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Hi I’ve been asked to fit some downlights to a very large kitchen/diner and adjoining conservatory. In total there will be 35 lights. Allowing 100w per outlet this is around 15amps. As I see it there are 3 options: 1) Split the lights between 3 standard 6A circuits using 1.5mm T&E...

Hi Folks, I need to fit 4 240v downlighters, I've not fiited any before so sorry if this is a dumb question. Can I use 1.5mm T&E to connect to the connecting block on the light or do I need heat resitant flex (and then connect via a junction box to 1.5mm T&E) as I know there are some issues...

Thanks Breezer. What's generally done in practice on New Builds? Is it one ring for the kitchen one for the rest of the downstairs and one for the upstairs; or isn't there a standard way? Again, I'm just curious as to how things are done in the real world as opposed to the workshop at college!

Hi, just out of curiosity is there a reg which states that upstairs and downstairs socket circuits should be on separate MCB's/fuses? My place has one ring for the kitchen and one ring for the rest of the house. I know it's good practice to keep them separate but is there any reg?

Thanks Steve3948. I just can't figure what advantage he gained using flex in the first place, especially as it's been run under floors and walls. Thanks again

Hi folks, thanks for all your replies. In response to the comment made by Coljack, the flex IS buried in the wall. As I say, I'm not in any position to criticise someone elses work as I've not got the experience but I'm guessing from your comments that while this maybe safe it's not the...

Hi, I looked at a friends new kitchen today who had a bit of a nightmare with the sparky who wired it. Sockets weren't straight or in line; some "only work if you bang the plug" cables were cut too short and joined with tape etc etc. He's also used 0.5mm 2 CORE FLEX from the consumer unit to...

Hi, this is probably a daft question but is it safe to use a dimmer to switch a metal (class 1) light fitting? Just curious as I was talking to a sparky today who said it was unsafe. I've not heard this before so would welcome your thoughts! Cheers

Thanks Softus.

Hi, anyone got any ideas about this; a friend of mine has an electric shower which sometimes trips the RCD when he switches it OFF at the double pole pull cord switch (after first switching off at the shower)! The RCD resets without any problem. He reckons it does it may be once or twice a...

Brilliant, thanks Plugwash.

Hi Folks Is the difference in the r1 and r2 readings of stranded 2.5mm T&E the same as for solid T&E; i.e the resistance of r2 is about 1.67 greater? Just done a test on a ring circuit cabled with stranded and get 0.12ohms for phase and neutral and 0.3ohms for earth (this was after I...

Thanks a lot SparkyBird.

Hi, this may sound like a dumb question but as the name suggests I'm still learning! Part 3 on a Minor Works Certificate asks for the IR results. Is this the IR results for the complete installation or just for the circuit that's been altered/added to?? Thanks

Just been looking at the nice diagram in the OSG that shows bonding in a bathroom. Question is in practice, in an existing installation, how do you discreetly run the cables say from a shower to a cold water pipe or from a shaver unit to a cold water pipe without ripping up floor/wall coverings...

...just another thought. If the system was originally supposed to be TNS anyway couldn't the DNO or sparky have connected the main earth cable to the armour of the incoming supply - at least until the PME is installed?

Yes, the whole house is on a 30ma RCD. I'll try to persuade them to have an earth rod fitted before the PME 'arrives' but PME is going to cost £98, not sure what a sparky would charge to install a rod.

Thanks. That's what I was curious about i.e how effective the RCD would be if there isn't a decent earth. From what I can gather the man from the DNO tested it a socket and it tripped eveything??

A relative of mine has just discovered that the house they've been living in for 7 years doesn't have an Earth! It seems that whoever rewired the place last connected the main earth cable into the cutout of a TNS system but there was no actual link from the incoming armour of the cable to the...

Thanks again for your feedback. The DNO phoned me back as promised. They checked my postcode against their database and said that it IS probably PME but they would need to check. The only way that they can do this is for me to complete a form requesting a PME and send them a cheque for £98...