Water sparking wire

[Steven07]

We've had a tiler in doing the kitchen floor and through no real fault of his own the floor flooded a little (stopcock issue). Was only surface water but its seemingly gotten around some wires.

Anyway, I came down and could instantly hear this electrical noise. Like a fuzz. Like something out of a movie when there's live wires around. Got down on hands and knees and there was the tiniest spark every 5-10 secs followed by smoke which had the kitchen full of a burning smell. Knew immediately from the sound alone that it was v dangerous. Turned the power off. How do we go about this?

 

[MJPD29]

Sounds like you should get someone in ASAP. Is there anything obvious such as connectors under the cupboards/kickbacks that may have got wet? Possibly sockets lying on the ground underneath them for appliances

 

[Steven07]

Sounds like you should get someone in ASAP. Is there anything obvious such as connectors under the cupboards/kickbacks that may have got wet? Possibly sockets lying on the ground underneath them for appliances

No sockets but I think wires or cables running along the kickboards to the washing machine.

 

[Pete999]

We've had a tiler in doing the kitchen floor and through no real fault of his own the floor flooded a little (stopcock issue). Was only surface water but its seemingly gotten around some wires.

Anyway, I came down and could instantly hear this electrical noise. Like a fuzz. Like something out of a movie when there's live wires around. Got down on hands and knees and there was the tiniest spark every 5-10 secs followed by smoke which had the kitchen full of a burning smell. Knew immediately from the sound alone that it was v dangerous. Turned the power off. How do we go about this?

Call an Electrician Steve

 

[littlespark]

Can you give a more close range area of the uk you live in?
Someone on here might be nearby.

 

[Steven07]

Can you give a more close range area of the uk you live in?
Someone on here might be nearby.

Thank you for your care. A fella came out there. Imagine.. After 5 on a Monday! Wire was knicked and water was getting in and short circuiting. Said the surface water on the floor would've been live and our fuse box is old and doesn't have RD stops or RC stops or something. Dangerous business!

 

[littlespark]

You mean an RCD.

That would have tripped out almost instantly with that much moisture.
I think you've been lucky no one was injured.

Are you getting a quote to upgrade the fuseboard?

 

[Steven07]

You mean an RCD.

That would have tripped out almost instantly with that much moisture.
I think you've been lucky no one was injured.

Are you getting a quote to upgrade the fuseboard?

The guy the came out on such short notice was retired so he gave us an electricians number. Haven't got the quote yet. Another guy a year ago said it would be £1000 or so but don't know if that's an arm and a leg. We're in Northern Ireland btw

 

[littlespark]

it will be a good few hundred quid.... but there may be underlying issues that need fixed before they can put in a new board that would add to the cost.

 

[Steven07]

just out of curiosity, what are some common problems we might run into?

 

[pc1966]

just out of curiosity, what are some common problems we might run into?

Most common problems are things wrong with the current electrics that are not obvious without testing, but are potentially dangerous and would fail any new installation. For example:

• Poor insulation resistance readings. Can be damp in junction boxes, failing immersion heater elements, or more seriously some damaged or sub-standard cable.
• Poor or missing connections for the CPC (earth wire) at sockets or lights.
• An incomplete ring final circuit for 13A sockets (basically an open circuit somewhere so one or more of the L/N/E is not forming a closed loop as it should for a RFC)
• The "borrowed neutral" where a circuit is not returning power via the cable it came from. Most commonly seen in upstairs/downstairs lights on separate breakers.

The usual recommendation is to have an EICR (electrical installation condition report) done first to check the above issues so you know there are no surprises beyond what you get quoted for.

If you want some background on what an EICR is looking for and a range of problems from minor to severe, the Best Practice guide #4 has guidance on this:

https://www.----------------------------/professional-resources/best-practice-guides/

The general guidance on replacing a CU is covered in the BPG #1 booklet.

 

[MJPD29]

The guy the came out on such short notice was retired so he gave us an electricians number. Haven't got the quote yet. Another guy a year ago said it would be £1000 or so but don't know if that's an arm and a leg. We're in Northern Ireland btw

Do you know what the £1000 was for? Im in Northern Ireland also and it sounds expensive, but it could include more work/upgrades than only upgrading the consumer unit. RCD protection is a worthwhile upgrade and a must, especially when situations like this can arise. If you put a couple of pics of the fuse board etc on here we might be able to advise.

 

[Steven07]

Do you know what the £1000 was for? Im in Northern Ireland also and it sounds expensive, but it could include more work/upgrades than only upgrading the consumer unit. RCD protection is a worthwhile upgrade and a must, especially when situations like this can arise. If you put a couple of pics of the fuse board etc on here we might be able to advise.

This is what we're working with. Don't know what he was referring to I'm case of the £1000. Was checking out RCDs today and also came across RCBOs. Is there any need for those or are RCDs ample?

 

[MJPD29]

This is what we're working with. Don't know what he was referring to I'm case of the £1000. Was checking out RDCs today and also came across RCBOs. Is there any need for those or are RCDs ample?

RCD protection is like a blanket protection, only issue is with a fsult on one circuit you will loose any other circuits protected by that RCD. RCBO is individual RCD and overload protection for each circuit. This is usually more expensive, but in my opinion is the best option and way to future proof your installation. Your main board doesn't appear to have RCD protection which would be a concern. Although the shower currently does, it may be wise to integrate it into your new consumer unit also if you do decide to go ahead with it.

 

[pc1966]

This is what we're working with.

I sincerely hope that 30A fuse carrier (2nd from left) is not lights and still 30A!