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Two of the quotes are no so different. The ones for £890 and £750 would be almost identical if the £750 guy was charging VAT (£750 = £881 with VAT). Assuming all things are equal (i.e. all firms are registered, qualified and issuing certs) my guess would be that the guy quoting £1468 did not...

To stick my nose in, I would not be happy with the aesthetics of an upside down switch (writing upside down). A good temporary solution from a DIY point of view as the average DIYer is unlikely to have a good quality ratchet crimper up to the job of extending the cable. I would be a bit...

I am not an electrician and others will be along BUT manufactures normally recommend that extensions are not used with high power machines like washing machines and tumble dryers. Is the extension lead you are using rated at 13amps and when in use is it fully uncoiled? Also, is anything else...

Thanks for pointing that out. I'm going to ask the DNO to install an isolator in any case so I'll get them to look at this while they are out. I emailed my supplier Southern Electric about the isolator and they have given my DNO as North Eastern Electric. Does anybody know what they charge...

Now there's a surprise! Get your pics out for the lads - you know you want to.

Thank you all for the clarification, very informative as always. I can now clearly see that my installation is TN-C-S/PME. As I know you love em, I've attached the pictures. Lectrician the bottom of the service head looks to be complete, at least in the sense that there is no copper...

I don't get the impression from the description that there is anything dangerous here but I could be wrong? Obviously the box does need to be weatherproof and it sounds like it’s not at the moment. I guess you could remedy that by fitting a small catch to keep the door closed. If that’s not...

Ah, I think I’m beginning to see the light! For some reason I had assumed that with PME, the supply cable would have insulated live and neutral conductors within it and be surrounded by an armoured sheath to protect the cable but with only the live and neutral connected at the cutout. Does...

Sorry plugwash, I had posted before reading your first message - i'm a slow typer. I see what your saying. With TN-C-S if your have a broken neutral then you have no earth* To be in the same situation with TN-S the broken neutral is only dangerous if the earth is also broken at the same...

I’m confused as to if my supply is TNS or PME. I’m guessing TNS as it appears to be formed from the sheath of the supply cable? I’ve attached a picture for a professional opinion. Also, is there any significance to the red dot stuck to the left of the inside of the box? Thanks. EDIT...

Ouch! Presumably this is pretty rare (in the UK at least). I guess in most situations where the supply cable becomes damaged (being severed by a JCB etc) it’s more likely to create a short circuit and fail completely. Have you ever encountered this situation? I can’t think of a much more...

It's a remote switch designed to be switched from a computer or other X10 system. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X10_(industry_standard)

If the suppliers neutral becomes damaged/disconnected before it enters the cutout, does this mean that the neutral within the house (and earth on TNS/PME) would be at the same potential as live?

OP, I've just read your previous posts about adding a spur, you seriously need an electrician! I'm not one and have tackled many electrical jobs in the past (for myself and before part P)- but only when I was absolutely certain that I had the knowledge to do the job properly. The downside...

Thanks guys. Anyone know a supplier of this tinned copper wire for binding or any guidelines on what should be used for different wire sizes? Any pictures or diagrams would be much appreciated.

This is purely a question to satisfy my curiosity. I know that two methods of connecting wires that are considered permanent are crimps and soldering. There are a lot of posts about the former (with helpful suggestions) and very few about the later. I have a lot of soldering experience in...

It's not quite as simple as that. See here for more info (and a great animated bridge rectifier): http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/powersup.htm Unless you want to play about with electronics (it's good fun), I would suggest getting a bulb rated at 12v AC would be the way forward.

Cable detector may help. They are also a metal detector so they normally give one tone for live cables and another tone for metal that's not energised.

Hmm. That's not good - It turns out there is an isolator after the meter – which is handy :D I think the only realistic option here is complete CU replacment, as: After further consideration, I don't really want to move the upstairs sockets off the RCD as this would make them more...

Yes, they are the two additional circuits installed by the spark. Yes, I've added another photo. The plot thickens...The first neuteral connection is the tail for the RCD, so there are actually only 4 terminals used for the 6 non-RCD connections.