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I come across this situation fairly regularly with tumble dryers - it shows up the weakness of the 13 amp plug and socket system to deal with sustained loads near the design limit, i.e. 2.5 - 3kw, particularly with aged or low quality plugs and sockets. The moulded plug fitted to the dryers seem...

I think the seller may be telling a porky calling them NOS - with the exception of a couple of items they look distinctly used to me. There are some quality items there for their day - MK and Crabtree from the 1970s/80s. Some of the socket outlets towards the top left of the pic, and one...

That's what a Series 6 cutout looks like, it's predominantly used for TN-S/SNE services. What concerns me more is that the earth block, i.e. the exposed brass terminal, is unused. If the supplied cable sheath earth is unsuitable/insufficient to provide an earth the DNO shouldn't have used that...

No need. Put the thermostat up to 75-80 (put it back to 60-65 afterwards, as 1) the higher temperature is dangerous and impractical for everyday use, and 2) if you're in a hard water area scale will precipitate beyond 65 and bugger up your cylinder), leave the system running for 24 hours or so...

Given the loud bang and blast marks around it, I'd wager that's on a BS3036 rather than a breaker of any kind.

That's a feeder pillar isn't it? Surely DNO equipment, or have BNOs now taken them over in some circumstances? Whatever the case, I wouldn't be advising anyone unfamiliar with working on them to be opening them up considering the age, possible open busbars and unknown condition inside. It might...

You'd be looking either at one of these or one of these. (many brands of both types available). The first isn't true on-demand as it stores water, which means it'll be consuming electricity over time even if not used, because the thermostat will be clicking on and off to keep the water store at...

1. Bear in mind the depth of plaster and tile that will go onto the wall as the final finish, around 20-25mm combined, and factor that in when you're chasing for your back boxes. The most controllable and neat way I've found of chasing out box cavities is with an SDS chisel and scutch combs. 2...

Dear god.... The 'after' picture is worse! I'm assuming it's safe enough but aesthetically it's pure hell. Has that been carried out "in a workmanlike manner"?? (Not that it applies to them....)

Did the contractor fit the isolator and forget about the submain (or the submain neutral at least)?

Use a lot more PTFE - it will compress against the wallplate forming an impermeable but slightly flexible buffer that will allow you to position the tap at the appropriate angle. That's what I've done in the past and it's worked fine. Traditionally it was done using hemp and sealing compound...

What plugs were those? I find it difficult to get a good fit around the post terminals MK have always used with anything larger than 1.5mm², particularly the live terminal as it then tends to foul the fuse. If I have to fit 2.5mm² in a plug I tend to use Duraplug or Permaplug as they seem to...

Considering the recently retrofitted British General RCBOs and the slightly painful angle the busbar seems to be taking to accommodate them, I'd be looking at the connections out of the bottom of the main switch. How is the busbar for the bottom row of breakers connected to the output of the...

I'm not surprised - it's exactly as I predicted further back in the thread in post #27. It sadly goes to show just how predictable the BBC are these days with their hackneyed journalism - trying to find a nasty in the works somewhere to appease (or inflame) the turgid masses.

Do you have any evidence or suspicion of harm having come from the use of this cable, Clifford Thompson? It seems a bit late for a hit piece on this now - Grenfell Tower connection maybe?

I had one of these installed last year and it's exactly the same as you describe - have to say I was a bit disappointed with how much water had to run before the hot came through on only a 4 metre pipe run - particularly having had a Worcester combi in a previous house with far less delay...

Typically you'd use a separate terminal block to join the neutrals. However, at least one manufacturer provides a neutral loop terminal on the switch itself, as noted here. For the earth, with a metal plate switch you'd use the earth terminal on the switch itself to join them together, with a...

Oh dear, didn't realise I'd cause such a kerfuffle! What I meant to express, albeit rather inelegantly, was that current is measured only in the live conductor not the neutral - the neutral terminals are linked with a brass block or a copper braid inside the meter terminal box, as seen in this...

There'll be a neutral link going straight from the service head to the neutral terminal on the main switch, out of sight within the modular supply boxes. The meter doesn't use the neutral to measure energy consumption, but it does need it to function, same as any appliance. A bit non standard...

I use these. Makes it look nice and regular when there are a few multiple doubles in the same area (not to mention fused spurs, singles etc.). They're good for getting everything level too.