Earth Bonding Help Please

[angellonewolf]

can i ask if you guy goes round to some house puts in a ring main extension and then test do you not warrent there work as well ask you have worked on the ring main to say it safe ?

 

[Sharpend]

No, not unless asked too, we will certificate our own works as instructed, which may or may not be notifiable, we will carry out an EICR (electrical installation condition report) if instructed to do so, we may advise if something in particular catches our eye whilst carrying out the requested work. Most of us I shouldn't think are in the position to carry our EICR for free every time we are asked to do a job.

 

[angellonewolf]

but if you work on a circuit eg ring main add to and then test you test the whole ring main ? if you find no problems the whole ring main is tested and to the reg and you provide p cert to say its ok same as if you work on lighting circuit you test to say the circuit is ok

 

[Steve3948]

I once got asked to install a fused connection unit in an airing cupboard in a house, when I asked what it was for the guy said future use, then asked you will give a certificate for this won't you, I replied yes minor works, he replied not for the whole house then, uh no I said, I won't bother then he said goodbye.

I went to a house 6 months ago to do a periodic for a landlord, on arrival I noticed straight away everything looked new.

Landlord arrived and I said this looks new, he said yes your doing an Installation certificate for me, I said no you asked for periodic so its that or nothing, he said do the periodic then but no VAT, I said what, and he then explains he had a grant and the work is zero rated.

I made my excuses and left saying I would get back to him, never heard from him again so someone sorted it for him.

 

[ProDave]

in both boxes there is a lot for free spaces to connect the bonding cable but was asking witch on would be the best to put the bonding cable to as on has a poss 4mm cable the other has 6mm earth cable

It's been said before, but I'll say it one more time in case you missed it.

Get "your mate" to upgrade the earth connections to BOTH cu's to 16mm, then you can connect it to the top one without concern.

Surely "your mate" can do a like for like replacement of an existing short bit of earth cable with a thicker one without killing anybody can't he?

At the same time confirm what earthing arangement you really have and confirm that it really is tncs, otherwise you should not be connecting the earth to that neutral block anyway.

Instead of fixing the problem, you seem to want someone to just tell you which is the "least bodge" way of doing it without putting anything right.

 

[Sharpend]

Clearly you wish to save money which is fine, but can't you afford to buy your mate a drink for taking a look?? If he knows his stuff then he'll probably do it with his eyes closed (almost)!!

 

[Doc Hudson]

yes i have friend that is going to come round and do the megger testing and earthloop and so and so to confirm all is ok but have cheaked that he can sign the part p him self not part of a company so he can do the deed and at the end ok the day i am trying to save my self a few quid by putting in the bondingmyself or he will charge me for doing work i can do my self

i know this rubs against the grain as its how you guys make you money but i have 4 kids work 6 days a week just to keep things going and any money i can save i can put in to my family

I know this rubs against the grain, but people who ask questions then ignore the professional advice given really need to question why they bother asking in the first place? From what you say you only value the safety of your loved ones by the few quid you think you may or may not save by doing half a job. Most people I know who genuinely care for their loved ones do not cut corners on essential safety issues. (you can probably save a few more pounds by running your car uninsured, without tax and on bald tyres. It may not be very safe for your family though?)

As you are unable to tell us the earthing arrangements then the person you need to ask is the person doing the signing off of this work, as it will be their name on a certificate and accepting liability if things do go wrong. That is assuming the 'friend' does actually exist? If the earthing arrangements are incorrect, in the event of a fault, it can be the difference between a mild shock and a fatal shock. There are plenty of newspapers articles of persons tragically killed by poor electrical work and the young and elderly are always more vulnerable.

I struggle to understand why someone you have spoken to about signing off the work is not willing or able to offer you the advice to ensue the job is done to his satisfaction, as he will be signing the certificate. I would have thought that most electricians are quite happy to speak to their clients about ongoing projects and jobs that are part completed. Unless they are just imaginary friends?

Doc H.

 

[angellonewolf]

thanks for all the help i contacted weston power distribution but thay had no record of what the installation is so i think best left to my sparks

 

[angellonewolf]

thanks for all the help i contacted weston power distribution but thay had no record of what the installation is so i think best left to my sparks he recommended a periodic inspection with a cert at the end with some 6 pages fo stuff

i said about the bonding i had done but not connected he said he will have a look test the ze and if the work is ok test charge me to connect it witch should poss save me a bit but he said the bonding would have not taken a long amouth of time to do so not much saved there but it was a learning curve

sorry the vague details it was a more than a few mins of conversation and trying to remember it all

again thanks

 

[binky]

get DNO out to inspect and update their records - tell them sparky said it may be dangerous, should get quick response

 

[Doc Hudson]

thanks for all the help i contacted weston power distribution but thay had no record of what the installation is so i think best left to my sparks

Even though ESQCR regulations 28 gives a legal obligation for them to provide this information upon request.

Doc H

 

[apprentice87]

Hi There, Just some of my newbie observations!!! First off, as the supply appears at least to be TNCS the earthing conductor to the first Cu is far too small and the wrong colour, and secondly, apart from you stating yourself that the earthing conductor to the second CU is too small, can you tell us what this second CU feeds??

Reason for asking is; it appears that you have exported the TNCS earth to "somewhere else" Now, this might be ok depending on circumstances, BUT, the protective bonding conductor to the second installation MUST be the correct size in relation to the size of your incoming neutral regardless of the size of the live conductors that feed the second installation. What i mean is, you could run a 2.5mm cable out to your second installation, but you would HAVE to install AT LEAST a 10mm protective bonding conductor. Now, i do not know what size the flat twin and earth cable leading out of the CU feeds, or what earthing arrangements you have made at the other end, but i doubt very much that the cable cpc is going to be large enough to double as the protective bonding conductor...

Some photos and details of what is at the other end of that would be good too!!!

john...

 

[angellonewolf]

Just an uP date on how things went sparky came round (out of local pages with recomdations from a person that uses him now and again) got a 6 page report had to do a few things mostly basic stuff earth sleveing missing on 2 wall lights 2 light fitting that was earthed but not tucked in to ceiling not in the rose so had to take apart and fix.he cheaked the ze that was fine but said get meb round to update it done insulation restance tests and trip test all passed fine all for a reasonable £85 I done the earth sleveing bits my self he tested and terminated the earth bonding apart from by the time he left he was full of coffee and cake poss helped

 

[col]

Coffee & cake ALWAYS help

 

[IzzyS]

he was full of coffee and cake

I hope you gave his guide-dog something too.

 

[Ray4438]

£85 for the testing good what did he say re the board???

 

[angellonewolf]

said yes he could recomed a full rewire as the some of the wireing is old  and changing the board to a normal switched with an rcd but in the real world the tests all pass so yes i agree it could do with doing but is not unsafe and passes all tests ok

thanks for all your help just wanted to give you feed back as most things you never hear the end result

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

he was full of coffee and cake
I hope you gave his guide-dog something too.

I put this forward for post of the year  :Applaud

 

[angellonewolf]

what you mean becouse i actualy to took some advice and got it done with a pro insted of trying to bodge it myself lol