Interesting one

[Rob_the_rich]

...The last Nordic GF put me in hospital for four days.

bad case of the :Applaud  was it? :run

 

[Tony S]

bad case of the :Applaud  was it? :run

That doesn’t put you in hospital for surgery.

We played some extreme sports and bits of me got broken.

 

[kerching]

That doesn’t put you in hospital for surgery.

We played some extreme sports and bits of me got broken.

Oh, I don't know.  If someone gave me the clap I am  Fricking sure they would wake up with screens around them

 

[apprentice87]

Any "Plumber" that does not know what LPG stands for is not qualified, end of.... Be a bit like an electrician that did not know what a Coulomb was.. Not something you deal with everyday, but you still know what it is...!!!

Installing gas appliances is a bit like electrical work, sounds like a bit of piss, until you look into it...

For a start off, "we" have to calculate volt drop at various currents etc, well, they have to do the same for pipework.. Gas pipes have to be "sized" just the same as electical cables, and they have to do calcs for length or run, allowances for bends and the like. If they can do that, it is a bit unlikely that they do not know what LPG is...

john...

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

An area of London near me, Edgware is mainly 1930 houses with what looks a TNS supplies but they have no earth connection. I have been to about 10 properties over the last few years & have heard other sparkies commenting the same.

Dno like normal don't want to know and claim any earth clamp was not theirs. 

Once when having a freindly chat to a higher level 'inspector' on site over a coffee  in that area, i put it to him that aside everything else his supply was dangerous as the 3m of exposed lead cable containing 400v (many houses there have 3 phase) was potentially dangerous as it was not earthed. He admitted to  me it was a problem for them as back in the 1920-30s it was all TT  supplies as it was put in for lighting only as gas replacements with no earth. Sockets were added and it was normal to use the water lead pipe to earth the system. Forward to the late 60s their own fitters started putting clamps  on their sheaths as the lead was a good earth, forward to the 90s with the pavements & roads  being dug up  monthly for lead water, steel gas pipes replacement, cable tv and BT upgrades all by numerous private utility contractors their now old  soldered lead  joint were cracking when being disturbed  and giving either no continuity or very high resistance.

An interesting coffee break that got the road dug up outside the house and the cable repaired to restore the earth ( maybe the selection of biscuits swung it).

 

[ThomasWinfrey]

Interesting matter!

 

[Murdoch]

Back to the op, when was the service head replaced?

I can't believe that they wouldn't have alerted the householder to the problem.

 

[New Venture!]

Service head was replaced six months ago. 

I agree, it seems incredible the DNO wouldn't flag this, but the customer isn't someone who asks a mate to do any electrical work. The consumer unit was changed by a registered electrical contractor who's still in business and by all accounts seems a reputable company. Same with the work he wanted me to do, he called in a registered electrician (me!) to do it as opposed to a pal.

His home is now safe but he wants some answers so is chasing the DNO for confirmation of what they think the supply should be. He has my report of what I found and he's going to keep me up to date on what happens. 

 

[binky]

I can't believe that they wouldn't have alerted the householder to the problem.

they are under no legal obligation to supply an earth. plus, the guys (and Miss SS)  they send out aren't trained electricians, they are cable fitters. Then they have meter fitters, then there are Technicians who are actual electricians, but I'm not sure if they are trained in domestic electrics. Long gone are the days when the DNO would refuse to supply electric to a house because the electrics are dangerous. This is what happens when you privatise an industry and profits for shareholders is the motivation. My own local team, who are very helpful, keep telling how they are struggling with lack of information due to cuts in the admin staff.

 

[Murdoch]

they are under no legal obligation to supply an earth. plus, the guys (and Miss SS)  they send out aren't trained electricians, they are cable fitters. Then they have meter fitters, then there are Technicians who are actual electricians, but I'm not sure if they are trained in domestic electrics. Long gone are the days when the DNO would refuse to supply electric to a house because the electrics are dangerous. This is what happens when you privatise an industry and profits for shareholders is the motivation. My own local team, who are very helpful, keep telling how they are struggling with lack of information due to cuts in the admin staff.

