K
kai
Why was there an aversion towards earthing lighting circuits before 1966?? - I am just curious.
Was it ever acceptable to have class 1 lights on a lighting ciircuit without an earth?
- Thread starter sparkwright
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I wouldn't call it an aversion.
Could it be because there were no exposed-c-ps. ?
Could it be because there were no exposed-c-ps. ?
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I'm sure I've seen rubber t+e lighting installations WITH earth present - whether this was because 2 amp sockets were present, or it was before 13th edition, or whatever.
It does seem odd many lighting circuits didn't have an earth - so many houses even now are wired in otherwise good condition PVC PVC, yet no earth.
A lot of old brass light fittings and the like didn't even have earth terminals, even shallow depth metal switch boxes didn't always have an earth terminal.
I would have thought more electricians in the 50s and early 60s would have had the foresight to include an earth wire, even if the bare cores were just twisted together and shoved in the ceiling void.
It does seem odd many lighting circuits didn't have an earth - so many houses even now are wired in otherwise good condition PVC PVC, yet no earth.
A lot of old brass light fittings and the like didn't even have earth terminals, even shallow depth metal switch boxes didn't always have an earth terminal.
I would have thought more electricians in the 50s and early 60s would have had the foresight to include an earth wire, even if the bare cores were just twisted together and shoved in the ceiling void.
Not an aversion as such, just not considered necessary in many cases. Many people today seem to have the impression that there was no requirement for earths on any lighting prior to 1966, but as the exemption from the 13th edition I posted above shows, that's not so. Earths were still specified where metal switches were used, where fluorescent lighting fixtures were employed, and where other light fittings were mounted so that they could be touched by somebody standing on the floor, could be touched simultaneously with earthed metalwork (e.g. a radiator), and so on.
When it comes to plug-in appliances, over here in the U.S. the National Electrical Code gradually added the requirement for receptacles in specific locations to provide a ground connection over the years in specific locations, such as laundry and kitchen. It didn't require 3-prong outlets throughout the whole house until 1962.
Or because it was during the 13th edition period but used where that edition still required earths, e.g. to fluorescent lighting fixtures or wall lights not mounted out of reach.
You could - I've got one somewhere. Beautifully chrome plated too.
I initially considered that if an earthed lampholder and an iron with a brass bayonet plug connected to the iron's earth core - this may make an earth connection to the iron.
For a moment I misread that as "connected to the earth's iron core"!
Brass lampholders certainly had exposed-c-ps, as did the switched with screw-on brass covers.
I wonder if a lot of this (and not necessarily only in relation to lighting circuits) resulted from a leftover of the mindset from the days when TT installations were far more common, fuses were re-wireable and RCDs (or even VO-ELCBs) had not even been dreamed about. In that situation, 'fault protection', as we know it ("ADS"), would very often be unattainable (particularly if one were relying on an earth rod rather than a water supply pipe!), so the only really effect of earthing anything would be to increase the chances of someone who came into contact with line/live to also be touching 'earth' at the same time (and hence receiving a shock)?
Kind Regards, John
Good luck driving that earth rod in.
Reminds me of that Hilary Swank film.
Other versions had a bakelite front cover over a porcelain base, but still with rewireable ceramic fuses with asbestos carrier linings, and double-pole fusing.
This old switchgear survived for a long time in many homes. My grandparents house in north London still had a cellar full of it in the late 1970's, along with later additions such as the ubiquitous black bakelite cased MEM individual switchfuse units where circuits had been added or rewired over the years. Much of the lighting still had 1920's/1930's style rewireable fuses (double-pole) in glass-fronted polished wooden cabinets mounted high up on the wall.
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Yeah. I have a sample on my cable board.
I'll post a piccy at a more convenient time.
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