S
steve_cheese
A mate just moved into a Victorian terraced house with an electrical installation that I consider to be unsafe. He’s reluctant to get a pro in to inspect the set-up or belive me he needs help. Tell me what you think:-
Here’s the evidence and a few questions along the way:-
1) Supply comes in from the street via a concentric cable running up the wall to the roof line, then into a shinny new cut-out on the landing. (all the houses in the street seem to have the same incomer) however my worry in his case is that by the time the cable reaches his cut-out it has become two thick (25mm I guess) singles sheathed in black.
2) There is no earth emerging from the cut-out.
3) Two 25mm tails run to a new style white digital meter then on to an old DP isolator switch in a 12x2 inch brown plastic case. (Not fixed to anything but resting vertically on top of the CU)
4) The Cu is a 3 way re-wireable fuse carrier with 1x 5aand 1x30a fuses. Without dismantling, but the isolators cover is loose, the incomer to the Cu looks to be 16mm with a 10mm earth of the switched side of the neutral.
5) Sockets are all 1362’s but many are surface mounted
6) Double over 5Kw + is run of the “ring” (No idea if it’s a ring or radial did not dismantle anything). No sign of a ccu.
7) No evidence of bonding in the bathroom or to the gas/water supplies
8) Prehistoric gas boiler
9) Unserviced “real period feature” open gas fire … I wouldn’t use it.
Do I need to continue?
Anyway I’m also curious about the rec’s supply. Clearly it’s meant to be PME, but is it safe to have the supply cable split into effectively singles before entering the cut-out? What happens if the neutral was damaged? Is this normal? Why did the rec not provide a new earth from the new cut out when the meter was replaced – how unsafe is it that’s its taken from the switched side of the DP isolator
May be I’m being paranoid but if it was me I’d be on the phone to the REC asap. Closely followed by a Sparky to at minimum make things safe.
My mate feels all he needs to do is update the “fusebox” and “spur off” a few new sockets. Please help me explain he’s totally under estimated the scale of his problems.
And of course the girlfriend has already started to paint the rooms. Deck chairs and titanic comes to mind.
Here’s the evidence and a few questions along the way:-
1) Supply comes in from the street via a concentric cable running up the wall to the roof line, then into a shinny new cut-out on the landing. (all the houses in the street seem to have the same incomer) however my worry in his case is that by the time the cable reaches his cut-out it has become two thick (25mm I guess) singles sheathed in black.
2) There is no earth emerging from the cut-out.
3) Two 25mm tails run to a new style white digital meter then on to an old DP isolator switch in a 12x2 inch brown plastic case. (Not fixed to anything but resting vertically on top of the CU)
4) The Cu is a 3 way re-wireable fuse carrier with 1x 5aand 1x30a fuses. Without dismantling, but the isolators cover is loose, the incomer to the Cu looks to be 16mm with a 10mm earth of the switched side of the neutral.
5) Sockets are all 1362’s but many are surface mounted
6) Double over 5Kw + is run of the “ring” (No idea if it’s a ring or radial did not dismantle anything). No sign of a ccu.
7) No evidence of bonding in the bathroom or to the gas/water supplies
8) Prehistoric gas boiler
9) Unserviced “real period feature” open gas fire … I wouldn’t use it.
Do I need to continue?
Anyway I’m also curious about the rec’s supply. Clearly it’s meant to be PME, but is it safe to have the supply cable split into effectively singles before entering the cut-out? What happens if the neutral was damaged? Is this normal? Why did the rec not provide a new earth from the new cut out when the meter was replaced – how unsafe is it that’s its taken from the switched side of the DP isolator
May be I’m being paranoid but if it was me I’d be on the phone to the REC asap. Closely followed by a Sparky to at minimum make things safe.
My mate feels all he needs to do is update the “fusebox” and “spur off” a few new sockets. Please help me explain he’s totally under estimated the scale of his problems.
And of course the girlfriend has already started to paint the rooms. Deck chairs and titanic comes to mind.
