- Joined
- 11 Jan 2004
- Messages
- 42,838
- Reaction score
- 2,659
- Country
I went to a job today where a NAPIT-registered guy had fitted a replacement consumer unit which had subsequently showed up a fault.
When I got to the house, the spark himself was there. I asked to look at the EIC & was told it only had three test results on, nothing more: Ze, PSC & RCD test.
I incredulously asked him why it wasn't filled in in its entirety. He told me there was no requirement in 7671 to do so. "You tell me where it says you have to I & T" he said. By this time, I was gob-smacked & thought he was pulling my leg. But no.
So I asked him to produce his copy. "Left it at home" he muttered, so I got mine out of the van. "Are you familiar with section 6?" I asked, hopefully.
When he said nothing I proceeded to recite the bit about T & I and recording results on a certificate, as per the model on page so-an-so.
"But my NAPIT assessor says it's up to me whether I bother to do all the test results or not.", was his reply.
"So how do you know it's safe, then?", I asked.
"Because the RCD would trip if it wasn't." came the reply.
He then told me he could not possibly do all that work and make a living, no-one would pay the price and he would go out of business. When I told him we could not proceed with a board change unless everything was OK, he basically told me I was lying.
When I came to do my tests, the RCD failed its 5x test (1x @ 144ms, 5x @ >40ms), despite him telling me it had passed at 21/11ms.
His water bond was on the wrong side of the stopcock. He told me that did not matter, I was nit-picking. In a court of law, he went on, he would happily tell the judge he had done everything correctly.
Several final circuits had flexes attached to them, in one case it was two core 0.75 attached to a 32A MCB...
The cut-out was smashed. I asked how he had changed the board without an isolator. "I worked live, of course." I do it all the time on 800V circuits.
I do I & T all the time, you know. Funny he didn't know the correct procedure for testing an RCD then. He was convinced it was tested via a socket outlet and that the maximum trip time allowed for a BSEN 6008 (@ 1x) was 200ms.
I am APPALLED!!
When I got to the house, the spark himself was there. I asked to look at the EIC & was told it only had three test results on, nothing more: Ze, PSC & RCD test.
I incredulously asked him why it wasn't filled in in its entirety. He told me there was no requirement in 7671 to do so. "You tell me where it says you have to I & T" he said. By this time, I was gob-smacked & thought he was pulling my leg. But no.
So I asked him to produce his copy. "Left it at home" he muttered, so I got mine out of the van. "Are you familiar with section 6?" I asked, hopefully.
When he said nothing I proceeded to recite the bit about T & I and recording results on a certificate, as per the model on page so-an-so.
"But my NAPIT assessor says it's up to me whether I bother to do all the test results or not.", was his reply.
"So how do you know it's safe, then?", I asked.
"Because the RCD would trip if it wasn't." came the reply.
He then told me he could not possibly do all that work and make a living, no-one would pay the price and he would go out of business. When I told him we could not proceed with a board change unless everything was OK, he basically told me I was lying.
When I came to do my tests, the RCD failed its 5x test (1x @ 144ms, 5x @ >40ms), despite him telling me it had passed at 21/11ms.
His water bond was on the wrong side of the stopcock. He told me that did not matter, I was nit-picking. In a court of law, he went on, he would happily tell the judge he had done everything correctly.
Several final circuits had flexes attached to them, in one case it was two core 0.75 attached to a 32A MCB...
The cut-out was smashed. I asked how he had changed the board without an isolator. "I worked live, of course." I do it all the time on 800V circuits.
I do I & T all the time, you know. Funny he didn't know the correct procedure for testing an RCD then. He was convinced it was tested via a socket outlet and that the maximum trip time allowed for a BSEN 6008 (@ 1x) was 200ms.
I am APPALLED!!
