Opinions On Eicr Codes?

[Blue Duck]

Everyone sould have a clamp meter!

 

[Manator]

The problem with newly qualified electrician they are not aware of the previous version of the regs and installation methods used, so find it hard to make a  call on what is acceptable or not.

I think you will find a regulation about this very thing.

If you are not familiar with any previous regulation should you be getting paid for your expertise? Remember your findings can have a financial burden placed upon a customer for no other reason than you thought it was wrong and need to get it fixed.

The shower cable in the example caused the op some concern, however he never tested all options to satisfy himself that under the conditions of normal use the cable behaves satisfactory. I use a clamp meter all the time, it shows the actual draw and not what the manufacturer states in their literature. Having the shower run for 10 minutes or more would show what is going through the cable at any given stage. All cables under use produce heat, under normal conditions this heat is negligible, however again the op was concerned. Touching the cable during use and finding it to be hot could indicate that the cable is not suitable, taking temperature readings along the cable could show potential problems. All these tests combined would give a fuller picture of what problems you have if any at all.

I am not shooting down any poster, I am glad he asked the question there are people out there who do not and get away with it.

I would not test all cables with such detail, but if I was unsure of any then I would.

I know people on this forum who would go even deeper with their testing.

 

[mk1rob]

Thanks for all the replies! It's all a learning curve for me and doing such things and asking the questions give me the experience I'm after! Im slowly but surely becoming a better sparky :Salute

 

[ProDave]

Sometimes I seem to be alone in that I like to "correct" simple faults as I go along when doing an EICR.

For instance, if I had found a shower cable in the loft that had been covered with an extra layer of insulation when the loft insulation was topped up, providing there was enough slack in the cable I would just lift it up onto the top of the new insulation.  Problem solved.

 

[Andy™]

Sometimes I seem to be alone in that I like to "correct" simple faults as I go along when doing an EICR.

For instance, if I had found a shower cable in the loft that had been covered with an extra layer of insulation when the loft insulation was topped up, providing there was enough slack in the cable I would just lift it up onto the top of the new insulation.  Problem solved.

i do the same usually, simple things just do them as i go. or if its really bad, then leave them and note everything

 

[binky]

the other question, is for what purpose is the inspection?? if for rental, its different to a householder having leccy checked. Bit like hiring a car, you would expect any car hired today to be fully up to date, whereas you may drive a vintage vehicle by choice. Shower circuits get away with being buried in insulation becuase they are rarely used for more than 20 mins. No supplementary bonding is a code 2 regardless, as in the installation wasn't right when installed. I'm with Pro Dave, its easy to part insulation or lift cable. Supp bonding is different, if the incoming supply is hepco, then may not be required, but you need to test to prove the point. What comes next, from a deeper understanding of regs and previous versions of regs, is what you recommend to customer as essential repairs.