Recently my trip switch went off and would not reset even after disconnecting all plugs. Called home emergency which I have through my bank account and an engineer came. He found that trip switch was faulty and replaced. On reconnecting plugs we found that there was also a fault with our gas cooker's electrical supply and he suggested I got in touch with Cannon the suppliers which I did as I had cover in place. Their engineer, after taking the top and back off cooker eventually found that the cable was faulty and replaced so all OK again except that he carried out an electrical test and found that the earth loop resistance reading was greater than 200 ohms (RCD protected circuit). He suggested that I got back in touch with the home emergncy service people, which I did and was told that this was not an emergency covered by my policy which defines an emergncy as a sudden and unexpected or unforseen situation which if not dealt with would render the home unsafe or insecure or create unreasonable risk to you or your family's health and safety. Expressed disappointment with this (which I don't accept) and also that their engineer had not carried out a test in the same way as the Cannon man had done and am intending lodging a complaint. In the meantime my son-in-law who is an electrical engineer and was visiting ths weekend, tested the earth reading at the mains box and confirmed that resistance was too high but that there was some earthing. He ran a new length of earth cable to an earth bar which he hammered into the ground at another point since the existing earth bar had been placed into a wall 3m from the house (unfortunately our gas and water supply are located on the other side of the house) but unfortunately the reading is still over 200 ohms. He then tried earthing with a water stop tap on the other side of the house but again a high reading. He thinks that the house which was built in the 1920s may be in a "bad earth" area and that the problem may have been in existence for many years. He feels that Western Power Distribution who attend to power failures as opposed to NPower, who are my suppliers, should be contacted on the basis that they have overall responsibility for safe supply of electricity and should replace the mains box with PME or TT as appropriate. I would be interested in members views and in particular who bears the cost of a new mains box.
Earthing problem
- Thread starter plasycoed
- Start date
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Speak to your DNO and ask them if you currently have an earth supplied by them - if they do then they should replace it foc. If there records show that have not provided an earth to your house - ask them for a price for fitting one - (£150/300) - depending on where you are. If they say they cannot fit an earth then you will need to get a spark in to fit a TT system.
If you are on a TT system then the max earth loop impedance reading can be 1667ohms - however anything over 200ohms is frowned upon and you either need new or more earth electrodes driven into your garden.
If you are on a TT system then the max earth loop impedance reading can be 1667ohms - however anything over 200ohms is frowned upon and you either need new or more earth electrodes driven into your garden.
1667Ω is correct providing all circuits are protected by RCD(s) with a maximum trip rating of 30mA. This provides protection of a touch voltage of <50volts.
Sorry but in my earlier posting, I should have said that I currently have a TT system. My concern is that I may not be able to get a good earthing and therefore need to consider having PME installed if available in my area but who pays ? Me I expect in which case what is it likely to cost.
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PME conversions are not always readily available. If the DNO cannot provide an earthing system then I'm afraid it is up to you to ensure your TT is within specified limits !
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