Damaged Underground Cable

[securespark]

I watch this geezer who's a builder in London. His gang damaged an underground cable that he thought was armoured. Unknown to him, it was a concentric cable but it doesnt look like it has been installed properly.

11:57

 

[plugwash]

It feels to me like someone who works for a DNO has had a go at wiring up a garage. Especially the fact that there appears to be an intact tamper sticker on those henly blocks.

Under BS7671 we are not supposed to treat neutrals as earths but the DNO do it all the time.

Dangerous? it certainly doesn't meet BS7671 but it doesn't really seem any worse than what the DNOs do every day.

 

[securespark]

It looks to me like whoever it was has linked the N and E together on the TN-S supply, so they could use the concentric cable for the garage supply.

The cable the builders damaged was connected direct to the Henley's of the house supply, so when damaged, the intake fuse ruptured.

The DNO came to fix the fuse and they pulled out all the con cable up to the point of the damage.

They want to charge the builder. He says it it's only a couple of hundred squid, he might just pay up to keep things sweet with the elderly couple who own the gaff.

But if it's more, he'll contest it.

His argument is that as a well-dodgy DNO install, it shouldn't even be there, it wasn't deep enough and there wasn't any warning tape.

 

[plugwash]

It looks to me like whoever it was has linked the N and E together on the TN-S supply, so they could use the concentric cable for the garage supply.

It does look like someone linked them. Whether that is related to the garage supply, or whether it was done because the TN-S earth was defective I suspect we will never known.

The cable the builders damaged was connected direct to the Henley's of the house supply,

And those Henly's had a sticker on them. I guess it's possible that the connection of the cable to the henlys and the application of the sticker happened at different times.

My bet is still on someone who works for the DNO doing a job on the side. Likely using supplies pinched from their employer.

Would be interesting to see what the garage end looks like.

so when damaged, the intake fuse ruptured.

Yup, the fuse did it's job.

Whereas if the same cable had been used as a service cable it would be protected only by a fuse much larger than 100A.

 

[SUNRAY]

Thinking about this further as I see it at the moment the builder damaged a cable, fair do's it happens.
He asked DNO to attend to isolate said cable and fit replacement fuse, very reasonable.

DNO attend, isolate cable, replace fuse. Just as requested.



THEN they dig up drive and steal the cable, reinstate drive before builder/electrician can use trench for replacement cable.

Does everybody think this it correct action/work by DNO?

 

[securespark]

Is that what happened in this case? I didn't watch the whole video.

 

[SUNRAY]

There is a second video which seems to indicate that.

 

[securespark]

Ah, OK.

I shall go and watch it.