electric-ian]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Had a good one with a diy cooker install once...

This lady said that when she uses all of the hotplates, the fuse in the plug goes.....................

Found her ex husband had put plugs on both oven and hob & put them neatly into a double socket in the unit..

Plenty more where that came from....

 

[startout2007]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

went to a house that had had the conservatory fed from a cooker supply 40a .
he had then run his home car repair business welders etc from a extension lead to his garage 1.5mm ?
boasting he fuse never blows. the plug was melted the lead in a state of meltdown.on breaking the plug apart finding the fuse with the hevyest wire in the circuit .
After explaining the faults he replied well its been fine for five years now.

 

[Phil]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Manager of a night club asked me to go and look at a light he could not seem to turn off?
turned out the sparky that had wired the place liked a little too much of the whit powder and forgot to attach a fitting to this cable that was outside for 5 months glowing away. it was only when the smoking ban came in that the staff stood outside and noticed it.
to say this was the start of thing would be an understatement. will post some more later on.

 

[Phil]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

that was on a sunny summers day. would imagine it was brighter than the other lights on a night time.

 

[pennywise]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Had one around my Aunts about 2 years ago, she had a TT supply to a pole outside her terrace house, it was then split to each terrace in old 16mm single insulated conductors clipped to the side of the house they then passed through the wall at 1st floor floor level to the CU. I took a close look at the singles on the outside wall thought the insulation looks slightly discolored got a bit closer turned out the tails didn't have any insulation on them for about 8 to 10in up the wall , it had all perished! so she had exposed copper on the outside of the house they only looked insulated from a distance because the copper had oxidized and gone black, they where also really close to a window so it could have all gone ---- up for the window cleaner at some point. The LEB took a week to finally get it fixed, first guy came out and said your right, then said he wasn't qualified to work at that height 2.5m!! The next guys came out and said we haven't got the bits, the third ones fixed it, got to love them

Manager of a night club asked me to go and look at a light he could not seem to turn off?
turned out the sparky that had wired the place liked a little too much of the whit powder and forgot to attach a fitting to this cable that was outside for 5 months glowing away. it was only when the smoking ban came in that the staff stood outside and noticed it.
to say this was the start of thing would be an understatement. will post some more later on.

What size breaker was that thing on, surely the resistance from the heat build up would have popped out the breaker all the time.

 

[Phil]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

10 amp breaker, and no it didn`t trip. the rest of the place was in a **** state as well. live cables dangling from the ceiling with a bit of insulating tape around the edges. board covers not put on just around in the bottom of the cupboard. the guy got paid as well, so its not like he walked off site. the owner even got him to do his dads grade 2 listed house when the bill from city came in he had spent 10k that could not be accounted for on stock that must have been helping his powder problem. either that or he is saving up for a new septum.

 

[Jason Smith]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Greatest pleasure is finding faults that havent happened yet, evn if customer cant understand, I know that even after I am long gone, I may today prevent a tragedy from happening to a family in the future. ( my mecanic mate also has nightmares, usually on the lines of has he tightened up the brake hoses correctly. ) Today i found 4 towel rails all with lovely fused spurs beautifully installed next to them for the last foot of cable, however, when I eventually find the supply to them its bogged off the back of a socket. Potential of 12 KW or about 50 ish amps. Down a 2.5 cable. Snippers have been applied instantly. Allowing for diversity, which is all that has prevented the wire frying ( mother wire from the socket to the first jb ) I will install a 13 amp fused spur to protect the wire from the socket that feeds the whole circuit. When I have the mid floor up, in will go a 20 amp radial to feed them all.

 

[pennywise]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Thought thermostatically controlled equipment couldn't have diversity applied to them.

 

[Jason Smith]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Thankyou pennywise, I am on to it right now. I have failed to safety, and snipped the wire. Books are out on the table, trying to find the answer. Thanks for raising that.

 

[electric-ian]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Well, What rating are the towel rails?

Unless they're particularly large, most run at a few hunderd watts and only need a 3A fuse.

If that is the case, a 13A spur to protect the 2.5 next to the existing socket where it's supplied from is all you need.

Plus the usual RCD's etc of course.