Nightmare

[flameport]

Manky old slip conduit from the 1950s or earlier, wires with rotted rubber insulation, no earth. If that's typical of the rest of the wiring, the entire installation is beyond repair.
Highly doubtful it can be reused for modern wiring as the ends are usually razor sharp, insides rusted to ruination and it's usually too small anyway. The joints are usually separate clamp on fittings making it impossible to get any new wires round corners. Assuming that proper joints were used at all.

Even without the destroyed wires you wouldn't be able to fit a metal backbox there as it has no earth.

the C/Us was updated 5 or so years ago. It has MCBs/RCD's etc.

Whoever fitted it clearly had no clue, and did not inspect anything at all. If a certificate exists for it, it will be a stack of lies.

 

[deadshort]

Manky old slip conduit from the 1950s or earlier, wires with rotted rubber insulation, no earth. If that's typical of the rest of the wiring, the entire installation is beyond repair.
Highly doubtful it can be reused for modern wiring as the ends are usually razor sharp, insides rusted to ruination and it's usually too small anyway. The joints are usually separate clamp on fittings making it impossible to get any new wires round corners. Assuming that proper joints were used at all.

Even without the destroyed wires you wouldn't be able to fit a metal backbox there as it has no earth.


Whoever fitted it clearly had no clue, and did not inspect anything at all. If a certificate exists for it, it will be a stack of lies.

The the guy's had a **** day without the Frankie Howard routine !

I think he's got the message

DS

 

[mwatsonxx]

Hawkeye, I don't think you're getting the message, you are in an extremely dangerous situation. That wiring should have been replaced 60+ years ago. One of the serious problems with it is that in places the rubber will have dried out, and when you start fiddling about with it the dried rubber falls off. You say the CCU has been replaced, no skilled responsible electrician would reconnect such dangerous wiring to a new CCU. Do you have any test certificates from the "electrician" that carried out this bodge - no, I didn't think so. The old slip conduit is almost certainly ineffectively earthed. The installation is a severe electrocution and fire risk that could happen at any moment, it should be turned off now. It needs to be rewired now regardless of any other personal or practical problems. Electricity is like a mad dog it will severely bite without any warning. People here are not being melodramatic, electricity kills heed the advice

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Listen mate, you must rewire it.

Do not try to power the lighting circuit until this is resolved.

And be wary of every other electrical circuit, accessory and appliance in the house if this is typical of the rest of your wiring.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

That looks more like VIR than rubber

And the "R" in "VIR" stands for ...... ?

 

[mwatsonxx]

Hawkeye, your description of the flat is similar to a flat I owned. I ran a 50x50 plastic trunking from the CCU to the other end of the flat and then rewired room by room. It's not a difficult job for a skilled electrician.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Why did you run trunking from the cooker control unit to the other end of the flat?

 

[mwatsonxx]

Why did you run trunking from the cooker control unit to the other end of the flat?

Consumer Control Unit

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Jolly good.

Did you have a good reason for using such a rare term?

 

[EFLImpudence]

Not that rare -

https://www.google.pt/search?q=cons.....69i57j0l5.9316j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Depends on whether you consider 16 in a thousand rare

 

[EFLImpudence]

 

[mwatsonxx]

Isn't BAS the most pathetic thing, good for a laugh though.

 

[Lectrician]

Dead mate it's a ground floor flat. Brick/block/steel. What do you suggest I do? Chase that all the way back to the C/U that's at the other end of the flat? This started out as a bedroom decorating job. I think your over exagurating, this is a 1930s build making it 90 years old and nobody has yet died from it. You clearly know I can earth it but to make it worse for me your telling me to do a full rewire instead. Make it easy for me man I've had a rough enough day as it is. I probably pulled it too hard simple as that. It's doable I'm not contacting fukc all.

You are insane. That wiring should have been taken out of service years ago. Did you not get an inspection on the electrics at purchase? Shame. Livening that back up, even after a bodged repair is down right dangerous.

 

[HawkEye244]

Can someone do me a diagram so I can see how this should be wired using the photograph. I need to make sure I run enough cable.