Continuity question

[Tilly-1]

Hi guys, we recently had an electrician doing some work on the ring main, he told me there was a problem ( no continuity) what the heck does this mean ? earth problem or something else? is it dangerous? or just something minor?
Thanks in advance
Lynn

 

[industryspark]

from what he says he probably means one of the either the phase, nuetral or earth isnt continous.

with a ring circuit you have an outgoing leg on the phase, nuetral and earth (to the furthest socket of the circuit from the CU) and an incoming leg (from the furthest socket in the circuit back to your consumer unit)

the legs should be continous when measured with an ohmeter, i.e no breaks.

im a bit concerned that he says that there's a problem. did he rectify this?

what work was he doing on the circuit?

did he leave you a certificate for the work?

was he a registered spark. more info please.

you may have a potentailly dangerous fault on your circuit but we need more info.

 

[Tilly-1]

Thank you for replying.
Well once upon a time 18 years ago, on a cold winters day. lol

This house belonged to the council ( we purchased it a little time later) the council came out to check the electrics, when the guy was in the dining room he had a meter thing checking the wall socket, this was when he told me there was a problem with the continuity,he told me someone would be back to check/repair it, ( no one ever arrived) now the double socket in the living room ( other side of an arch wall, from the dining room). had previously been the only socket between the two rooms, the tenant before us had fitted a double socket in the dining room, this was fed from the double socket in the living room, so I'm guessing it has something to do with the previous tenant's work.
We forgot all about the continuity problem until we decided to purchase one of those ultrasonic bug chasers, it sends a signal through the house wiring terrorising the creepy crawlies, I said to my husband " it may not work if the continuity has been broken".( don't ask me why I only remembered this now) lol
So here I am asking this question.
Hope this all makes sense
Lynn

 

[industryspark]

Right,

have you got any electrical charts, certificates...etc relating to the house?
has the installation to your knowledge ever had a Periodic inspection report (PIR)?

its impossible to recommend a course of action without knowing exactly what the problem was what the electrician was on about.

continuity could relate to a few things. continuity of earth?, phase?

having said that though if the council spark was right and there is a problem with the ring circuit i would advice you to get somebody in to check it.

now the house is yours dont suppose you've got much chance of getting the council back!

whats the general condition of the wiring? any idea of age? have you got trip switches (mcb's) or plug in rewirable fuses?

you may want to consider getting a PIR done if the wiring is old/never been tested.

 

[Tilly-1]

Hmmmm No charts or certificates,if there were any inspection reports we never got to see them.

The house was rewired just before we moved in 24 years ago, just after that the previous tenant fitted the new socket, he spent an hour telling me what a great job he did (reason he wanted to tell me.... we did an exchange)

we have a CU with mcb's, as far as we know the wiring is in good condition.

The CU used to be very sensitive ( even a light bulb going would trip the lot) the council came out and put a new CU in, since then it hardly ever trips.
Lynn

 

[industryspark]

the spark who fitted the CU- is this the same guy who told you about the 'continuity' problem? and at the time he was doing the CU.

if so then he shouldnt have connected the circuit if it was defective which means

1, there's no drastic problem and the circuit was ok to be connected up.

or

2, there is a problem and he thought sod it and connected up anyway (very very very naughty)

.....but possible

really hard to advise because you have a possible fault (which we arent sure what it is exactly).

the fact that its working ok doesnt mean its safe and correct either.

if the wiring is 24 years old and you have no certs, documents then i think a PIR is in order here. its overdue to be honest. that way ul know if its a problem or not as well as having peace of mind about the rest of your installation.

 

[Tilly-1]

Thank you very much for all your advice.
The guy who fitted the mcb wasn't the same guy who found the continuity problem, but I do remember the mcb came after the continuity problem.
Guess I will have to have the PIR done
Thanks again
Lynn

 

[industryspark]

glad to help.

Im a big fan of Periodic inspection reports. a lot of people adopt the attitude ''well its working, it must be ok''

what needs to be understood is that installations age and suffer from wear and tear and faults creep in, these faults often go unrecognised until its too late.

think in your case you've got to look at the facts, a suspected faulty ring circuit, 24 year old wiring, no documents or records. a PIR would be a good idea, it'l point out anything that needs rectifying and give you the peace of mind.

plus you'l not need it done for another 10 year ish afterwards.

ask about and get qoutes from a few sparks and preferably get one thats registered to a government scheme.