Lucky Escape

RF Lighting · 9 Oct 2006

I got called to a house today by a customer who said her shower stopped working about a week ago, and yesterday she heard a bang and some fizzing in the bathroom.

This is what I found under a floorboard:

It is a white sheathed 6.0mm² T&E cable, which was sat in a notch in the top of a joist with a nail through it. The joist and floorboard were charred, and the live, earth and all but three strands of the neutral have vaporised.

It was fed from a non RCD circuit with a 45A rewireable fuse which had not blown, so the cable was still live when I arrived.

The customer had been stood on the the floor with wet, bare feet after a bath.

Maybe her week for the lottery?

simon_d · 9 Oct 2006

reggie perrin · 9 Oct 2006

Chock block and a bit of tape - good as new.

industryspark · 9 Oct 2006

Chock block and a bit of tape - good as new

nah, dunt bother with the tape!

seriously that is quite scary.

Steve · 9 Oct 2006

Where do you get 20cm rulers? Oh, you didn't you nicked it off Rob!

RF Lighting · 10 Oct 2006

I am Rob.

I get very territorial about my stationery

Pensdown · 10 Oct 2006

RF Lighting said:
I am Rob.

I get very territorial about my stationery

I know money can be tight but surely you can afford the other 100mm

ebee · 10 Oct 2006

300mm for me.
The 200mm ones I don`t use them as a rule!

homespark · 10 Oct 2006

That's a good one!

dingbat · 10 Oct 2006

Nice one, RF, that's almost exactly the state of the 1.5 sq mm cable I discovered powering a 8.5kW shower recently.

Do you think (along with the almost complete lack of domestic earthing) it's a Leeds thing?

ebee · 10 Oct 2006

No it`s not a Leeds thing, a northish thing perhaps (I`m in Lancashire about an hours drive to Leeds ) , we see such things all the time along with old chestnuts like cables stuuffed hard pressed into pipe notches and trapped under boards.
If every bad practice that could cause injury actualy did so then we`d have millions killed each week here.

RF Lighting · 10 Oct 2006

Makes you wonder. Maybe YE just couldn't be bothered when electric came out

This one actually had main & supplementary bonding, but there does seem to be a lack of earthing round here.

securespark · 10 Oct 2006

Hi, RF.

Excellent picture!!

Could I use that in my presentations?

If so, if you would be so kind as to give your permission, that would be great!

RF Lighting · 10 Oct 2006

You can have the bit of cable if you like

Help your self to the picture.

I can email you a bigger version if you want. My address is in my profile.

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Lucky Escape

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