Connecting Wires

[HavntaClue]

Thanks all for the help.

Just because something isnt compliant with Part P doesnt mean it isnt safe. My experiances with my house and the various renovations to it showed me that half the time Sparky's didnt know the Part P regs with the Local Building Control just as clueless. In one case, i had to tell them the regs, so forgive me if i ask questions. Coupled with the various in fightings with the difference electrical body's. I had the NIC-EIC slag off another then when i had a sparky come from the other body (cant remember now) he slagged off the NIC-EIC. Both didnt know the regs by the way.
But i take all of your points. Ive been shafted by a sparky before, so im trying to get views on the various ways of doing things. Its funny that even with Sparky's on these forums, there are dissagreements between how things are done, so how one expects the layman to have a clue is beyond me.



I hope those fluorescent lights you are getting will be high frequency types? - Go on explain ?

 

[RF Lighting]

Have you noticed how every singly sparky on here is telling you that what you propose to do is shoddy, and the proper way to do the job is to take a properly sized cable direct from you CU.

No disagreements there.

 

[HavntaClue]

I agree. Im not proposing anything. Just putting forward ideas so when i visit the local lecky's then i would have a better informed judgement with who to go with.
With regards to the 'shoddy' view. Shoddy is all about opinion, would the 'shoddy' way fail Part P if it was done by a lecky, and all the failsaves put in place ? Probably not.

Look im trying to get the best way from a difficult situation. The last thing i want is boxed in wires running throughout the inside of my house, now thats 'shoddy' IMHO.

HaC

 

[Aragorn84]

Wires running round the inside of your house may be shoddy from an aesthetics point of view, but its not going to be shoddy in terms of functionality when compared with the other proposal.

I really cant see why there isnt another possible route that you can take. There must be cupboards or something that you can utilise to get a cable up into the attic, or to a suitable point at the back of the house.

Even some trunking tucked into the corner of the hallway will all but blend into the skirtings and you'll never notice it.

Theres a length of trunking running up the edge of the wall in our hallway carrying the cable for the electric shower, and tbh you barely notice the thing.

You might even be able to pull it down a wall cavity or similar depending on the construction and what other services are run in that area.

 

[HavntaClue]

Its something to think about that for sure.
Problem being is that we are in an old building with no cavity walls. Running it up through the ceiling will meen floor boards and carpet up, then the cost to put the carpet back down properly aswell. Nightmare.

I'll make some phonecalls tonight, see if i can get someone round.

What i have got, is that if i can get a direct feed then 6mm armoured would be great. If i can then a 2.5mm armoured spur from the loft would only supply enough power for the lights after voltage drop.

Out of interest, here's a picture of my Cu:

HaC

 

[flameport]

Something wrong with that CU - looks like you have 2 RCDs in series, both of the same rating.
If the left RCD with the words 'main switch' written above it is turned off, does this switch off the whole board, or just the 4 MCBs at the left?

HF lights - some birds apparently can detect the flicker in normal magnetic ballast fluorescent lighting.
Even if not, HF ones will start instantly, work much better in low temperatures and the lamps will last a lot longer.

 

[chapeau]

Just because something isnt compliant with Part P doesnt mean it isnt safe.

I think you will find that anything that doesn't comply with Part P is unsafe by definition.

 

[Aragorn84]

And even if the RCD's are independent, all the lights and sockets are on one side....

 

[HavntaClue]

Something wrong with that CU - looks like you have 2 RCDs in series, both of the same rating.
If the left RCD with the words 'main switch' written above it is turned off, does this switch off the whole board, or just the 4 MCBs at the left?

HF lights - some birds apparently can detect the flicker in normal magnetic ballast fluorescent lighting.
Even if not, HF ones will start instantly, work much better in low temperatures and the lamps will last a lot longer.

Thanks for the HF tip
The main switch triggers the whole board. Its all ok. It was inspected by a Nappitt engineer in 06, and passed ok. It must be safe as he was Part P.

