High Impedance Earth, advice

[sparkwright]

I know DNOs get funny about doing anything on the consumer's side - it appears they have now merely connected an earth block for your electrician to connect to.

You'd like to think they could run a 16mm2 earth from their earth block to your consumer unit.

Some will, some won't.

Seems a dangerous way to knowingly leave an installation.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I agree, but that would seem to be what they may well have done.

And if they didn't connect that block to the earth bar in the CU then you still have no earth, and you must get that resolved as soon as you can, if not sooner.

Great time of year - you should DIY if you can't get somebody out.

 

[securespark]

Did they pull the main fuse?

They can tell by looking at the service head, but they'd need to open it up.

 

[seasickstevie]

As the main cutout fuse is sealed, the electrician wouldn't have been in a position to make any further investigations (as to the link joining the neutral and earth terminals) if he wanted to. And I dare say even with no seal, would still neither be in a legal position to do so.

 

[Lareon]

They came out because I called them again and sent them a photo of the installation showing there was no earth, they didn't know if it was pme or not so sent someone

The annoying thing is uk power networks (Dno) seemed quite annoyed that I'd been suggested to call them and they were frustrated with the electrician and we're saying "oh he made you worry you didn't have any earth".

but it seems i do have an earth just nothing connected into it and no way to connect to it until they put the earthing block in.

quite a frustrating scenario.

I'll run a piece of 16mm earth to the block they installed from the consumer unit.

Thanks again for all your help

 

[John D v2.0]

When I've called ukpn they've been ok, so maybe a badly trained new person.
Glad you've managed to cut through their incorrect chat.
Yes connect the terminal to the main earth bar and make sure the bonding is secure.

Ironically by adding that exposed terminal but not the bonding, they've created a dangerous situation, as the neutral/earth of the supply could be at a different voltage to any earthed metalwork in your house, even with the main switch off.

If you want to be really sure, avoid touching that terminal or anything connected to it directly at the same time as any other metalwork in your house, including the consumer unit earth terminal. Once they're properly connected it's fine. Don't wear shorts and lean on a metal water pipe for example.

 

[Lareon]

If you want to be really sure, avoid touching that terminal or anything connected to it directly at the same time as any other metalwork in your house, including the consumer unit earth terminal. Once they're properly connected it's fine. Don't wear shorts and lean on a metal water pipe for example.

Thanks, will keep that in mind

the people on the phone were really helpful, it was more the engineer who came out, while his mate was fiddling with it he was telling me how he hates when he gets called out like this and its clearly pme etc etc then he took the reading and said that it was fine and taking the reading from the plug sockets takes into account the wiring for the whole house so of course it will be higher.

I asked if the reading of 2.7k ohms was fine then and he said yes

 

[ban-all-sheds]

They came out because I called them again and sent them a photo of the installation showing there was no earth, they didn't know if it was pme or not so sent someone

You sent them a photo, they couldn't tell if it was PME or not, and they sent someone out who said "its clearly pme".

Now it clearly is, but before it wasn't - spot the difference:

Electricians may not unilaterally decide that a supply is PME and use the incoming neutral as the earth.

The annoying thing is uk power networks (Dno) seemed quite annoyed that I'd been suggested to call them and they were frustrated with the electrician and we're saying "oh he made you worry you didn't have any earth".

He was right to worry you - you didn't have one.

but it seems i do have an earth just nothing connected into it and no way to connect to it until they put the earthing block in.

There was no provision for you to earth your installation until they made their supply earth available to you.

I'll run a piece of 16mm earth to the block they installed from the consumer unit.

ASAP! Until you do you still have no earth.

then he took the reading and said that it was fine and taking the reading from the plug sockets takes into account the wiring for the whole house so of course it will be higher.

It will but not by much.

I asked if the reading of 2.7k ohms was fine then and he said yes

It is not - it is far, far too high, by 3 orders of magnitude.

 

[securespark]

As John D says, make sure your protective equipotential bonding is connected (water, oil, gas, exposed girders etc).

 

[Lareon]

I've connected up the earth into the consumer unit.

inside the consumer unit I've put the earth into earth 16.

thanks again for all your help guys if there's anything i did wrong or could even be a bit better let me know and i'll make it perfect.

Cheers guys

 

[Lareon]

Well the electric car charger has been installed and that's all good but just when you think the saga is over there's one last little niggle.

not really an issue but this is how the dno left my cutout etc.....
(unsecured wires, that just came out with no effort)

 

[John D v2.0]

Wtf?? Did the dno come back after doing the earth?

 

[Lareon]

nope they left everything unsecured in the boxes though and these just came out while the electrician was working on it. i took a photo with all the tags secured etc.

sorry i realised i made it sound like they left the cables out, they left them unsecured and as the electrician started to work on it, he said the live arc'd and it just came out as he moved it

both wires in the cutout were loose and both wires from the meter to the consumer unit weren't tightened at all.

 

[John D v2.0]

That's shocking, almost literally. If the other end was loose too you could have had a live cable flapping around! Your dno need a bomb up behind them, this is basic basic stuff, it's so simple. These are mistakes like a car garage forgetting to connect your brakes up properly.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

More like Kwik Fit¹ leaving your wheel nuts loose.




¹ Other tyre specialists are available.