The good old "borowed neutral".

[Top Cat]

Hi

Changed a consumer unit today, nice and easy, 2 circuits of lights 1 sockets 1 immersion and 1 cooker.
Put each circuit of lights on different RCD's. Every thing ok until I put on landing light! both RCD's operated.Had to put both circuits on 1 RCD.

For any one not as old as me (i did my apprenticeship when dinaosaurs roamed the earth!) we used to wire the hallway light, live & switchwire to hall switch, live loop accross to landing switch then a pair of strappers up to switch on landing. Then we took a single up to landing light. This was nice and easy but it left you with no neutral. No problem we just borowed one from upstairs light circuit!

Now this was classed as bad practice even then, (think it was the 13th edition!) but what the hell it worked.

Any one else had "borowed neutral" stories?

 

[telectrix]

so what did you do to sort it? i would have fed the L to the switches from upstairs, and cut out the downstairs link.

 

[Top Cat]

Just put both circuits on the one RCD and put both circuits on one MCB. both circs of lights were on 1 fuse before so did not leave them any worse off. Asked if the wanted to pay for extra work to have 2 circs but did not want to pay!

 

[ipf]

Both circuits on one RCD, but are they still on individual cb's? Sounds like it from the terminology.

 

[ipf]

Sorry TC........beat me to it. Sounds OK to me.

 

[Top Cat]

2 circuits joined together on 1 MCB and on 1 RCD.

 

[telectrix]

what else can you do if the tight wads won't pay. be different if their car failed MOT on dodgy brakes.

 

[parker56]

you should offer them intrest free monthly terms over 20years. lol

 

[Snapester]

no no don't be silly they need the £150 for the hair colour and cut! Get my back up when people moan about prices yet they happily pay £80 for hair cut or £50p/h to see a shrink!

 

[SPARTYKUS]

no no don't be silly they need the £150 for the hair colour and cut! Get my back up when people moan about prices yet they happily pay £80 for hair cut or £50p/h to see a shrink!

£50 for a shrink? Thats cheap the one I see charges me £90 an hour and then its extra for the electro shock therapy or water boarding.

 

[ipf]

Get a lot of heatshrink for £50.

 

[brman]

I found a very similar thing on a house I inspected a couple of weeks ago. Single Line from cloakroom light (downstairs cct) to stairs two way switch. T&E strappers to landing switch then single switched live to landing light rose. Rose looped on the upstairs cct so neutral taken from there.
Not only did it have a borrowed neutral but because of the singles used for line and switch live there was no cpc either end to connect to the switch circuit.
Given it was original wiring I suspect the whole road is like that....

Lucky for me the owner is keen to sort it- in fact I suspect I will find cables have magically rerouted themselves when I go back to do the CU change in a few weeks.

 

[telectrix]

£50 for a shrink? Thats cheap the one I see charges me £90 an hour and then its extra for the electro shock therapy or water boarding.

DIY the shock treatment, just stick your finger in a live CU, save a shilling.

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Shilling. Half a crown and a florin!

 

[Ben Grant]

what else can you do if the tight wads won't pay. be different if their car failed MOT on dodgy brakes.

I refuse the work. It's not worth my rep for leaving that particular wiring method un corrected. Then they get in the cowboys and make my day as they learn a lesson I couldn't teach them!