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Welcome to MyLocalElectrician.co.uk and your resident electrician. If you would like to ask me your electrical questions about the electrics in your home, are worried about your electrics or anything else you would like to ask an electrician please feel free to ask me.
Consumer unit change
Do you need to be part P Registered to change a consumer unit / fuse box ?
Shower problem
Dear Resident Electrician,
I am hoping you can help me with a problem I have had recently with my shower. I live in a rented house so have no idea on the quality of the electricals.
The shower is electric and whilst taking a shower it began to smoke emitting an awful rancid smell. Of course I immediately turned the shower off, and for sometime afterwards it was still smoking. It turns out the outer casing has melted at the top leaving a hole exposing the inside of the casing!
this shower should not be used until it has been certified safe by an approved electrician. what i mean by certified is that a installation certificate complying with BS7671 is shown to you the end user.
However if you have smoke coming from an electrical appliance that you cannot disconnect immediately call the emergency services.It can KILL.
Minor works or Installation certificate ?
I am going to move an existing socket on a ring main to a position about two metres away and also install an extra supply for three bedroom down lights off of the existing lighting loop.
Would you supply a minor works certificate or an installation certificate for these works?
Chapter 63 17 edition BS7671 633.1/2 THE PERSON CARRYING OUT OR RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WORK SHOULD ISSUE A MINOR WORKS CERT ONLY WHEN A CIRCUIT IS EXTENDED OR ALTERED.THIS APPLIES TO EACH CIRCUIT.
SWA cable use
To what extent do the sparks on here use SWA cable and what if any problems do you encounter.
Hi sacsman, I mainly do domestic work so my extent of using armoured cables are limited. What I mean by this is that I generally don't use swa much bigger than 16mm, Which I am quite happy with! I can't think of any problems I have encountered with armoured cable except on one occasion, must have been a few years back, I had installed a four core 1.5mm for some two way outside garden lights and one of the cores were broken somewhere along the length. Luckly I always check armoured cable BEFORE I bury it i the ground!
Kew Technik make a tool for stripping armoured cable. but must confess i haven't tried it yet.looks like a plumbers pipe cutter.
as i am mainly an idustrial electrician i come into pvc/swa/pvc on a regualar basis if installed correctly you should very rarly come across any problems (but that goes without saying on any istallation) problems usualy occure when it is not installed properly ei. burried 2" below ground full of stones and rock, or bent to tight on its self, but as a rule it is a very cost affective way to install when priced against trunking ect for a single circuit install, also does have a reasionable amount of mechanical protection and some xlpe versions will give you a slightly higher current carrying cappacity,
Why does our system keep tripping out?
Hi, I know nothing about electrics, so I hope I can explain this clearly enough.
Dear Gary,
Many thanks for such a prompt and comprehensive reply. We are indeed gradually changing to low-energy bulbs, but it's a slow process, and I didn't realise that low-energy halogen bulbs were available. Following your advice, we'll speed up the process and change them all. As you say, it's cheaper as well as being better for the environment! If that doesn't stop the problem, We'll follow those links and arrange for a Periodic inspection report.
Thanks again, your help is much appreciated.
DW
Dear DW,
I am so sorry to hear about the problems you are having with the electrics in your home. Without inspection and testing of your properties electrics it would be very hard to establish the cause of the problems but there are a number of possible things that spring to mind for me. There are a number of options open to you and there is something that you could try with regards to your lights tripping out. I don’t know if you use energy saving bulbs around your home but if you were, over time of course due to the cost of these bulbs, to replace your existing ones with these energy saving types you may find that the tripping of the lights may stop. I have come across on my travels of inferior bulbs causing this type of problem. The reason being is when a standard light bulb blows it can sometimes trip the circuit breaker of the lighting circuit that the bulb is connected to. Maybe having your kitchen under cabinet fittings replaced was a good thing as I am sure these were probably replaced with a fluorescent or energy saving light of some sort. Also your halogen bulbs in your kitchen and attic room can be changed for energy saving versions although they are a little more expensive than a bayonet or Edison screw type. By doing this, over time, not only will the bulbs last much longer and less likely to trip out your circuit breaker but you will also save energy and keep your electric bill down!
With regards to your sockets, you maybe or may not be aware but three years ago the regulations were different to what they are now. The main difference for you would be the consumer unit / fuse box. Your consumer unit should be what they call “ split load “. This basically means that when you had your rewire done your sockets would be on the RCD protected side of the board, and your lighting would be on the Main switch side of the board. Again without seeing your consumer unit it is impossible to tell if it is the RCD that is tripping or the circuit breaker. What I would suggest here is if it is the RCD ( the wider trip with a test button on it ) that is tripping all you need to do is unplug every appliance in your home then switch the RCD back on. If it holds on then move around your home plugging things in one at a time. If when you plug something in and it trips it could be that appliance that is at fault.
To ease your mind about the worries you have about your electrics there is something that you can do. I really would not worry too much about having to have your home rewired again as this is very unlikely.
What I would suggest you do, but there unfortunately will be a small cost involved but obviously nothing near to the cost of a rewire!, but like anything it depends how long it takes the electrician to test your property, is contact a local electrician through one of the governing bodies below:-
http://www.niceic.com/en/findacontractor/index.asp
http://www.elecsa.co.uk/searchbypostcode.aspx
http://www.napit.org.uk/fastSearch.asp
and then ask an electrician if they could do a “ Periodic inspection report “ for your property. The reasonable price for this should be between £180 - £300 depending on the size of your property. When they come and do the test the readings that they get along with other visual inspections will determine the integrity of the wiring in your home. After the test is complete you will receive some paper work and or certificate and any recommendations , if any.
When this is done you will have the knowledge and peace of mind that your property is electrically safe and if you have any further problems you also have that governing body to help and advise you further if necessary.
I hope I have been of help to you and it would be great to hear how you get on.
Kind regards,
Gary.
Some zealous DIY
I was hoping to get some help from an electrician. I am living in the UK and have just bought a house. A friend of mine knew the previous owners and confirmed that they did a lot of DIY including a significant amounf of modifications to the ring mains and the lighting circuits.
Dear Mr C,
You are correct when you say that most work has to be carried out by a "competent person". You can get someone to have a look at your electrics in your home by the means of a P.I.R ( Periodic Inspection Report ). This basicly means that the Electrician you choose will inspect and test the electrical circuits and outlets in your property and will be able to detemine the integrity of the circuits in your home.
This does come at a cost, usually between £180 - £300 depending on your property and how many circuits etc. After then the electrician will provide you with the P.I.R report and or certificate.
But please do remember that only the Electrician or company that carried out the works can supply you with a completion certificate for any works that have been carried out after part p was introduced. If any electrical works were carried out after part p was introduced, excluding " Like for like " Changes, then a certificate should have been issued.
It does really depend on what you require the certificate for, But generally a P.I.R should be ok and will also give you some piece of mind.
To find a " Competent Person " / Part P certified electrician in your area please follow the links below to a number of electrical governing body websites.
http://www.niceic.com/en/findacontractor/index.asp
http://www.elecsa.co.uk/searchbypostcode.aspx
http://www.napit.org.uk/fastSearch.asp
I hope this is of help to you and please let me know how you get on!
Gazza.
As a foot note to my previous reply bear in mind the cost of asking the local council to cert your work.Could be recuperated by the cost of two or three council visits.so it makes sense to join a scheme.
short answer yes, but you can install a consumer unit if you ask your local council to test and inspect & certify your work.