Recent content by pegasus

Thanks for speedy responses The washing machine is standard ( at 10 A) I went for a 20 A rating as they seemed to be the most commonly stocked. From your replies, it is now clear that I could go down to a lower rating.

I have a 30 A ring circuit and wish to install a 20A double pole switch on the ring to feed a single socket. ( The 20A double pole switch will be above a work top and the socket will feed a washing machine ) I am assuming this arrangement is ok. I have never seen it in print or DIY books...

The output of my garden lighting transformer is 12 volts ac. Is there any technical reason reason why ac is used as opposed to dc....or is it just the case of why not. I guess ac transformers are slightly cheaper than dc variants. The bulbs are also marked as 12 Volts 7 watts. This would...

Why is it that you can work on a lighting circuit (or power circuit) when you only rely on the mcb being turned off at the consumer unit? In this situation, you have only broken one pole. What am I missing?

Ref brown-nought's response..... If an isolator were fitted alongside the PIR does it need to be double pole?

Thank you for the replies. My intention is to install mains operated smoke alarms with 9 V battery back up in a two storey house. I have identified four locations for the smoke detectors. My aim was to interlink the alarms together and then connect them to my intruder alarm which has a...

Does anyone know of a mains operated smoke detector that can be interlinked using low voltage alarm cable? All the smoke detectors, I have seen use three core and earth for the linking. __________________________________ Moderator split from hi-jacked post

I would agree that the neutral from downstairs is connected to the neutral of the upstairs ceiling rose. By removing one of the neutral wires from upstairs ceiling rose, it would remove the fixed "O volts" and force the downstairs light to run in series with the upstairs light. Which...

Last question......if the fan was in another room say bedroom....is there still a requirement for it to have double pole isolation. i.e. Is the requirement only applicable to bathroom locations.

Breezer Would single pole "isolation" be allowed if it was a fan without a timer?

Thanks for a prompt response. Why wouldn't single pole isolation be allowed? ie just power the fan directly from the light and be under the control of a single pole switch.

Can someone please explain why there is a requirement to have a double pole isolation switch for the fan. Many thanks.

old topic I know....... but could someone please re-clarify how you can calculate voltage drop in a ring circuit. FWL Engineer mentions that the ...."The usual method is to take the maximum circuit length, do the volt-drop calculation, then halve it to ensure compliance." However, in...

Can anyone recommend suitable electrical software that would run on a PDA? I am looking for software that would calculate voltage drops, power consumption, etc and include data for all the relevant UK cables. I have found a few web based calculators but thought it would be useful having...

Many thanks on the replies. I hadn't realised that when a cable manufacturer quotes a current capacity for mains installation cable it relates to the rms current value. I had initially thought it related to the peak value which is why I thought the figure needed to be altered for DC...