360V ring main

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I was installing a couple of electrical sockets at the weekend in my friends house.

BEFORE I connected anything I checked (with a meter) to see if the cables were still live after I turned off (what I thought was the correct fuse in the mainboard)

My meter read 364V AC on the ringmain.

After looking a little closer it appears that instead of 2 cables on the ringmain it somehow has 3 connected (which I assume is giving it 364V, instead of 240V)

Everything is working and they have lived there for about 3 years with it like this (without issues) but I am concerned that it is unsafe.

Please advise!

It is very difficult to see where the 3rd cable connects in the circuit as most cables are buried in the walls.
 
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buzzedwap said:
I was installing a couple of electrical sockets at the weekend in my friends house.

BEFORE I connected anything I checked (with a meter) to see if the cables were still live after I turned off (what I thought was the correct fuse in the mainboard)

My meter read 364V AC on the ringmain.

After looking a little closer it appears that instead of 2 cables on the ringmain it somehow has 3 connected (which I assume is giving it 364V, instead of 240V)

Everything is working and they have lived there for about 3 years with it like this (without issues) but I am concerned that it is unsafe.

Please advise!

It is very difficult to see where the 3rd cable connects in the circuit as most cables are buried in the walls.

Is it running of a three phase system?
Is the 364V a RMS value or peak?
Is your meter working correctly?
 
buzzedwap said:
instead of 2 cables on the ringmain it somehow has 3 connected (which I assume is giving it 364V, instead of 240V)
:rolleyes:

Everything is working and they have lived there for about 3 years with it like this (without issues)
If there are other possible explanations, I'd be delighted to consider them, but right now I can only think of 3:

1) In the 3 years that they have lived there they have never used that socket.

2) In the 3 years that they have lived there nothing they have plugged into that socket has ever objected to a 50% higher voltage than it was designed for.

3) There actually isn't 364V at the socket.
 
LOL

Did you check your lovely volt meter against another source??
 
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You often find 3 cables going to a particular socket, 2 for the ring and one going to a spur. As stated, you need to check the meter in another house to see if it is just miles out of calibration.
 
My cheapo multimeter tends to read something silly like 280v when the battery is getting low, if the meter is indicating low battery, replace it, and measure the voltage again
 
ban-all-sheds said:
Any more news on this? I want to find out what the answer is...

i think you scared him away
 
heheheheh...the perils of cheap meters and people who don't, and thus shouldn't, be using them!!

I dare say the meter is incorectly showing the PEAK voltage instead of the RMS value.
 
buzzedwap said:
I was installing a couple of electrical sockets at the weekend in my friends house.

Why tackle a job when you know nothing about it?. Is this is what Part P is aimed at eliminating?
 
It was a low battery in my meter :oops:

pdcelec... I did know how to tackle the job and I did successfully install the sockets as planned. I just came up against something I have never seen before (as I'm sure everyone has at some stage)
 
buzzedwap said:
... I did know how to tackle the job ...
You appeared to think that the third wire was causing a reading of higher than 240V. This really isn't a good indication that you know what you're doing.
 
buzzedwap said:
It was a low battery in my meter :oops:

pdcelec... I did know how to tackle the job and I did successfully install the sockets as planned. I just came up against something I have never seen before (as I'm sure everyone has at some stage)

And what EFLI readings did you get?
 
[Why tackle a job when you know nothing about it?. Is this is what Part P is aimed at eliminating?][/quote]

Probably hoped you would advise him before he went any further, odd that in a diy forum where you come for advice. This ones more like an electricians club where you all come for a bit of light entertainment

Part P won't stop any one doing their own work any more than speed cameras stop people speeding.
 
People do get advice, usually good.

What they don't get is:

1) advice that leads them to over-reach themselves - it is often plain that they are dangerously ignorant and inept

2) toleration of them claiming to be more competent than they really are


In this case a few moment's thought should have told buzzedwap that there couldn't really be 364V there, or people would have noticed, so either he was using his meter wrongly or it was faulty.

Also, IMO, the basic level of knowledge of electricity that you should make sure you have before you take a screwdriver to an accessory would tell you that the idea that a 3rd cable at a socket could somehow increase the voltage by 50% is complete b*ll*cks.....
 

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