Canadian electrics

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

Whilst visiting my brother in Canada last month he got me to put up all the light fittings in his newly refurbished house.

The code (regulation to us) is all lighting positions must have a back box fixed to the building structure. Here is a typical box that comes supplied with a grommet and the fitting screws. All wiring is looped at the switches and the cpc's are bare.

I saw no screw connectors but these everywhere

Note the box diameter is that of most light fixtures now seen in the UK. Now i know why !

The houses are fed from an overhead system with all the meters on the outside like this ( this is his neighbours as i couldnt be bothered to go round the other side) The sparky has to supply this conduit and box for the distributers which in Toronto are called Hydro as the electrikery comes mainly from Niagra falls.

This is where the supply enters his board

The bare cable is the main earth. I was told its a TNS Supply.

This is his new board. The supply is 220v, 2 phase with 110v on each phase. The 220v are 2 pole breakers for heavy equipment like his AC, washing machine, drier etc. A few Rcd are there which they call Ground break interupters

This is a typical switch arrangment found inside a bathroom (ok, his is a posh mirror plate on a mirror) All switches and sockets are grid. Here he has a couple of light switches, A countdown timer for the extract fan (seectable time on) and a 'Rcd' socket

---------- AUTO MERGE Post added at 18:23 ---------- Previous post was at 18:15 ----------

Note the square drive screws on the plate. These are known as 'Jones' drive and are on 95% of all Canadian 'stuff'

 

[Zeespark]

Thanks for that Slips, in time I am looking to vanish over that way, apparently the Canadians have dumped AWG in favour of metric cable sizes. If you want to know a bit more about this, watch one of the Holmes On Homes television shows.

AndyGuinness

 

[Larnacaman]

So Slip, what did you you think of the size of there wall switches, and the size of there lighting back boxes?? ...lol!!!

If only they would dump the American wiring system and accessories too....

Believe it or not, that DB installation shown in the photo above is what our North American friends call a neat installation. ...There's a good chance that you'll see plenty of those screw-it's (wing-nuts) in that DB panel too!!! The supply as you described, is what they call, ''single phase 3 wire''

That DB, must have around 60 ways on it, .... for a domestic!!!

As a point of interest, check out the time/current characteristics of those Yank breakers. See how they compare with our standard type B, ....or even our type C come to that!!!

That GFI socket outlet in the bathroom, will be there standard 6mA.

 

[Megaohm7]

Slips. Do they have to notify work in Canada?

 

[Zeespark]

They do have to notify, and over there they mix their circuits, with a maximum of 12 outlets on any one circuit.

AndyGuinness

 

[Megaohm7]

They do have to notify, and over there they mix their circuits, with a maximum of 12 outlets on any one circuit.AndyGuinness

I'm glad we're not a minority then with the notification..but Interesting that a maximum of 12 outlets on a circuit.I take it they're all radials?

 

[revjames]

thanks for that, very interesting. I came across square drives in NZ and love them. Can't understand why you would ever use slot or pozi again.

 

[Zeespark]

Yes but they do have a max distance of 12 feet between accessories (6ft cords on things there), but I have seen a ring used once on a huge house there.

AndyGuinness

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

Thanks for that Slips, in time I am looking to vanish over that way, apparently the Canadians have dumped AWG in favour of metric cable sizes. If you want to know a bit more about this, watch one of the Holmes On Homes television shows.AndyGuinness

Yep, i watch Holmes on homes. A lot more factual than the carp we get here such as cowboy builders etc. Cant comment on metric sizes though.

 

[Zeespark]

Yes, and Mike actually practices what He preaches, which is a sorely missed manner in todays society.

AndyGuinness

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

So Slip, what did you you think of the size of there wall switches, and the size of there lighting back boxes?? ...lol!!!If only they would dump the American wiring system and accessories too....

Believe it or not, that DB installation shown in the photo above is what our North American friends call a neat installation. ...There's a good chance that you'll see plenty of those screw-it's (wing-nuts) in that DB panel too!!! The supply as you described, is what they call, ''single phase 3 wire''

That DB, must have around 60 ways on it, .... for a domestic!!!

As a point of interest, check out the time/current characteristics of those Yank breakers. See how they compare with our standard type B, ....or even our type C come to that!!!

