Earth wiring fault!

[Corgigrouch]

Well when I moved into my rented house the earth was on 2mm bell wire and there was a seperate feed unnoticed in the coal shed bypassed before the meter. That one stung a little when I removed a couple of sockets and went to twist the end of the live wire to tidy it up!

Hmmm... Always check that a circuit is no longer live before working on it.. Had to remind a sparky of that when he allowed the ends of a supposedly dead circuit to drop on to a 15mm gas pipe... Fortunately he wore glasses..

 

[ollski]

yes but you take it for granted that with the 30a mains fuse removed you'd be pretty safe!

 

[bengasman]

yes but you take it for granted that with the 30a mains fuse removed you'd be pretty safe!

I wouldn't.
Test for life before I do anything.
Test again after I pulled the fuse.
Test again after I've been to the loo.
I don't trust anybody, they might be like me.

 

[bengasman]

...and saw the gas meter outlet pipe had a 6 mm earth wire joining it to the consumer unit.

Tsk tsk Tony, it should be a main equipotential bonding cable, nothing to do with providing or maintaining earth.

 

[Agile]

More to come but here is a picture of the gas meter!

Probably enough to satisfy most RGIs.

Gas meter 05

• Agile
• 10 Oct 2009
• 1

 

[electronicsuk]

So, when do we get the answer? TT installation was gas pipe as main earth to the property would also be my guess, it's already been suggested but you haven't specifically confirmed or denied it. Not sure how we're going to tell, as with the info we have it's nothing more than a guessing game.

EDIT: Also, has someone bonded the incoming gas main before the meter?!

 

[doitall]

They've cross bonded the service pipe.

But the stairs look bloody dangerous.

 

[twgas]

Old wooden steps - someone might get a splinter

 

[Agile]

The gas meter is nicely earthed to the incoming gas main and into the consumer unit.

You can see the earth wire coming into the consumer unit at the top !

Gas meter consumer unit

• Agile
• 10 Oct 2009
• 1

Or viewed from the other side:-

gas meter consumer unit 2

• Agile
• 10 Oct 2009
• 2

 

[buck51]

Is the meter and pipework suspended by earth cable ?
Consumer unit not earthed

 

[electronicsuk]

The gas meter is nicely earthed to the incoming gas main and into the consumer unit.

You can see the earth wire coming into the consumer unit at the top

Yep, so incoming gas main acting as main earth to the house, because as buck51 pointed out, there appears to be no other earthing back to the CU - be it from an earth electrode or the service cutout.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with earthing back to the consumer unit with your PEBs. In addition, although it isn't correct, the fact that the both the incoming and outgoing sides of the gas meter have been bonded certainly isn't immediately dangerous.

The immediate danger is that the entire house appears to have no main earth, which should be rectified as a matter of extreme urgency. If an electrical faults occur in the house, it could result in all exposed metal parts, be they gas/water pipes or appliances/switches, becoming live at 230v. Presumably, the incoming water also lacks PE bonding.