fuse box

[telscossie]

i live in an old house and when i use my vacum hoover or my wife uses a hairdryer one of the fuses blows in the fuse box and all the lighs go out its a old fuse box using fuse wire could anyone tell me if the fusebox needs replacing or would it be the socket .any help would be great thanks.

 

[Steve]

someone's used the wrong fusewire by the sound of it, but dont take my word for it. please contact a qualified electrician, it sounds like your installation has had it, or at least requires a full Periodic Inspection Ropert (should be done 5 yearly).

 

[scousespark]

I believe it's 10 yars for domestic properties Crafty.
It does sound like you need the installtion checking.

 

[JohnD]

when i use my vacum hoover or my wife uses a hairdryer one of the fuses blows in the fuse box and all the lights go out

I spy a lighting circuit (should be fused at 5A) that is feeding sockets.

I fear someone has added sockets to the lighting circuits. Lighting circuits are installed using "thin" wire that is unsuitable for carrying the loads of mains appliances. that is why the fuse is blowing.

This is probably an amateur mistake in making changes to the wiring.

I am afraid you will need to identify which sockets cause the lights to fail, and stop using them. Sorry. It is also time you had a professional inspection. Quite likely you will need a a rewire (the clues are the bad practice; and the fact that you have rewirable fuses, which are probably very old). Sorry.

 

[Steve]

No, he doesn't need a rewire, he's just decorated!

 

[RF Lighting]

Its not a new problem.

In around 1955 Yorkshire Electricity Board were handing out the following advice:

 

[JohnD]

No, he doesn't need a rewire, he's just decorated!

Let me explain that, telcossie...

You have a bad installation, we sometimes get people on here who describe their bad, outdated and dangerous installations; we explain what is wrong and advise them what do do... we get very annoyed when some of them reply "it hasn't killed me yet so it can't really be dangerous, anyway, I've put up new wallpaper and laminate flooring, so I won't have it rewired, it would spoil the look of the house"

p.s.
The best thing to do is to ask your friends and neighbours if they know a good local electrician that they would recommend. If you know any building tradesmen who seem to do good-quality work, ask if they can recommend anyone (they will probably have met local people working and have an idea of who seems to do a good job). Then ring and ask if they are members of a self-certification scheme and can issue you with a completeion certificate - the answer you want is "Yes" - and ask which one.

Try to get a couple of assessments of what needs doing and compare work and price quotes.

 

[securespark]

Agree John!

All our customers saythings like:

"It was alright till you came along and condemned it!"

"It's been working OK for 20/30/40/50 years and I'm not dead yet!"


Or, my favourite...

"I don't care, it'll see me out!"

It certainly will, sir, it certainly will.

 

[IJWS15]

Reminds me of a neighbour who didn't understand why we were re-wiring (1950 ish built and rewired it in 1993).

I didn't believe fused neutrals in radial circuits, perished insulation, unfused lighting circuits and children mixed. Supply authority could also have disconneted us, and them, as unsafe!

 

[viewer]

Not unusual. Came across a 13A socket on the lighting circuit of a recently rewired house. The burgular alarm was fitted after the rewire. The fitter used the lighting circuit for the alarm and to connect his circuit to the lighting circuit had taken out the under-stairs light and put in the socket as a sort of junction box.