'DIY SOS' - 240V to 220V

[ban-all-sheds]

But low energy lighting, draft exclusion, and insulation seem sound. No-one would describe these as 'nonsense', surely?

No - not those, nor improved heat recovery.

Solar PV has the opposite problem - the economics works (now), but I am unconvinced by the environmental advantage.

They only "work" when people are paid 4-5x what DNOs and electricity companies can make, distribute nationwide, and sell electricity at a profit for in order to incent them to do it. If that doesn't confirm the economic lunacy of PV I don't know what does. And where does the money for those payments come from? From the customers of the electricity companies. The government is forcing them to take money from the poor and give it to the middle classes to fund a hobby which has no environmental benefits whatsoever.

It's shameful, and if the new administration can cancel contracts made by the old one for wasteful IT projects they can cancel FITs for PV panels.

 

[Stoday]

Dont call billy an electrician - he isnt.

Actually - and regrettably - he is!

Merriam-Webster: one who installs, maintains, operates or repairs electrical equipment
Cambridge: a person who puts in and checks electrical wires
Collins: a person trained to install and repair electrical equipment,
Chambers: a person whose job is to install, maintain and repair electrical equipment

I thought that described an electrical engineer.

Or perhaps not. When my son got married and I was about to sign the register, the vicar asked me what my occupation was. "Electrical engineer" I said. "Would you try to use joined-up handwriting when your sign?"said the vicar.

 

[ericmark]

I would consider an Electrician to have a level 3 education and an Electrical Engineer level 5 or above. Of course there will be exceptions but the engineer often only designs and oversees and does very little hands on work.

However in the US they have some odd terms and the Stoker on a Train is called an Engineer.

I remember one guy saying how he was a Alemite operator. Alemite was the make of the grease gun so most would call him a grease monkey.

And it seems Engineer is used by many to try to make the job look more glamorous.

However we all get conned from time to time and we hope we see through most. But to allow some one to put forward ideas without vetting is of course wrong and it is the hierarchy of the BBC who need taking to task for not vetting the content of the program.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

People who mend washing machines are called engineers...

 

[Stoday]

People who mend washing machines are called engineers...

So are people who try to mend washing machines. And Brunel.

"Engineer" covers a very wide spectrum of ability. "Electrician" is much more definitive, although Faraday considered himself to be an electrician.

 

[DJM]

People who mend washing machines are called engineers...

Not by genuine engineers or those that actually understand what an engineer is.
I'm not belittling the washing repair person - it's a vital job - but an engineer he/she is not.

 

[Stoday]

Sorry, DJM, but however much you'd like the English language to mean what you want it to mean, it's Joe Public who decide.

Ever since "engineer" was coined to describe someone who operates an engine, the general public perceive an engineer as someone who walks around with an oily rag and washes his hands before he has a pee.

 

[ericmark]

I would always consider an engineer as some one who has a level 5 education or above in engineering be that a degree, HND or HNC but classed as higher education and an electrician will have a level 3 education classed as further education not higher.

There will always be people who try to claim they are something they are not and will claim some title.

There will also be the oddities of English language and if we look at the guy using a CB radio then he is of course an amateur radio user but we would not class them as a radio amateur. The same for titles given in Salvation Army we would not class them the same as in Queens Army.

There will be of course the guy without formal education who due to his skill is often more knowledgeable than those who did have a higher education. Nikola Tesla a Serbian and studied in a Austrian Polytechnic in Graz and did not receive a degree. Yet he was one of the greatest Electrical Engineers of all time.

The guy who designs the washing machine is indeed an engineer but the guy who replaces worn out parts is unlikely to have the expertises one would expect of an engineer however I have know of graduates who stack shelves in Asda so who knows he may be?

 

[DJM]

Sorry, DJM, but however much you'd like the English language to mean what you want it to mean, it's Joe Public who decide.

Ever since "engineer" was coined to describe someone who operates an engine, the general public perceive an engineer as someone who walks around with an oily rag and washes his hands before he has a pee.

No, actually joe public do not decide - they may corrupt the language, but they do not decide a words meaning.

Neither is it what I want the English language to mean. It is what the international Engineering professional bodies such as the IET, FEANI, Engineering Council (or even a dictionary) define Engineer to mean.

And a washing machine repair person is very unlikely to achieve the minimum requirements for Engineering Technician let alone CEng or FEANI accreditiation. So whilst he/she may call themselves an engineer, they are no more an engineer than a G-whizz is a Formula 1 racing car.

 

[DJM]

Actually i never really understood the rush to "big up" certain jobs.
What is wrong with being a washing machine repair person, or a photocopier technician. Why do they have to be engineers. All it does is devalue the term engineering as it becomes meaningless and therby devalues the vital role they themselves play in the scheme of things.

Frankly I want my washine machine repaired by a washing meachine repair person not an engineer. The bloody engineer will try and redesign it and take months to make a marginal improvement, during which time I'll have dirty shirts to wear. The repair man will simply fix the fault and let me wash my shirts the following day.

we should value the jobs we do and not try and hide behind meaninless terms.
/rant mode off

 

[ericmark]

My apprenticeship deeds say I am an engineering craftsman. So am I an engineer?

 

[ricicle]

In my last job I did what was considered, in my opinion, the site Engineer's job eg Design of industrial installations, control panels, PLC programmes and programming and was forever having my brain picked by the so-called company Engineers with their degrees etc. As well as putting right so - called Electrical Engineers doing contract work. Even in my current job I have had debates with and put right a so called 'contract Electrical Engineer' who was a MIET

What does that make me ?

 

[electronicsuk]

What does that make me ?

A know it all?

Seriously though, I know where you're coming from as I sometimes feel the same way with some of the work I undertake that isn't strictly part of my job description.

 

[ericmark]

With electrical engineering there are so many branches. When I was in university there were three courses a HND, a foundation degree, and honours degree. Only the foundation degree students were taught how to program PLC's and the higher level the course the less hands on it was.

I never did get my head around PIC's although I could easy write a PLC program and even the lectures did not seem to understand the basic requirements of BS7671. This caused problems when asked about health and safety issues and I pointed out the AB PLC was designed to be mounted in an enclosure and the cooling slots were too big and the cover over the live terminals did not require a tool or a key to open it.

I do agree that since an electrical engineer does not need to have passed his C&G 2381 or 2382 often they do make mistakes in design and before I took my degree I took the attitude that they knew more than me and if they said do it then I would tend to do as I was told. In some cases this is of course true and to work out what heat can be removed by a heat sink is something I had not a clue about before taking my degree. But you will notice many electrical superintendents and clerk of works don't have a degree just loads of experience.

However they call themselves electrical superintendents not electrical engineers. And whoever employed an electrical engineer to do an electrical superintendent's job wants their thingy kicking!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Neither is it what I want the English language to mean. It is what the international Engineering professional bodies such as the IET, FEANI, Engineering Council (or even a dictionary) define Engineer to mean.

#3 in the Collins English Dictionary 21st Century Edition: "a mechanic, one who repairs or services machines".

#2b in Oxford English: "a person who maintains machines; a mechanic; a technician"