HaC

 

[flameport]

The CU probably isn't unsafe, but you have all of the circuits on a single RCD, so a fault anywhere will result in the whole lot going off (and staying off until the fault can be found and fixed)
It also means the second RCD (the middle one) is useless, as it is the same rating as the first one.

Looks as though this was a split load board and someone has replaced the main switch with an RCD for some reason.

 

[HavntaClue]

No idea, it was like it when we moved in. Inspected by a Nappitt Engineer who said it complied with all standards. Ive had no problem with it all.

 

[bernardgreen]

HF lights - some birds apparently can detect the flicker in normal magnetic ballast fluorescent lighting.
Even if not, HF ones will start instantly, work much better in low temperatures and the lamps will last a lot longer.

Some HF units create audio noise above the range of human hearing but which animals can hear and be disturbed by. A neighbour's dog leaves the room whenever an energy saver lamp is switched on in the room.

 

[Aragorn84]

No idea, it was like it when we moved in. Inspected by a Nappitt Engineer who said it complied with all standards. Ive had no problem with it all.

Well clearly he didnt look very hard. Its not dangerous, its just not ideal.

I could say I've not had any problems with my 1960's spec fusebox with rewirables, but that doesnt mean its ideal either does it?

 

[1john]

Something wrong with that CU - looks like you have 2 RCDs in series, both of the same rating.
If the left RCD with the words 'main switch' written above it is turned off, does this switch off the whole board, or just the 4 MCBs at the left?

HF lights - some birds apparently can detect the flicker in normal magnetic ballast fluorescent lighting.
Even if not, HF ones will start instantly, work much better in low temperatures and the lamps will last a lot longer.

Thanks for the HF tip
The main switch triggers the whole board. Its all ok. It was inspected by a Nappitt engineer in 06, and passed ok. It must be safe as he was Part P.

HaC

It's not ok, it doesn't comply now and didn't then, nappit and elecsa are born out of 'part p' and the necessity to have more 'competent' persons due to part p

You have had some additional work done there, hence the new MCB's on the right and some numpty that doesn.t understard has changed you main switch for an rcd to 'make it all part p'.

I wonder if the niceic man told you to have RCBO's (which cost more) and the nappit bloke said, change the main switch for an rcd?????

 

[HavntaClue]

Something wrong with that CU - looks like you have 2 RCDs in series, both of the same rating.
If the left RCD with the words 'main switch' written above it is turned off, does this switch off the whole board, or just the 4 MCBs at the left?

HF lights - some birds apparently can detect the flicker in normal magnetic ballast fluorescent lighting.
Even if not, HF ones will start instantly, work much better in low temperatures and the lamps will last a lot longer.

Thanks for the HF tip
The main switch triggers the whole board. Its all ok. It was inspected by a Nappitt engineer in 06, and passed ok. It must be safe as he was Part P.

HaC

It's not ok, it doesn't comply now and didn't then, nappit and elecsa are born out of 'part p' and the necessity to have more 'competent' persons due to part p

You have had some additional work done there, hence the new MCB's on the right and some numpty that doesn.t understard has changed you main switch for an rcd to 'make it all part p'.

I wonder if the niceic man told you to have RCBO's (which cost more) and the nappit bloke said, change the main switch for an rcd?????

As i said. It was there when we moved in. So please dont imply ive cut corners.

From what you have just said just proves what a load of *******s Part P is. Exactly what i have said about infighting. NIC EIC slagging off Nappit and vica versa, when both are 'competent' under Part P. This is exactly why i dont trust any of them and have posted of the Forum to gauge opinion. It seems like the arguments, back stabbing and in fighting is just as rampant on here.

How can anyone who has a non electrical background trust any of the Electrical Organisations with their engineers. You go to a sparky, in the 'competent' organisation scheme, they do the work, sign it off, send all the certs to council, only for another engineer from a different organisation to say, " no dont do it like that, thats wrong". Not that its unsafe but its not 'ideal' !!!
What an absolutely ridiculous situation.

HaC