I didn't say that!

Alert the customer to the issue means leave a leaflet advising them to get a spark in - BUT if they remove a supply head with an earth connection they SHOULD have done something...... but we are all guessing.

 

[binky]

no, I said that, but that is the case, like it or not.

if the head had an earth they re-connect it. If it didn't, they don't give a damn. The fitter may have made an error, or it may not have been connected before they got to the property. As I said earlier, you will never prove it either way. What this indicates is what you get when you privatise an industry and standards are allowed forced to drop to the legal minimum...

 

[Blue Duck]

I'm having issues with UKPN at the moment, 2 jobs where access times are awkward due to the clients being disabled, time and time again I tell them what the deal is and their equipment is in a dangerous condition and needs replaced.

I explain until I'm blue in the face and they keep turning up at 9pm expecting access!

This is what happens when you sell your infrastructure to a Chinese bank.

Just imagine what it will be like when they own the politicians have sold them all of our electrical network.

 

[New Venture!]

Just had an email update from the homeowner regarding this. The DNO have held their hands up, confirmed it is a TNC-S supply and admitted their installer made a mistake. Another installer has now reinstated the earth connection. 

 

[Blue Duck]

Close call I'd say, somebody would have been in the dock.

 

[binky]

Just had an email update from the homeowner regarding this. The DNO have held their hands up, confirmed it is a TNC-S supply and admitted their installer made a mistake. Another installer has now reinstated the earth connection. 

corporate responsibilty actually being responsible....whatever next.

 

[Tony S]

Just had an email update from the homeowner regarding this. The DNO have held their hands up, confirmed it is a TNC-S supply and admitted their installer made a mistake. Another installer has now reinstated the earth connection. 

Was the householder holding a gun to their head?

 

[New Venture!]

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

I'm having issues with UKPN at the moment, 2 jobs where access times are awkward due to the clients being disabled, time and time again I tell them what the deal is and their equipment is in a dangerous condition and needs replaced.

I explain until I'm blue in the face and they keep turning up at 9pm expecting access!

This is what happens when you sell your infrastructure to a Chinese bank.

Just imagine what it will be like when they own the politicians have sold them all of our electrical network.

We have just completed on Monday  a new service change over on a retail unit. Application was put in last October and the job finished 23 December 15 apart from the bigger supply. A catalogue of disasters and mistakes by the DNO & UK power that you could not make up that's gone on all year. What made it worse was we are in N London and the Job was in York. Final mistake last week was the new service, 200A TP&N was to have a CT chamber. We have about 99A per phase & could not trust any 100A equipment . Supplier dropped off all equipment for us to fix, this done my guy drove down last week a meter fixer turned up with a standard 3 phase meter, he didn't even know what a CT chamber was. This week it all got connected & the old supply cut off . The metering guy left without a goodbye whilst my colleague was  on the phone but the shop was dead, the metering guy had fitted meter, sealed the chamber livened it all up but not bolted on our tails that were lugged off & hanging in front of his equipment  X(

 

[apprentice87]

I would have put it right myself, and told the supplier [meter bods] that if they were not happy with this they would be sued for costs involved because of all the delays... What could they say?? would be a laugh in court.. That you were not "competent" to connect up the equipment??? Their own bod did not even know what it was, never mind how to connect it..

john..

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

I would have put it right myself, and told the supplier [meter bods] that if they were not happy with this they would be sued for costs involved because of all the delays... What could they say?? would be a laugh in court.. That you were not "competent" to connect up the equipment??? Their own bod did not even know what it was, never mind how to connect it..

john..

We did. We  & the shop fitters have been paid for numerous visits including overnight stays in a local hotel. Its a high street chain and their legal department is on the case. We had the number of the top guy who said we could break the seals and connect it ourselves, he would send someone back in a few days to reseal.