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My gas meter was replaced yesterday, and having dug it out of the stuff under the stairs, I find there is no Earth bonding in sight. As I understand Part P, I can install this without falling outside the law! Now, the only bare metal is on the incoming pipe - everything past the meter is...

Somehow Crafty glitched! :) He had 3 x 3, whereas 3kW for 8 hours is 3 x 8, of course, so: 3 x 8 x 90 = 2160 per heater per quarter. So going on your figures, you're right, the maximum for your heaters is nearly six hundred quid a quarter! However, it's likely that the heaters are...

Can you go back to Curry's and opt for installation? That way they have to solve the problem, and you can go back to them if they mess it up! Cheers, Howard

Well Edison was all for DC supplies, had a commercial interest in it being adopted, and tried to convince the American public by electrocuting animals with AC at a touring "show"! He persuaded the authorities to use AC for the Electric Chair, to try to turn people against it (Westinghouse were...

No, being part of a "Competent Persons Scheme" requires those things, being competent only needs knowledge to do what you are doing, competently. The Government can't change the language by passing laws! :) A time-served electrician is competent, without being a member of any scheme. So...

Great! Looks like you can get it all covered by the one set of plans & fees. No idea - this is the electrics forum! :) I know you didn't have to at one time, because I replumbed my house 15-odd years ago, replacing everything from the stopcock upwards. Well the BC people have to satisfy...

Isn't ballast an inductor - copper wire over steel core? Nothing precious or toxic about these - or if so I have a huge problem with the plumbing in my house! :) Cheers, Howard

Let's get this staight: The introduction of Part P does not mean you can't do your own wiring - it hasn't changed the law in that area at all. What is has done is introduce extra things that you may have to do, such as notifying Building Control. You have submitted plans to BC, did they include...

Assuming this document is right - it is the IEE's opinion, not actual law - then yes you can. You still can't install a new circuit without notifying BC, of course, but you can extend the existing one. Cheers, Howard

Take it back and demand a replacement - it's not of "merchantable quality" so they have fallen foul of the Sale of Goods Act and/or the Trades Descriptions Act if the box claims a lifetime very much longer than you got, as seems to be the case. Cheers, Howard

How likely is this? MCBs these days all seem to have a breaking capacity of 6,000A, which at 253V (worst case, 230V+10%) means an EFLI of 42milliohms (0.042ohms) which is really tiny (in my house it's five times this at the CU incomer, let alone after the MCBs). Is this even possible in a...

The "main breaker" is only a switch, so overrating it is not a problem. If it was an actual Circuit Breaker (that is something that disconnects the supply when there is excess current) then it would be a different matter, but the thing you have (often called an incomer) will only break the...

But confirm that the lightswitch is OFF first! Unless you like doing a Stan Laurel impersonation, with black face and hair standing on end... :) Cheers, Howard

The material that the timer and surface-mounting box are made from is rather brittle, and not very good when dragged around the floor, dropped off tables etc. I would mount the timer and a double-socket onto a board, in surface-mount boxes, and make the board an inch or so bigger all round, so...

They did do a different one, honest! :) I have a couple, made by Brennenstuhl. They are grey rather than white, and have the display below the plug rather than above it. Which is stupid, because the lead runs over the display and the buttons... I think the price was about £12, but as you say...

Yes, that's Twin&Earth going between your "Main Board" and the shower CU. To answer a question in your original post, the 45A fuse didn't blow because the current didn't exceed 45A! :) A fuse only stops an overload condition, and even if the current is being shorted to Earth by the water...

That does sound a lot, but you must have had some other lights on during that time (low voltage halogens can take a surprising amount). You don't mention computers, VCRs, central heating - these all take something, although it shouldn't be much, but it does add up. If it's a big fridge/freezer...

Right, and each of these could have been drawing 13A so the total could be 39A (check the ratings plates to see what they actually draw). A 30A fuse doesn't hold at 30A and blow instantly at 30.1A, it's a time/overload combination. It will blow "instantly" on a dead short (hundreds or...

Yes that's right - the MiniTimer is mains powered (but with a battery backup to cover power cuts) and it sends the commands via the mains - for the distances you're talking about it's pretty reliable. I wouldn't trust if from the house to a shed at the bottom of the garden, though! :) Since...

The only problem is its limit of "2A inductive" and the note that it can't be used for fluorescent lights - a television can be pretty inductive! This obviously has a solid-state switch, so you really want to find one that has a proper relay. It shouldn't matter, but if you leave the TV's...