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I use it when making wiring harnesses for automotive and other uses. Some people don't like it for that and prefer to use cloth tape or 'harness tape' which is basically vinyl insulating tape without the sticky bit. Can't say i've ever used it for mains wiring though.

After I hit "post" I went and looked for screened mains cable, to find that it does, indeed, exist. I'm still not sure why, though. Same if it's fire-rated - what benefit does the screened outer section have for fire-rated cable?

Looks like shielded twisted pair. I use it in vehicles for reducing noise on cam and crank sensor signals. I've never seen this sort of cable used in a mains voltage installation before and I'm struggling to think why you'd want to...! Although the colours do seem to suggest it was intended for...

Any chance of a picture of this connector? It may or may not be something fairly standard. I'd say try the boiler manufacturer but they will probably want you to buy an entire new wiring harness. If by "spade connector" you mean a bog-standard 6.35mm crimp terminal, also known as "lucar"...

If there is a problem with the neutral connection back at the substation, then theoretically your house (along with other houses on the same 'phase') could be getting an excessively high voltage. You say this is getting worse - if this is the problem, it could conceivably lead to other fried...

This is actually fairly common even with (some) properly-functioning chargers and is (in most cases) caused by a suppression capacitor connected between the output and input side of the switching transformer inside the charger. The capacitor will pass a small (but enough to feel) amount of...

Indeed, but there's being slightly incompetent, and then there's not having a clue how things work. CPC through an MCB. Just... why?

How, exactly, can anyone get it this wrong? (About 30 seconds in).

Not really. Fuses aren't the most accurate of devices and if there are two in a circuit, even with different ratings, it's a lottery which one will pop first. It's actually not unheard of (though rare) for a major fault to take out the supplier's main fuse before a fuse/MCB on the consumer unit.

I respectfully disagree. The input stage of an SMPS consists of a rectifier followed by one (or more) massive filter caps. They can have huge switch-on surges, so much so that a room full of computer equipment can sometimes pop an MCB if all powered on at once. Unless it has "anti-inrush"...

Did check it was tight (it was my first thought when it happened, actually) - it wasn't that, unfortunately.

Thanks all. Replaced the blade, saw is running fine again. Relieved, thought I'd killed it there for a minute (though the blades aren't exactly cheap, still, good lesson to be more careful in future eh?) :D

Hi, I have a little Ryobi cordless saw which I really like, it's my first circular saw and I've been using it to build a shed recently so it's had lots of use despite being only a month or so old. Today I was cutting up some little bits of 1x2 and I had a minor kickback where the bit I was...

Hi, I am about to build a new shed and I am looking into options for cladding. Frame will be made of 3x2 CLS, overall size of shed is 12ft by 7ft. My previous shed was feather edge board nailed directly to the frame, which worked and was surprisingly watertight, but my main concern with this...

While this holds true for switch mode power supplies, which are probably slightly more commonplace today than they were back then, surely the majority of high power loads (heaters, kettles, etc) are resistive and, as such, reducing the voltage to 230v would actually cause an overall drop in...

I would never suggest that you simply throw parts at something, but this appears to be a very simple chip-amp based design with one per channel. Where's the heatsinking - is it on the case? Presumably that little bit of aluminium on the front is just a heat spreader and bolts to something...

I have been inside this consumer unit to disconnect some existing circuits which will not be required any more. The CU will need to be moved and new circuits run, I'm aware of the rules and I am going to get a qualified electrician to do this. I'm starting a course in electrical installation...

Hi, I have come across a two-core SWA cable connected into a metal cased CU. The "banjo" is bolted to the case of the consumer unit and the consumer unit's earth bar is then electrically connected to the case by one of its supports, which are metal. Is this acceptable? There is good...

Hi, It's mostly chased into the wall, but some of it was just free hanging under cabinets and seating - not clipped to anything (hence 'poorly installed' :D) Not on beams or brickwork. Pub is not thatched/listed. It's hard to say how old the installation is as it's an absolute mish-mash, at...

Hi I am helping with some work in a pub at the moment and have found rather a lot of (poorly installed) pyro cable. A bit of googling seems to suggest this was at one point required. Can anyone please tell me if this is still the case? Why was it ever the case? I can understand pyro for...