Earth wiring fault!

[cartooncat]

Was this the main earth connection for the property ? No TNS, TNCS connection or TT Stake/RCD? Plastic incoming main? So a Phase-Earth fault would cause the gas installation to float up to 230V

 

[roverman43]

I think there was no proper main earth connected to the consumer unit - thus the gas pipe has become the only earth for the system.

Rob

 

[doitall]

The earth strap was on the plastic incoming pipe

 

[agbagb]

The wire is routed across the cellar at your neck height. Only 5% of gas engineers would notice it because the rest are midgets. Or streched across the top step as a trip hazard and your mate only warns 1 in 20 people about it.

 

[Biggles..]

its been 10mm for the last ten years at least,so not sure what Tony classes as recent.

 

[namsag]

As i dont believe you are qualified to be out there working i will not be telling you the answer as i cost me money to pass exams

 

[Razor900]

Can anyone guess what it was? Magnetic pick-up tool to be posted to the first correct NON professional!

Tony

Can BG engineers answer then?



Oops only joking

 

[WDIK]

I aint saying

 

[roguetrader]

is the other end of the 6mm jammed into the earth port of a socket with an uninsulated screwdriver??. thats dangerous.

 

[JohnD]

the house had no earth connection except the gas pipe*; and the incoming gas pipe had been replaced with plastic pipe. Hence no effective earth in the house. There was no suppliers earth and no earth spike.

*or maybe there had previously been a connection to a water pipe, also recently replaced in plastic

A Fault to Earth might not have blown a fuse, but would have made the gas pipe (and, depending on bonding, some other pipes within the house) live.

 

[Agile]

I am 5' 9" but Dan and DIA are over 6' 3" !

The cellar is only 5' 10" to the underside of the floor joists and no earth cable is over 5' from the floor so Kevin can reach them without steps.

The 6 mm earth cable from the gas pipe is firmly connected to the earth block in the metal cased consumer unit.

In terms of most consumer units and house wiring installation dates, the requirement for 10 mm earth bonds at the gas meter is "recent" in my view!

Tony

 

[Biggles..]

As your not qualified to say how recent it should be and your view is not actually a profesional statement,maybe what you class as very dangerous is actually miles of the mark.But anyway i'll help you with some dates.

Gas regs written in 98,10mm earth was a requirement.
BS7671 2001(blue book) it was also a requirement then.

If a decades recent i'd hate to look in your fridge for out of date products.

 

[Steve69the69Gas]

Cross polarity?

 

[Agile]

"Recent" has different meanings in different contexts! Recent geology might be within the last 3 Million years for example, recent history might be the last 50 years!

Its not reversed polarity!

I would not class that as very dangerous, although at risk.

Tony

 

[ollski]

Well when I moved into my rented house the earth was on 2mm bell wire and there was a seperate feed unnoticed in the coal shed bypassed before the meter. That one stung a little when I removed a couple of sockets and went to twist the end of the live wire to tidy it up!