Breaket blowing after fitting new ring main

[dunny]

Hope someone can help - I have put in a new ring main in my kitchen. The main electrics where installed by an electrician 3 years ago and he left me a loop to extend the kitchen as we where renovating. I have extended it over the weekend with 10 double sockets and 3 fused spurs. I flicked the breaker on and it went 'bang', not just tripping. I have rechecked all the connections and I have checked all the cable routing but all looks fine. Could it be too many sockets on the ring main or doies it sound more like a wiring fault ? Faulty socket maybe?

 

[plugwash]

several possibilitys

one that immidiately springs to mind is getting the live and neutral wires reveresed on a connections somewhere and hance causing a dead short (remember its a ring)

another possibility is as you said a failty accessory

yet another is a nail through a cable or similar (did you do any other diy at the same time as adding theese new sockets?).

 

[dunny]

checked all connections about 10 times, its all new wiring unless I have misnailed a cleat? I have fitted fancy metal fronted sockets and I wonder whether one of them is faulty. Best to remove them and join all cables together to check?

 

[brumtrician]

Hope someone can help - I have put in a new ring main in my kitchen. The main electrics where installed by an electrician 3 years ago and he left me a loop to extend the kitchen as we where renovating. I have extended it over the weekend with 10 double sockets and 3 fused spurs. I flicked the breaker on and it went 'bang', not just tripping. I have rechecked all the connections and I have checked all the cable routing but all looks fine. Could it be too many sockets on the ring main or doies it sound more like a wiring fault ? Faulty socket maybe?

did you not check continuity of the circuit and put an insulation tester on the extended ring before switching on ?

 

[swelec]

get an electrician in to check your work

you obviously have no idea what you are doing and so should not have carried out this in the first place

 

[dunny]

sorry not clever enough to have done that. I suppose its a lesson learned that i should get a tradesman to do it but its more flexible doing it myself as I can do it slowly and get things exactly where i want them. Whats the best way of checking (given I dont have all the electrician tools available)??

 

[andy]

. Whats the best way of checking (given I dont have all the electrician tools available)??

by getting a sparky in to test. unless you want to go out and spend a few hundred on test equipment. you should have checked the work BEFORE you switched it on and found the fault

 

[swelec]

i could give you a step by step guide on how to find and cure this fault but I wont

Why ?

I may miss something out and you could still end up electrocuting one of your family

GET A SPARK IN

 

[andy]

i could give you a step by step guide on how to find and cure this fault but I wont

i could do that easily aswell....


but he lacks the proper test equipemt
and if he did have them, he'd know how to use em

 

[dunny]

Here was me thinking this was a 'do it yourself' forum. I have connected everything correctly, I have earthed all the pattresses, I have sleaved all the earths, I have grometted all the pattresses, I have used the correct cable, I have been careful routing the cables but still it blows the fuse.

I guess I am out of ideas and assistance is not forthcoming, thanks anyway.

 

[keyplayer]

Well that's not very helpful.

 

[andy]

Here was me thinking this was a 'do it yourself' forum. I have connected everything correctly, I have earthed all the pattresses, I have sleaved all the earths, I have grometted all the pattresses, I have used the correct cable, I have been careful routing the cables but still it blows the fuse.

I guess I am out of ideas and assistance is not forthcoming, thanks anyway.

you should have tested it first. remember: you cant see electricity and it does KILL without warning.

unless you have the proper test equipment you cant test it properly. altho even a basic multimeter would show up some faults and can prove continuity


and its bad DIYers who make part P a good idea

 

[keyplayer]

Best to remove them and join all cables together to check?

If you have no multimeter you could certainly try this with choc blocks and this would at least tell you if you have a wiring problem or accessory problem. I would do this personally before calling in a spark.

and its bad DIYers who make part P a good idea

Disagree there, part P is an ill thought out load of nonsense and a stupid idea, and bad DIYer's will ignore it anyway.

_____________________
Moderator

keyplayer, please note 10a

 

[Big_Spark]

Dunny, you state you have connected everything correctly, yet the breaker blows anyway..this should tell you something, and that something is..

YOU HAVE COCKED UP.

The circuuit needs to be tested and with all due respect, you lack the equipment, technical knowledge and common sense to undertake such tests so I would point you in the direction of the advice above.. GET IN AN ELECTRICIAN as it will be cheaper and safer in the long run.

 

[dunny]

thanks keyplayer wll do that. I think it is a faulty accessory only because I have checked the whole installation literally about 10 times. I know i am only an ameteur but contrary to some earlier comments i am not a 'bad diyer' i am in fact quite a good one. I do take my time and do my research so I know that my installation is no different than that which anyone else would do. The electrician put all the main circuits in and left me a loop to run the ring main extension off, a single socket extension worked no problem but since I have added these additional sockets I have had this problem. I am sure I will resolve this tomorrow even if it does cost me in breakers!!!