Electrical Injury

[2scoops0406]

Well I've finally done it, injured myself whilst doing some electrics on the house. It's all your collective fault for the advice given on these forums. I decided to change some dodgy wiring I'd done based on the information on these forums.

I removed the relevant fuse at the CU (This is why I want to change the CU BTW) and made sure the circuit was isolated. I put the cable drops in carefully, fixed the FCU to the wall, stripped the cables more carefully than ever before, made sure the connections were tight but not too tight, made sure the cable wasn't pinched or tightly squashed before a final inspection then putting the FCU face plate on.

Went downstairs to put the fuse back in, went to do a test, nothing.. no power to the circuit. Not phased by this 'cos the fuse cartridge is broken, and frankly dangerous. Removed the fuse again, as suspected fuse wire had broken. B*gg*r no fuse wire, quickly corrected by a trip to nearest shed.

Put the fuse back in, no mean feat, went to test again, puuuurfect !! Smiled that deep smile of a job well done. Tied up tools ladders etc, final job, put the fuse cover back on.

Wandered into the garage, spied fuse cover, somehow moved into corner of garage, no problemo, looked at fuse cover which was covered in dust, cleaned it up a bit, and stood up sharply to replace cover.
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BANG !!!
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No nothing electrical, just the sound of my bonce rebounding smartly off the wall hanging bolier worst thing was the boy was helping me so I couldn't even swear. The wife was very sympathetic when she heard the bang. She rushed into the garage to see what the problem was, when informed, she said, my god.... I hope you haven't damaged the boiler it's new

Thanks.

 

[big-all]

l o l very good you wound me up nicely

hope your ok and the boiler survives

 

[Studders]

Ahhhh... A kindred spirit.

Why is it that the more careful I try to be the more often it is that I..

Bang my head

Get a splinter

Cut myself

Get bruises

See just how far I can push a screwdriver into my hand

Get dust in my eyes

etc. etc. etc AND


The more I have to be quiet when working the more noise I accidently seem to make?

 

[AdamW]

Ouch! Funny how the brain has no pain receptors, yet it still bl**dy hurts when you bang your head.

Studders, it is all set out in "The S*d's Law Act, 1904". Under that same legislation, I managed to gain a rather unsightly puncture wound to the foot. I was using a flat wood bit in my drill, put the drill on the floor carefully whilst I manoeuvred the now drilled wood into place. Stood back to admire my work, pointy part of the bit went straight into my bare foot. I would reckon it went in 5mm. Of course, thick skin being a foot, it smarted but there was no blood... for about 5 seconds. Bleeding with 6 feet of head on it! Several months on and it looks like I have a freckle there. Of course there are worse places to have a scar than on a barely visible part of your foot!

 

[2scoops0406]

I think I might have a depression fracture in my skull !!! it feels a bit odd and it still bl00dy hurts !!


Still there is yet another twist to this sorry tale. I was doing some more electrics on Sunday, again, turned the power off tested the circuit, started the job, suddenly everything goes off, bu88er me I must've tripped the RCD (on an isolated circuit???) Oh well, perhaps my life has just been saved, carried on, finished the job, went back to garage to flip the RCD. RCD stayed in the on position, but no power anywhere ?? Spent about an hour checking, and rechecking all the connections, couldn't see anything wrong at all, that slow DIY related panic starts creeping up on me, I'm gonna have to call a grown up, and be humiliated. Just then the phone rings......


Our neighbour from down the road says, "have you got a power cut as well"


* *@

 

[pipme]

Was that neighbour our Tone searching Chequers for WMD's

 

[AdamW]

Just thought I would chuck on some images demonstrating Cherie Blair's similarity to the Taco Bell chihuahau...

For those of you who can't tell the difference, Cherie Blair is the one saying "I love Taco Bell" in spanish.

 

[Studders]

Cruel..... but fair.

 

[dingbat]

Our neighbour from down the road says, "have you got a power cut as well"

A few months ago I was doing a CU change. Nothing dramatic, routine stuff and all that. After a couple of hours a knock at the door was answered by the teenage son of the household and I overheard the next-door neighbour ask that very same question.

Now, immediately after the cutout the tails branched into two paths - one to the old fusebox and one through the wall. When I first saw it I though it was a rather neat and tidy arrangement for the garage power supply... er, what garage? Turns out a lot of older houses round these parts have one main fuse supplying two houses!

 

[TexMex]

Back in 1979 my younger brother took a tennancy of a flat with Hackney council. It was on the 17th floor of a 17 storey block of flats. He was also granted £40 to "decorate" the place. Being keen to get a bit of independance (he had just got married and his wife was pregnant) he did a reccy of the place and found, plaster falling off just about every wall in the place, no waste pipes in the kitchen (the sink just emptied straight into base unit). No toilet pan (just a soil pipe sticking out of the wall). The waste from the bathroom sink flowed into the kitchen unit, where it emptied onto the floor. No plug sockets, (just wires sticking out of the walls), and a three foot diameter hole in the roof of the living room, (where one could study the constellations).

Obviously the place was uninhabitable, so he left it empty with the power turned off. During one of his visits (to check for mail, squatters, etc..) he found a letter from the council asking him to contact them regarding urgent works that needed to be carried out. Enquiring which particular works they had in mind, it turned out that all of the stair well lights for the entire block were fed from his CU! He had therefore caused the problem to be brought to light, by leaving it turned off.

He never did get to move into a council flat. He continued living with his in-laws until he finally saved a deposit to buy a house. The council also allowed him to keep the £40 in return for a promise that he would not contact the local papers about the whole fiasco.

 

[pipme]

I can remember friends moving into tower blocks in Bristol, late 60's, they were nice warm friendly places with fab views ..... Where, when and how did it start going wrong ? Small Island .. too many people .... social systems too complex .... or what ?
P

 

[2scoops0406]

I can remember friends moving into tower blocks in Bristol, late 60's, they were nice warm friendly places with fab views ..... Where, when and how did it start going wrong ? Small Island .. too many people .... social systems too complex .... or what ?
P

Err. that'd be your generation, n'est pas.

 

[AdamW]

If you go to any other city in Europe, nay the World, high-rise living is not associated directly with grotty 1960s tower blocks (I know they were quite nice when new, but many are falling apart now) that look like the set of "A Clockwork Orange".

We are getting back into it, just think of the Docklands and the Paddington development in London, probably lots of others too. Flash, expensive apartments (at what price does a flat become an apartment? ).

I would have no problem living in e.g. the flash Seattle apartment on Frasier, or possibly the one they live in on Friends. But I wouldn't want to live in Del Trotter's.

 

[pipme]

Well there you go, 'tis obviously the people.
A friend lived in a fab apartment in NY ... 100 metres away it was like Beirut (was)!! ..... what a life eh?

 

[jimlaw]

don't even try such things . its professionals job and let them do