So, whats the opinion on this?

[Gavin77]

Evening
Had the lid off the consumer unit to check something and found some disconnected wires laying inside the box. Now I realise that they are not likely to move into harms way, but to me, its not safe. The one in the chock block simply exits the bottom of the consumer unit and terminates with bare conductors in the cupboard. The bare ends of the thick wires near the cable entry point (arrowed but not really visible in the photo) I don't know where they terminate the other end. Probably behind the tiles in the kitchen.

Apart from that, the circuit for the electric shower had a loose earth and also there was a loose earth on one of the ring mains.

Untitled

• Gavin77
• 4 Mar 2011
• 1

 

[sherlockholmes]

Check they're dead, cut and chuck if it bothers you. Check all connections are secure if you haven't already, and you could get a PIR if you're worried about the general state of the electrics.

 

[chivers67]

Looks untidy could do with a general clean up, I don't like the bare wires showing on the neutral cable to the right of the photo.

 

[Gavin77]

Cheers for the comments.
Ive already removed the dead wires and tightened the loose connections. I was just curious as to wether it was a case of

"Its a bit messy but OK" or
"Was the previous owner trying to kill himself?"

The thing i really didnt like was the bare conductor laying in a box with a live busbar and the other bare end laying in the cupboard below.

But based on your comments it looks like no. 1 is more the case. I blame my day job for making me question it (medical electronics)

Have a good weekend

 

[sparkwright]

If you are not sure where the cables go, or think they could be utilised in the future, fit some connector blocks on the ends. You can tape up the connector blocks if it will make you happier.

 

[Adam_151]

Tape up the ends as said and push them to one side away from the busbar and it'll be alright.

Other points - no RCD, ensure that you use a plug in RCD adapater for garden tools

Those look like old square D Qo-x breakers, type 4 iirc, and the max zs to hit 0.4 disconnection on anything exceeding a 20A device is unlikely to be met in a domestic setting

 

[ricicle]

Please ensure that you are competant before you go poking around in your CU !

 

[Gavin77]

Other points - no RCD, ensure that you use a plug in RCD adapater for garden tools

Blimey. Well im slighly embarrassed to say that I never noticed that and all this time I thought the house was RCD protected!

Yes there are outdoor sockets. And I assume that any new electrical work in a kitchen/bathroom requires RCD protection now, so I guess its a new consumer unit some time soon - more expense

I'll get a plug in rcd for when using the outdoor sockets which will make me feel happier in the short term.