Periodic Inspection - A Couple Pics

[Lectrician]

I have been doing periodic inspections on caravans for a few days each week for the last month.

Most are fine.

Most of the 'privately owned' vans have some non-compliances due to DIY work.

A couple of my favourites from today:


Sound proofing! Originally a pull cord, the chap has fitted a wall switch instead (the pull cord was too loud apparently!)......it appears the wall switch was too loud too!

An additional socket. Love the way it was fixed! God knows why!

 

[maguire]

you'v got to love our British "can do" attitude though. but pleas tell me the plug is'nt going to that socket !!

 

[electronicsuk]

you'v got to love our British "can do" attitude though. but pleas tell me the plug is'nt going to that socket !!

Nah, that looks more like a moulded plug on 3-core flex. Far too exotic for feeding a socket!

 

[Lectrician]

please tell me the plug is'nt going to that socket !!

Nope - Thats something he had plugged in.....

 

[chivers67]

please tell me the plug is'nt going to that socket !!

Nope - Thats something he had plugged in.....

What wattage was it?

What's going on with those two white wooden "clamps" and what was on the other side of the wall

 

[OwainDIYer]

I have been doing periodic inspections on caravans for a few days each week for the last month.

...
An additional socket. Love the way it was fixed! God knows why!

Makes sense when you consider what caravans are made of. Nothing to screw into, and neater to have just the screwheads on the other side and the screw ends inside the box.

Be a bit worrying if they scraped through the insulation though.

And shouldn't that socket have an earth?

 

[timtheenchanter]

looks like there is also a screw in the top centre hole as well though...

love the "sound deadening"!!

 

[OwainDIYer]

looks like there is also a screw in the top centre hole as well though...

That'll be the one screwed in to thin air.

Or supporting something on the other side of the hardboard wall.

The box is upside down as well.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The box is upside down as well.

Ever looked at the legends inside a Masterseal box?

 

[seasickstevie]

Upside down?

Sorry you've lost me there.

 

[Lectrician]

The lack of earth was the main point of the pic, that and the undersized conductors.

Lucky only used for a laptop and TV by the looks of it.

Most static vans (actually all that I have seen) have a steel sheet outside, with plywood walls. There is usually 2" wood or steel framework.

All the accessories are usually installed with standard dry lining boxes with a gasket to take up the extra space (6mm ply vers 12mm plasterboard, dry liners not being designed for 6mm). There is ample room in the structures for this. Internal walls similarly - usually slightly less than the 2 inch though. You can happily fix to the walls using standard wood screws.

I think this guy must have assumed he should not, and so fixed a piece of plywood to the socket box, using off cuts of the plywood to catch the screws inside! He then has stuck the socket to the wall.

Got to love the sponge though......

 

[Lectrician]

The box is upside down as well.

Ever looked at the legends inside a Masterseal box?

You could be really anal with masterseals!

I once worked on a site where they where installing loads of single masterseal sockets with conduit drops from above. This was going back a few years before doubles where even available. It was in a huge dairy production room.

I was subbed in to help finish the job off. They had taken the back boxes off of all the masterseal sockets and put them with all the conduit bits and bobs to be first fixed. The guys doing the conduit work had not realised the back boxes need to go the correct way and had ended up with pretty much half of them 90deg out!

We had to sort them all out while second fixing - PITA as the screwholes didn't line up and many of the walls where clad with stainless steel which made things take a tad longer.