No earth?

[Leelums]

Hi there,
I have recently noticed, that there seems to be a lack of earthing to my electricity supply. I say this because the earth wire which comes out of the consumer unit was tucked behind the equipment mounting board connected to nothing!


Please click for larger image!

As you can see in the photo I have no earth connected to my service connection. The earth cable is there, so it must have been connected somewhere, but how? I don't see anywhere it could have been connected!!

I know I need to get the REC into sort it, but can any experienced sparky maybe shed any light onto what has happened here from experience?

Regards
Lee

 

[bathjobby]

As you can see in the photo

I see nothing !

 

[Leelums]

As you can see in the photo

I see nothing !

maybe you should have gone to specsavers

no but serious, is that a you see no possible earth connection or that you don't see what i'm talking about?

lee

 

[user56565]

what work have you had done recently?? the isolator and harmonised tails cables seem to be recent work, everything else is older. i think the earth cable was put in at the same time as the recent work, or so it seems to me (the stripped end looks undamaged - as if its never been connected). if this is the case, the person who did the work, may have been replacing the earth cable, and then decided they couldn't be bothered to do it, or something equally as ridiculous.

your main earth could have been supplied from the sheath on the supply cable (ie below the service cutout), and the picture doesn't show this. (take another picture of it, all the way down to the ground).

you may have an earth rod (if this is the case, it should be used with an RCD), check for this..

 

[bathjobby]

I meant I don't see a photo or a link to a photo. It would appear User56565 can see it !

 

[Leelums]

Hi thanks for the replies.

The new tails and isolation switch is the only recent work carried out on the supply and the earth cable from the consumer unit has been like that for a few years as other people say in the house. I can see no possible place on the incomming supply cable where this could have been bonded to! It is likely that this could have been like this since the electrician rewired the house 24 years ago, which I find a little worrying. There is also no earth rod and no ELCB or RCD to accompany one, so i doubt i should have a TT earth arrangement. The only earth bonding i see in the whole system is that to the main gas pipe ajacent which terminates in the consumer unit, although i suppose it is possible that the cold water could be bonded somewhere out of sight.

Here's a photo


Regards
Lee

 

[user56565]

The new tails and isolation switch is the only recent work carried out on the supply and the earth cable from the consumer unit has been like that for a few years as other people say in the house.

who did this work?? ie metering company?? and why?? it could be relevant. rub your hand along the earth cable, and feel for imprints. it should have the year of manufacture and other details on it. what are they? "other people say in the house", what do you mean exactly??

on the 2nd picture, you can see that the sheath is covered by something. its diameter varies, and near the top where it approaches the service cutout, whatever it is, is no longer is there. its likely this could be the original earth cable, soldered onto the sheath. i would scrape off some of the paint, and see what exactly this thing is. you may still find a small amount of the cable exposed, towards the top end.

 

[Leelums]

Yes the metering company did the work about a week ago, because I requested an isolation switch. The only thing on the cable is 'Volex electrical products ltd'

The cable has definately been like this for a long time as far as anyone in the house remembers, plus I should take this point to mention that when a fridge was repaired several years ago the paperwork for it show that the earth loop impedance is high, in the region of a few hundred ohms.

Regarding the service cable sheath i don't really see any protruding cable and it's very rigid i don't really want to go scraping at it!!

Regards
Lee

 

[Adam_151]

Phone your REC/DNO tell them that your earth connection is no longer present, that its dangerous like that, and its their responsibly to fix it (unless it came from an earth rod - which it doesn't look like)

Why on earth the person installing the isolator just ignored it is a complete mystery

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Leelums - Adam is not exaggerating, or giving you a line to use with the DNO to get them to respond - it is very dangerous.

 

[mapj1]

Seconded. The company mus provide an earth terminal if they can - and here looks like a lead sheathed cable, wrapped in arsenic rag. (to discourage the rats from sharpening teeth on the soft lead.
I'd place bets there was once either a clamp around the exposed lead at the service cable head, or that some bare wire once emerged from the ratproof cloth tape wrapped around the lead sheath of the feed.
It may have been removed for painting, or at rewire time , or just snapped off at the roots when flexed, whatever, but it is now clearly gone, and it would be silly to start scratching at a cable that belongs to the company - you don't want them to bill you for damaging it.

But, please look up your DNO and call them today. Tell them you know the earth is high resistance, and it looks as if their connection has been lost, leaving the house in a potentially dangereous state.

http://www.greenenergy.org.uk/pvuk2/reference/grid_con/dno_contacts.html and they should be able to get you to the right dept immedaitely.

 

[Leelums]

Yeah cheers guys, I phoned them at the same time I ordered the isolator, but they told me they had a backlog and that they would phone me back, I'll get on to them ASAP.

Thanks for all the comments

Regards
Lee

 

[user56565]

i would scrape off some of the paint, and see what exactly this thing is.

i do apologise, i shouldnt have suggested you do this. what i should have said was, i personally would have had a good look at what was there.

I know I need to get the REC into sort it, but can any experienced sparky maybe shed any light onto what has happened here from experience?

i knew you were getting the REC in, and that you knew the seriousness of the situation, hence why i did not suggest again that you contact your REC. i hope ive helped you in some way, at figuring out what's there and what may have caused it to be in state its in.

the REC will most likely change you to PME. in which case, be aware you will have to ensure any other serious defects in the installation are corrected. crossbonding will also have to be in place, they will advise you their particular requirements, before carrying out the work.

 

[BJS_Spark]

Yes the metering company did the work about a week ago, because I requested an isolation switch

Your metering company needs shooting, as in doing this work re-terminating your supply, they should have checked the earthing in what looks like a typical TN-S supply.
I would definitely complain to them while making arrangements to get the DNO to sort it quicker than ASAP!

 

[securespark]

While you're at it, the board is a bit long in the tooth - brown bakelite Wylex box. Main switch rated at 60A? If the main switch is rated at less than 100A, then you should not be running any circuits higher than 30/32A. The r/h device looks like a BS88 cart fuse. Is it 40/45A?

Plus, the fuseholder adjacent to the BS88 seems like the (red?) coloured spots are discoloured - is this due to o/heating?

Plus - are all your tails 25mm²??