Odd colour combinations. (Or are they?)

[Evans Electric]

Second fixing a kitchen today that I 1st fixed four weeks ago . We had determined with the customer that the oven was to need a 30A supply and the hob was gas .

Customer alters it without telling me, so I fit a 45A DP switch ,connect the 6mm , pull the oven out ready to connect the 6mm tail, theres a 1.5 flex hanging out the back.!! Oh well I think , derate the breaker , waste of expensive 6mm.

Go to connect the cooker extract , glance at the gas hob, Oh look! Its become a 30A Induction hob !!! And all I've left is a spur off the ring to feed the ignition . Wonderful.

So , have to divert the 6mm underneath and up to the hob, which has a 4 X 2.5 flex on it . The cores are crimped together into pairs, I go to connect the pair with the Brown to L and think, best just read the bumph first .

Brown crimped with Blue is Neutral ........ Black crimped with Grey is Live . It can be used on 230v X 2ph with 2 neuts ...... 230v X 3ph with 1 neut or 230v SP....... BUT NOT 415v X 3PH .

Must admit that brown threw me for a minute ,and the L being Bk/Gy HHhmmm . A Smeg thing BTW .

So moral for today is :-

(a) Never assume the customer has any sense.

(B) Always read the bumph first .

 

[Andy™]

earth? they usually have a metallic bottom that would be exposed?

 

[Evans Electric]

I didn't mention the earth for clarity, Andy. It was Green/Yell BTW.

 

[Andy™]

well at least they got something right

 

[Sidewinder]

Smeg, from Zee Fazerland zen!

Zis ezplains zee kolor kode.

 

[Zeespark]

What?

AndyGuinness

 

[ProDave]

I'm sure most of us old timers, if we had been designing that hob, would have used the black and the blue for neutral, and the brown and the grey for live.

But under the "new" colours, black is a phase colour.

So they had to use a phase colour as a neutral, so whatever they did it would be equally "wrong", it's just old timers like me don't have so much of a problem with a black neutral as a brown one.

This brings me to a related subject. Am I the only one that thinks the 3 core cable colours we have are inappropriate?

We only have available to us, 3 core cable with 3 phase colours. Most applications (timer fans and many configurations of 2 way lighting etc) would really be better with a neutral and two phase colours. So why does nobody make 3 core cable as blue brown and grey?

It just seems a poor job that the only available cables often force us to use a phase colour as neutral.

 

[Evans Electric]

I feel the same TBH . On domestic stuff like using the 3 core for timer fans , I use the black for neut and I care not what anyone says , Bro for L and grey for the SW/L . And I can't be arsed to pi$$ about with coloured sleeving either , like thats something else I have to tote around in the van . Trouble with making a special cable , say 2 browns and a blue we would then moan that we have to buzz out the 2nd brown.

 

[Andy™]

I use the black for neut and I care not what anyone says , Bro for L and grey for the SW/L .

same here

 

[Zeespark]

Deke, If you have one brown on one side of the CPC, and the other brown on the far side of the black or grey, then you could easily identify it by eye rather than have to run a continuity test to find out which brown is which. Just My thoughts.

AndyGuinness

 

[steptoe]

And the difference to using the old colours is?

Still had to use a phase colour for neutral.

You have just changed from using L3 to using L2, you naughty naughty people,

Get on your horse and get outta town!

 

[m4tty]

[quote name='Andy

 

[Evans Electric]

Deke, If you have one brown on one side of the CPC, and the other brown on the far side of the black or grey, then you could easily identify it by eye rather than have to run a continuity test to find out which brown is which. Just My thoughts.AndyGuinness

Now thats what I call a good idea. :Applaud

 

[Sidewinder]

I can get you cable like Zee's post guys if you want it please let me know!

Say from one side to the other brown, cpc, blue, brown, no problem at all.

 

[SteveT]

I must be really anal - I use black for Neutral, sleeved with blue, brown for Live and grey, sleeved with Brown for switched live looks lovely!

 

[kme]

And I use grey sleeved blue for neutral, as the black is (supposedly) being "de-neutralised" - so it`s my sw/L - I see no need to sleeve it, its a phase colour.

 

[Sidewinder]

I'm with the tall one above.

Sorry guys I follow the thinking of de-neutralising black.

Thing is we have to cater for the muppets and unfortunately they are every where!

 

[SteveT]

All three, black, brown and Grey are phase colours and as householders/DIY'ers are still confused most think Black is neutral, thats behind my thinking although all are acceptable as long as ther are sleeved appropriately, but I take your point about 'De-neutralising' - shame we cant do something to the bodgers!

 

[Sidewinder]

Oh Steve that would be heavenly!

Imaging, (shh don't say this tooo loud!) what if we could fix the colour codes to electrocute them and get them out of the scene! ] ROTFWL

 

[Sidewinder]

^ me too funnily enough!