Date : Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:17:49 +0200
From : rick@... (Rick Murray)
Subject: Leccy @ Acorn World '09
Jonathan Graham Harston wrote:
> If phase<>neutral or earth>0, then it trips.
Ah, that explains why it tripped instantly for me a great many years
back when I wired up to tap a phase from a three phase socket thinking
the earth was neutral...
...and it didn't want to trip when a dumbass electrician (have to be
registered, haha, that doesn't help with stupidity) shorted out
something in the loft. Everything briefly dimmed like a brownout, then a
very white-faced bloke appeared, swearing in French, thinking it might
be a good idea to NOT work on live circuits...
> an RCD earlier on in the circuit will trip - even though the final
> circuit is isolated.
:-) Our RCDs throw both because in French wiring there is no
standardisation to which is the live and the neutral - indeed most of
the non-earth-carrying plugs can be inserted either way up.
Unearthed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets#Type_C
Earthed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets#Type_E
As convention, I wired the bedrooms to have live/neutral the same way
around as a British socket.
> http://mdfs.net/Docs/Electrical
http://mdfs.net/Docs/Electrical/Supply/Multiple/
"standard comsumer unit"
^
Those daft regulations, whose idea were they? Surely to have them IN a
cellar is no different than anywhere else, given that they would need to
have access to read said meter?
In a cellar or outside, did they have a "thing" about electricity and damp?!
> You have to remember that most electricians are electrical fitters,
> not electrical engineers, and are only competant within a
> standardised installation with standardised and unexpected final
> circuits.
While some people are, no doubt, extremely good - it is the clueless
type that you remember.
A breaker to our pump needed to be replaced. As the room is an addition
to the exterior of a stone building, plus housing a lot of water
equipment, plus a billion other reasons, it isn't unusual for large
amounts of condensation. The old breaker was housed in a sealed plastic
box with a rubber-like face to allow the control to be used.
The new breaker didn't fit. So the bloke tied it up with string.
Only found this out when trying to track down the cause of the main
breaker randomly tripping out. Luckily it happened frequently so I was
able to disconnect all the phases and reconnect one at a time to narrow
down the possibilities. The phase affected did "all the outbuildings"
(argh!) but as I decided to start with the pump (water+leccy) it was
quick to locate. I dried off the breaker with a hairdrier, then made a
tiny modification to the inside of the box with a stanley knife. Then
the whole thing closed down correctly and sealed and the problems went away.
Moral: If you have *any* knowledge of electrical circuits, it might pay
you to check the work of a so-called professional after he's been let
lose on your installation.
Legal: I wonder what the legal situation is if you, an unlicenced and
unqualified person, goes in after and fixes all the things the
registered electrician did incorrectly? All this guff with needed
registered fitters - it's for insurance purposes, yes?
Best wishes,
Rick.
--
Rick Murray, eeePC901 & ADSL WiFI'd into it, all ETLAs!
BBC B: DNFS, 2 x 5.25" floppies, EPROM prog, Acorn TTX
E01S FileStore, A3000/A5000/RiscPC/various PCs/blahblah...