What your favourite part of being an electrician

[Phil L]

As the title says, what is everyone favourite part of the job?, is it meeting new people, fault finding, design or install or anything in between

 

[Mikegh]

Everyone standing round a machine that's broken down

Taking out the schematic and tracing the fault on the control circuit with my voltage tester

 

[westward10]

Working on a site last year and was asked whilst there to look at the lights in the toilet and kitchen area as they had not been working all through the summer and now it was winter they were using torches. Two electricians had been out one concluded a complete rewire the other spent a couple of hours with no success. In the kitchen is a small consumer unit which powered the area, below it an emergency lighting test facility so I switched it on and God gave light. They were gobsmacked I resolved the issue in a couple of seconds.

 

[pc1966]

Fault finding and turning down ----'s

Alas, for me it is more being turned down by the MILFs, or more GILFs these days.

 

[timhoward]

Working on a site last year and was asked whilst there to look at the lights in the toilet and kitchen area as they had not been working all through the summer and now it was winter they were using torches. Two electricians had been out one concluded a complete rewire the other spent a couple of hours with no success. In the kitchen is a small consumer unit which powered the area, below it an emergency lighting test facility so I switched it on and God gave light. They were gobsmacked I resolved the issue in a couple of seconds.

When young and green I did that job the wrong way around…spent an hour with a head torch in a dusty crypt of a church taking 17 units apart looking for some sign of electricity. I’d been told they came on with some other lights normally which were on and working. Managed to drop and lose volt stick. Drew a complete blank, went back to the van for a coffee when I noticed a separate key switch at the top of the stairs.

 

[freddo]

i like the modern technology...... lights that turn on with a switch instead of a match

Gas lights are pretty neat though.!

 

[Mikegh]

i like the modern technology...... lights that turn on with a switch instead of a match; magical things that go round and round without a steam engine; farm machinery that's not powered by hay.

I reckon there's way too much tech now in houses

People controlling immersion heaters by phone , like what was wrong with standard timers

All this smart lighting too, most of it nonsense

A few strategically placed pirs indoors and an up to date consumer unit is enough tech for me

Someone shoot me down

 

[littlespark]

I reckon there's way too much tech now in houses

People controlling immersion heaters by phone , like what was wrong with standard timers

All this smart lighting too, most of it nonsense

A few strategically placed pirs indoors and an up to date consumer unit is enough tech for me

Someone shoot me down

takes aim

there is nothing wrong with smart devices in the home. The more linked devices the better.

automation in industry has been around for years, so it’s a natural progression as the costs comes down.

you can have your heating thermostat where you want, no wiring to the location…. You’re away from the house, you can adjust the heating for a sudden cold snap.

endless possibilities.

Do you still change you tv channel by getting up off your seat and walking over to the screen?
What’s wrong with remote control for your lights?

 

[Mikegh]

takes aim

there is nothing wrong with smart devices in the home. The more linked devices the better.

automation in industry has been around for years, so it’s a natural progression as the costs comes down.

you can have your heating thermostat where you want, no wiring to the location…. You’re away from the house, you can adjust the heating for a sudden cold snap.

endless possibilities.

Do you still change you tv channel by getting up off your seat and walking over to the screen?
What’s wrong with remote control for your lights?

On the heating obviously you can hardwire for a change in temperature

I could be out of touch , I just find its overkill on the smaller installations

 

[pc1966]

What’s wrong with remote control for your lights?

My objection is not the idea of easy remote control of things, it is that ease of control going to other due to pi55-poor cyber security, along with the short throw-away design of many of these things.

For example, this sort of issue:

Three things in life are certain: Death, taxes, and cloud-based IoT gear bricked by vendors. Looking at you, Belkin

Ubiquitous consumer kit maker EOLs netcam. Oh, AND the cloud services that make it work

www.theregister.com

 

[LukeD]

I reckon there's way too much tech now in houses

People controlling immersion heaters by phone , like what was wrong with standard timers

All this smart lighting too, most of it nonsense

A few strategically placed pirs indoors and an up to date consumer unit is enough tech for me

Someone shoot me down

I use to do LINN domestic installs .Some homes needed £60k worth of wiring etc . And that included no actual hifi. Just daft wall panels and the wires and communication hubs . I dont like NEST etc . happy to keep thing very simple in my own home and also for older people etc . You try getting a 83 year old to control stuff via a smart phone !!

 

[littlespark]

The govt wants that 83 year old to use computers for everything else…. Cashless society, booking health appointments etc…. Turning on the lights will be easy

Reminds me of a customer whose father had died…. This elderly chap was high in the Scottish police force, pushing for computers and new tech in the force during the 80’s…...
Latter years of life his tv was stuck on sky sports as he didn’t have a clue how to change the channel.

 

[timhoward]

I don’t mind automation and remote control supplementing traditional controls.
But sometimes things aren’t fully thought through. I’m sure we’ve all wanted to turn a telly off and couldn’t find a remote.
Or take automatic electronic hand brakes on cars. A nice enough invention. But if a car breaks down blocking an A road, and I stop to help push it out of the way, I don’t want to have to start reading a manual to work out how to allow the hand brake to be released!

 

[stevethesparks]

takes aim



you can have your heating thermostat where you want, no wiring to the location…. You’re away from the house, you can adjust the heating for a sudden cold snap.

And allows my mate to shout through my letter box "Alexa, turn the heating up to 30º"

 

[pc1966]

I don’t mind automation and remote control supplementing traditional controls.
But sometimes things aren’t fully thought through.

Like cars with only electronic locks, and being faced with a flat battery and no way to open the bonnet to jump start?

 

[littlespark]

Just change the name from “Alexa” to “computer” and pretend you’re Jean luc Picard.