electrical

firstly im not sure how to to do new posts so im having to delete my 1 and only post to send my new one,any advice for an amateur Im looking to put some lights in my garden and im not sure the best way to approach it.Ive got a reasonably old grey metal isolating box which isolates the garage.there is an fcu which i presume is for the lights and also i have a few sockets.should i take the supply off the lights and put a weatherproof switch outside and wire the light up from this

it does NOT have to have a double pole fused connection unit, it DOES have to have a means of double pole isolation, this is so that if you wish to work on the fan (even clean it) you can isolate it

the reasons for not installing one are many you choose:

Ignorance, lazy, couldn't be bothered, will do it later..............

Can anyone help me out with a little query of mine.i've been helping a friend out with some wiring in his kitchen which has just been refitted.The 'chippy' has removed some of the earth bonding which was i think across the hot and cold taps and possibly to the sink.Im looking to sort this out but access is a little bit restricted.I was under the impression that if the main stopcock was earthed and an easy way of doing the water pipes was to earth in the airing cupboard this would be sufficient.Now as it stands the main stopcock is not earthed but the pipes in the airing cupboard are.From the main consumer unit which is located next to the elec board meter i can see a 10mm? earth cable going up the same route as the supply cables for the cottages power(lights,skts,etc).The only prob is i cant see where the other end is.Could it be in the loft somewhere?.It is a fairly old cottage but as im a relatively new'sparky' im looking for a bit of guidance on the best way of approaching this prob.Can anyone help me?

guy said:

firstly im not sure how to to do new posts so im having to delete my 1 and only post to send my new one,any advice for an amateur

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Ever wondered what this button is for?

Guy

You need to check that both the gas supply (assuming there is one) and the water main have 10mm2 earth wire from main earthing terminal.

The water should be bonded on the consumers side of the main stopcock, as close as possible to the cock, and the gas should be bonded also on the consumers side of the supply, no more than 300mm from meter. However, if the meter is outside, the bonding should be on the inside, close to where the pipe enters the property.

The IEE used to ask for supplementary (earth connection between metal pipes, sinks etc) bonding in the kitchen, but now they see it as a danger, so they don't recommend bonding in the kitchen anymore.

However, supplementary bonding is strong in the bathroom, where you should link water and heating pipes, metal wastes, metal baths, radiators, pipes in the airing cupboard and also link to the earth wires of electrical services within the bathroom like immersion heater, shower, shaver point, lighting, electric towel rails, fans etc. This list is not exhaustive.

This is to make all the metalwork/ earthwires the same potential ie they are all "as one".

PS When you say the water is not earthed, but the pipes in the airing cupboard are, I guess that the airing c/b pipes are only connected to each other, not back to the main earth terminal near the meter.

Having had a look over my friends house the other day and reading your reply i noticed that the gas meter which is just inside his front door does not have an earth wire connected to it.Also the main stop to the water supply doesn't either.Not being a fully qualified electrician myself(obviously)could this be something to do with perhaps the age of his property Also is it the consumers responsibility to have these necessary requirements in place As i said in my previous post i have noticed a 10mm? earth wire going through a hole in the wall along with the rest of the other cables.I believe the earth wire is going somewhere but at this moment in time i don't know where.Have you any ideas to save me making a mess trying to find it Also would it be a wise move by myself to earth the 'stop' on the water side and then do the gas meter If this is the correct thing to do and also taking into consideration that the pipes in the airing cupboard are already cross bonded would this then mean that the house is correctly bonded thanks

Save yourself the bother of tracing the 10mm2. If it doesn't appear on the gas or water main, then it is possible that it is connected to the shower circuit: some electricians did this.

Yes it is the consumer's responsibility to earth these services. That is why the connections go on the consumers side of the pipe. The "street" side is already earthed by way of being buried in the ground, but this cannot be relied upon, especially if the mains pipe is non-conducting. Do bond the gas and water with 10mm2 earth cable as described in previous post. As for the supplementary bonding being satisfactory, if you bond things in the bathroom as I described, then you've pretty much covered everything.