rewirehell

[DIYer86]

currently none of my lighting circuits are earthed... instead of having my lighting totally rewired is it possible to just have some single core earths put in between the switches n tothe lights??

 

[Chri5]

You need to have earths at the ceiling rose / light fitting and at the switches.

By the time you run earths everywhere for the lights, it's no harder to provide new TE wiring- with the bonus that everything is new, so new wiring won't be required for 30+ years.

Have you tried spliting the existing sheath, there may be an earth (cpc) which has been cut out,

 

[ericmark]

543.6.1 Where overcurrent protective devices are used for fault protection, the protective conductor shall be incorporated in the same wiring system as the live conductors or in their immediate proximity.

Also if not part of the same conductor there are minimum sizes and as a result it is just as much work to install an earth as the whole cable.

 

[Buzx1313]

if all of your switches and lights are plastic then dont worry about it..

you will only have to earth metal accsesories..

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[Buzx1313]

if all of your switches and lights are plastic then dont worry about it..

you will only have to earth metal accsesories..

That is very bad advice, because if there is no earth wire it indicates an installation that is over 45 years old, ie probably long overdue a rewire.

DIYer86, you need a PIR (periodic inspection and report) to be carried out to determine the condition of the wiring.

not if its PVC ,, will out live most of us,, just because its old doesnt mean its unsafe..

but i agree geta test done...

 

[Taylortwocities]

just because its old doesnt mean its unsafe..

Unlike Holmslaw, who would appear to have both attributes

 

[Adam_151]

That is very bad advice, because if there is no earth wire it indicates an installation that is over 45 years old, ie probably long overdue a rewire.

not if its PVC ,, will out live most of us,, just because its old doesnt mean its unsafe..

PVC insulation was in its infancy in the 1960s (thats if it was PVC, some of it was a non pvc based plastic [looks very shiney compared to pvc], that they tried out for a while) and anyway, much of this early pvc had issues such as the plasticiser leaching out of teh pvc and emerging at terminations as green fluid after reacting with the copper

Somewhere along the line aluminium snook in, and then was soon booted back out again, metric sizes came along and it took them a little while to work out that 2.5 needed more than a 1mm cpc, it wasn't until the early 80's that 6242Y became what it is now (colour changes aside)

 

[1john]

The only time I have noticed a problem with early PVC cables is it they have been in contact with hot water or central heating pipes, other than that the give good insulation resistance readings.