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Electrical Supply ?
- Thread starter 2wheels
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Even when enhancing the image with Photoshop CS4 it is still not good enough to tell.
I see no bonding on gas meter below and no signs of any earth cables. I would guess it's a TT supply.
1920's likely they used water main as earth and so quite likely it now has no earth.
I would consider this will need some work to make it safe and I would suggest it is not a DIY job and you should get some one to inspect and test.
I see no bonding on gas meter below and no signs of any earth cables. I would guess it's a TT supply.
1920's likely they used water main as earth and so quite likely it now has no earth.
I would consider this will need some work to make it safe and I would suggest it is not a DIY job and you should get some one to inspect and test.
Looks like a dank dark dungeon to me.
been in a few have we?Looks like a dank dark dungeon to me.
What he and Fricka like to get up to at weekends is nothing to do with us.
Ancient and antiquated comes to mind.
I would guess that it's NOT an o/head supply and the earthing arrangement is TNS.
The head fuse is likely 65 amp- but better pictures will help give you better advice.
The shower installation is likely to be 10mm cable and either it's own sub board with RCD / RCBO or updating the whole internal electric supply with a new CU.
In addition it's likely that a 10mm earth bond will be required for the gas service and the water services (if not in plastic pipe).
The general impression given by what the pictures show is that you have a really old installation with hardly any circuits, in who knows what condition.
Your priority should be to get a full periodic inspection carried out.
If you can afford a shower and whatever remedial work the PIR throws up (which could be a complete rewire) then fine, but if funds are limited then you should put the shower on hold until you know the worst.
There does look to be a reasonable amount of room there for a modern CU, (but I'm glad it's not my knees and back at stake
) - if one of the metalclads can be lost a full-sized CU should go in. This could take the shower, and then be used to transfer and add new circuits.Main thing though is to find a qualified electrician - the things you need doing are not suited to DIY. Usual rules apply for finding a tradesman - personal recommendation is always best, get a few quotes, don't go for the cheapest just because it's the cheapest, unless the difference is small etc.
You might like to consider separating the PIR from the remedial work, i.e. tell the people quoting for the PIR that they will not be getting any follow-on work, thus removing any incentive for them to gild the lily. You can always change your mind afterwards.
Remedial work, and the shower, will be notifiable, but quite honestly I'd be more surprised if it turned out that little rewiring was needed than if a lot was, so in the cost of the overall job notification fees are likely to be insignificant. If you have good reasons to prefer to use someone who isn't registered then don't let lack of registration put you off.
As a corollary, if you're having to go ahead without much in the way of references or personal recommendation, don't put any store by registration itself - sadly it is possible to become registered with woefully inadequate qualifications and zero practical experience. You don't have to spend long here to see people cropping up who are registered and "qualified", but who are clearly seriously incompetent in reality and who should not be charging for their services.
It's your money - quite likely several £'000s of it, and you have every right to ask prospective tradesmen what their qualifications are. Just being listed here is not a good enough guide. No genuinely experienced electrician, with the "full set" of C&G qualifications will mind you asking - in fact he will wish that everyone was like you.
I feel sorry for people who have been misled by training organisations and (shamefully) the Competent Person scheme organisers into thinking that a 5-day training course, a couple of trivial examples of their work and some basic understanding of how to use test equipment will make them an electrician, but not sorry enough to agree with them trying to sell their services to Joe Public.
It looks like a cast iron 30A cutout on a TN-S supply. Still very common around my area, but they are gradually being replaced.
K
kai
That ancient supply cannot safely support a modern electric shower, it will need to be replaced with a modern supply, of adequate capacity to safely carry the loading imposed on it.
Ask your electricity supplier in the first instance, mention double pole fusing, and they will probably replace it for free!
Ask your electricity supplier in the first instance, mention double pole fusing, and they will probably replace it for free!
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Yeah, agreed. I see a cast iron cut-out, not good if not earthed, possibly TN-S (is there a wire link from the cable sheath to the rest of the installation?)
But the scattered fuse boxes, lack of RCD protection, PEB's and presence of rubber cable do not bode well.
As BAN says, a PIR would be prudent.
But the scattered fuse boxes, lack of RCD protection, PEB's and presence of rubber cable do not bode well.
As BAN says, a PIR would be prudent.
Is this setup a double pole fusing one ? Should I contact the supplier ?
Can an earth be fitted easily or should I contact the electricity supplier?
The shower has got to be fitted for health mobolity reasons, so we want it done safetly.
Can a new unit with appropriate trips be fitted just for the shower with new tails to the meter as suggested by a local sparks ! He was unsure of the earthing situation as he had never seen something this old !
I have attatched further pictures but unfortunately they are a little out of focus as I find it difficult to get into the cupboard.
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Can an earth be fitted easily or should I contact the electricity supplier?
The shower has got to be fitted for health mobolity reasons, so we want it done safetly.
Can a new unit with appropriate trips be fitted just for the shower with new tails to the meter as suggested by a local sparks ! He was unsure of the earthing situation as he had never seen something this old !
I have attatched further pictures but unfortunately they are a little out of focus as I find it difficult to get into the cupboard.
it appears to be fused live, solid Neutral which is one thing that's OK.
However the cables look dreadful and you really ought to search for a trusted elctrician to look over the whole installation and advise you.
You shouln't really have opened the iron cutut to expose the porecelain. They are sometimes cracked or broken and can cause a very impressive flash that doesn't go out even after it has burned your hands and eyeballs.
However the cables look dreadful and you really ought to search for a trusted elctrician to look over the whole installation and advise you.
You shouln't really have opened the iron cutut to expose the porecelain. They are sometimes cracked or broken and can cause a very impressive flash that doesn't go out even after it has burned your hands and eyeballs.
P
Paul_C
The service head is older, but the switchgear is typical 1940's-1950's.
A little hard to tell from the photos, but I can't see any signs of earthing to the supplier's facility, so quite probably an old water pipe earth somewhere, which will definitely need further investigation.
A little hard to tell from the photos, but I can't see any signs of earthing to the supplier's facility, so quite probably an old water pipe earth somewhere, which will definitely need further investigation.
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