Interpretations of the regulations.

[green-hornet]

Interpretations of the regulations

I have noticed from previous posts, that often many discussions are based on personal interpretations of the regulations. This can often get heated as we only have our own conviction of the said regulation.

I actually see this forum as a way of, by user input, putting to bed some contradictions to the regulations.

We all try to install any system to the highest standard and to a large effect many of the forum members know the right way to do this. However we have had discussions where we have argued the right and wrong, knowing that the regulation is open to interpretation. Very similar to the bible I must say.

One instance I can name is the

 

[Graham Lister]

Green hornet sort of agree with what you say but on some issues you will not get agreement. You say about over engineering things but anybody can do that. What is a skill is engineering things to a cost that are just as safe and reliable without needless over engineering. This increases profit and wins more tenders.

Making sure things are going to be safe when they are modified by an amateur isnt one of my prioritys. It isnt a priority as you can never know what some people can do, the black museum illustrates this. An untrained person could wreck the best laid out wiring system in the world.

Just one last point you say you wouldnt have two circuits from one Mcb, well if they are in one mcb then they are one circuit. Sometimes with a radial when adding to it it may be easier to do it at the CU, sure we have all been in this situation.

 

[green-hornet]

Thanks Graham, some points you raised just shows why I posted in the first place.

Many heads make light work, and gives us all other points of views we have yet to consider.

 

[Adie -Be-]

Green - Hornet I could not say it better, although the regs may not be law, they are "BEST PRACTICE" of which we all should strive to work to as a little bit of knowledge is a bad thing as I have had some customers telling me as to how I should be doing my work as that is what they would do.....I am not in the game of knowingly going against the regs.

it is the best of my abillity or not at all.....

 

[green-hornet]

Welcome to the forum Adie -Be- and thank you for your reply. As you can see the point of any post is what we can all input. Whilst I have my own views, as do others we only ever learn by instruction.

 

[Adie -Be-]

Thanks Green-hornet, I used to belong to "Sparky Heaven" when that was closed down I forgot all about it until I was checking my old bookmarks and the serched for it and it led me to this forum...good reading!

 

[Sidewinder]

Thanks Green-hornet, I used to belong to "Sparky Heaven" when that was closed down I forgot all about it until I was checking my old bookmarks and the serched for it and it led me to this forum...good reading!

I think RnR got his wrists slapped for allowing a pdf of 7671 up there!

Not sure though, as you say "Sparky Heaven" has gone to "Internet Heaven" now!

ROTFWL

 

[Evans Electric]

As GH says in his usual erudite way , we all have our different personal ideas of how we do a job. As I tried to show in my thread of many,many moons ago , I had worked with guys who maintained that you can't run cables horizontally across a wall ,either flush T/E or even surface conduit between sockets. Another was the old chestnut of can't pass a neutral through a switch box . Another was you can't fit a pendant in a kitchen.

The problem I found was that they tended to get aggressive when it was pointed out , but I was supervising and estimating back then and they were costing us money in satisfying their personal whims and fancies.

On a job we needed to crack on with , a ward refurb, steel conduit and trunking above a suspended ceiling , we couldn't get any Tee boxes in black enamel for some reason so I dropped them some galvo ones from another job . One of the guys started bawling and shouting as to how rough he thought it was to use a galvo box on black conduit and he would have nothing to do with it. In the end the gaffer said we need to crack on with this we can't afford to be arguing about trivia like this, if you don't like it shove off . (Guy was a Subbie) He stayed and did it and brought a tin of black paint from home to paint the boxes. That also cost us as we ended up paying him to paint boxes .

I don't leave spare MCBs in boards ,the blanked off spaces yes. I looked at a board ages ago and thought ,"Well theres

 

[Andy™]

I think RnR got his wrists slapped for allowing a pdf of 7671 up there!Not sure though, as you say "Sparky Heaven" has gone to "Internet Heaven" now!

ROTFWL

it did get resurrected, but that also went not long after

 

[Andy™]

I don't leave spare MCBs in boards

same here

every time i get a dual split it comes with 10 MCB's, but i normally use 5-8. so i have a large pile of spares.

bit of a bonus every so often when i can just buy a dual split w/o breakers

 

[Nicky Tesla]

has anyone got the "commentary" book for the regs. This may put a lot of people straight.

 

[Riggy]

"I don't leave spare MCBs in boards "

Me neither, because if you go to a fault and ask which MCB tripped, you can bet your bottom dollar they point to one that isn't connected!

And anyway if you have a stash in the van you can be the hero by having the right MCB to fit their board when they want an additional circuit (the fact that you removed it on your last visit is neither here nor there!)

 

[Sidewinder]

has anyone got the "commentary" book for the regs. This may put a lot of people straight.

Yep but Paul's book is only 16th the 17th version has not yet been released as far as I know.

I also have a full set of 17th GN's & the gray deaign book.