IS THIS DANGEROUS (jointed water pipes above CU)

Lisarubysmumx · 15 Nov 2010

Hi , i know it sounds silly but until tonight i have never noticed this ,and ive lived here 18months ,

is this dangerous

i have pipes above my fuse box !!!!!!

1john · 15 Nov 2010

More worrying is the Wickes consumer unit.

Lisarubysmumx · 15 Nov 2010

what does that mean ?????????

1john · 15 Nov 2010

Well it comes from a DIY shed, not the sort of place electricians go for materials, it could well be a DIY install with no testing !

Lisarubysmumx · 15 Nov 2010

is there anyone who i could call to do a free safety homecheck etc ???? to see if everything here is safe ??

Taylortwocities · 15 Nov 2010

Lisarubysmumx said:
a free safety homecheck

Lisarubysmumx · 15 Nov 2010

whats so funny ????????

Adam_151 · 15 Nov 2010

The only companies who offer free electrical safety checks are those companies who are going to have a bloke have a 5minute walk around your house and then try and sell you a lot of improvement works

Not very in depth and hes probably a salesman not a sparks, alright sometimes if a place is bad, 5 mins is enough to know it needs re-wiring completey.

You are not going to get anything worthwhile for free, they have to cover their costs somewhere, and it'll be in remedial works

Expect to pay in region of £150ish for a perioidic inspection on a standard sized family home

skenk · 15 Nov 2010

Any 'free' check will no doubt lead to salesmen. There are no public bodies that will inspect (like the fire brigade who do free fire safety checks), unless it's really bad and you want the environmental health lot to evict you!

What you want is a full Periodic Inspection Report, including testing (not just an inspection. . .). It should probably cost about £150 but it depends on the size and condition of yr installation.

Lisarubysmumx · 15 Nov 2010

southern electric have said they do checks , you have to pay 4pound a month via dd , and that coveres unlimted call outs , parts and labour , but if you need something like a new fuse box etc then thats a chargeable job , so ive signed up for that , my local council do free home safety checks but you have to have a child under 5 , be disabled or be over 65
so that dont apply to me but i will be ringing them to see if they offer anything else .

bernardgreen · 15 Nov 2010

If that is a cold water pipe then condensation dripping from it onto the consumer unit could create a hazard.

Lisarubysmumx · 15 Nov 2010

would the fuse box not have a circuit breaker for safety if water was to leak ??????????

wherever i have lived before and where my family and friends live i have never ever seen a fuse box with pipes above it before

theyve always been in a cupboard on there own or by the electric meter !

i am so worried about this now

JohnD · 15 Nov 2010

Lisarubysmumx said:
would the fuse box not have a circuit breaker for safety if water was to leak ??????????

it looks like yours probably does (open the smoked perspex cover to see) BUT there are unprotected tails coming from the meter going into it and you can't guarantee that the water won't end up on the unprotected side.

Steve · 15 Nov 2010

Stop worrying. The pipes arent leaking and if they do, your electric will just go off. Nothing is gonna burn down.

If the pipes burst more damage will be done by water than by anything electrical.

Theres no such thing as a water-protective circuit breaker. But such a function is a side effect of an RCD - an electric shock protection device, which your unit might have, but only on half of the installation.

If you've lived there 18 months but know nothing about the state of the electrical installation, now's the time to have a full periodic report done (Actually, 18 months ago would have been better). I recently bought a house and had half of it rewired, because although the consumer unit was fairly modern, it had no RCD protection, and the lighting circuits werent earthed.

TicklyT · 15 Nov 2010

I would worry about the competence of the 'plumber' as well as the 'electrician' judging by the choice of materials and the number of compression joints on show.

If that chrome pipe is the cold mains water supply, a length of pipe insulation could solve problems from condensation, but conceal any leaks from those fittings directly above the CU.

Poorly prepared compression and push-fit joints on chromed pipe are prone to catastrophic failure. The plating prevents fittings from gripping the pipe as effectively as they should.

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IS THIS DANGEROUS (jointed water pipes above CU)

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