That GFI socket outlet in the bathroom, will be there standard 6mA.

Yes, its all the same spec as Yanky stuff. Those ceiling boxes are about 100mm diameter, a bit tricky to see in the pics. Did you notice the 'bare' door bell tranny R/H side bottom of the board ? Its certainly made me realise how 'backwards' we are in having to stuff connectors up behind light fittings.

---------- AUTO MERGE Post added at 00:53 ---------- Previous post was at 00:43 ----------

thanks for that, very interesting. I came across square drives in NZ and love them. Can't understand why you would ever use slot or pozi again.

The only time i have come across these in the UK was when Telecom security (BT's alarm division) used them.

---------- AUTO MERGE Post added at 01:08 ---------- Previous post was at 00:53 ----------

Last pic

This is his switch inside the back door. Like most peeps living in Toronto they use the back door more than the front as it can hit -40 in a bad winter. They all have storm porches by the house and car ports which have a socket for a 'block heater' which the car plugs in to the mains to stop it freezing overnight. Most people have two sets of wheels, one summer and one with winter (almost tractor) tyres as chains are now banned because they wrecked the roads. This switch above has a timer for the outside low energy lighting and a pir for inside the 'snow' lobby. Its a typical arrangement apparently

 

[Zeespark]

Slips, were you in Toronto?

AndyGuinness

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

Slips, were you in Toronto?AndyGuinness

Yep, try to go at least once a year.

 

[Zeespark]

I was there for a family wedding in 2003, seemed like a breath of fresh air compared to here. I recently saw a pic of the yank side of Niagra falls dammed up. The photo alone was a sight to see.

AndyGuinness

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

The yanks amuse me, i try to get to Toronto to visit my brother and then onto Orlando to meet up with some mates to watch the drag racing each year. As the falls are on the American side of the waters they cant see them that well, so they have built 'half a bridge' so all can cross the river to see the falls but still stay in the USA. Over 90% of Americans dont own a passport

 

[Zeespark]

You can actually switch at the border easily if you have a valid drivers licence from either Canada or America.

AndyGuinness

 

[Larnacaman]

Yes, its all the same spec as Yanky stuff. Those ceiling boxes are about 100mm diameter, a bit tricky to see in the pics. Did you notice the 'bare' door bell tranny R/H side bottom of the board ? Its certainly made me realise how 'backwards' we are in having to stuff connectors up behind light fittings.

Slip,

I've worked on quite a few projects, to the Yanks NEC Codes, there not good!!!

All there boxes are big, too big in many instances, the trouble is there accessories are oversize too, like the light switches. Most are of the old toggle design. When you consider that we can get 5 switches onto a standard switch plate that is about just over half the size of there switches. lol!! I guess they need there back boxes big, to accommodate those god awful wing-nut connectors!!!

Same with there socket outlets, there plates are way over sized for what they are too, almost the size of the old style MK cooker units for a double outlet box. Oh, and there's no such thing in there system as a switch socket outlet. if they want a socket switched (general outlets are all twins) they install a separate switch. That means again, a box and plate roughly the size of that old MK cooker unit... So Big, is not always better...lol

To be honest, i don't have much time for the Yanks way of doing things, and most of there general accessories and wiring methods are a good 30 years behind Europe. 90% of there stuff is built/manufactured to a cost, a low cost!!

Yes i did notice the tranny bolted to the DB, which is why i said that your gonna find those wing nuts in that DB as well...lol!!!

As i said earlier, see if you can find on the web, the time/current characteristics of there standard MCB breakers, ...I think you'll be quite shocked, as well as being cheap and nasty. Mainly manufactured by Federal Electric, Westinghouse, GE, ....there are others but there the main players.

Last pic

This plate is the standard plate that is used for 2 lighting switches /2 socket outlets/ or a switched socket outlet, among other combinations as this is a grid type system. ....BIG ain't it??? ROTFWL :^O

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

You can actually switch at the border easily if you have a valid drivers licence from either Canada or America.AndyGuinness

Not sure if a driving licence alone is good enough nowadays. But thats not the point, Americans just dont want to leave their beloved country.

 

[Lee Sparks]

thanks Slipdash, quite interesting to see how they do things electrical in other countries. bad day explode

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

Forgot to mention, White is neutral & Black is live (which they call the 'hot' line)