MK garage consumer unit tripping out
- Thread starter sjromaine
- Start date
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I'm glad the light works and I like the fact that you couldn't wait until the morning.
The circuit may not 'work' as it should when a fault occurs. It probably will but at the moment you do not KNOW that it will. The RCD may be a 'duff one' as you cannot have tested it.
Anyway, be safe.
Fair enough, I am not the most fervent believer in the nanny-state and , indeed, I have helped you, I hope, however the fact that the light 'works' is not the only criterion in an installation.
The circuit may not 'work' as it should when a fault occurs. It probably will but at the moment you do not KNOW that it will. The RCD may be a 'duff one' as you cannot have tested it.
Anyway, be safe.
EFL: for your peace of mind I promise I'll run my lawnmower over it's cable once I've got the sockets wired up. That way we'll know if the RCD is a 'winner'. I'll make sure I'm wearing rubber boots and gloves when I do this of course 
I have read through this topic with an ever increasing sense of "WTF".
No - what you have is a triumph of deluded optimism over a realistic assessment of your competence to do the work you did.
Because basically you have zero of the latter and far too much of the former.
You are ignorant, incompetent, and doing things which are dangerous and illegal.
If you had half a brain you'd stop, never try stuff like this again, and get an electrician to check what you have messed with so for.
But I fear you don't have half a brain.
No - what you have is a triumph of deluded optimism over a realistic assessment of your competence to do the work you did.
Because basically you have zero of the latter and far too much of the former.
You are ignorant, incompetent, and doing things which are dangerous and illegal.
If you had half a brain you'd stop, never try stuff like this again, and get an electrician to check what you have messed with so for.
But I fear you don't have half a brain.
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As you know, I have been party to helping you sort this out. However, once the forum's resident 'incompetence policeman' wakes up, you're probably going to get some flak. From the point of view of some people, the most worrying thing is probably that you would not have made the mistake you did had you understood how an RCD works - so they would question whether someone with that 'basic lack of knowledge' is actually safe to be doing such work. They will probably also question what other mistakes (with not so obvious immediate effects) you may have made, and will undoubtedly also point out that you will not have had the equipment, and maybe not the knowledge, to undertake tests to confirm that your installation was safe.
Whilst I do subscribe at least partially to some of those views, it was apparent that by the time you came here for help you were already so far down the road that you clearly were not going to back-pedel and have the work re-done professionally - so the only sensible pragmatic approach was to help you.
... and please note that I am saying all this as a non-electrician.
Kind Regards, John.
Edit: I see that the aforementioned person has, indeed, woken up whilst I was typing this!
I did write something here about ego and certain rather negatively-minded contributors but I've edited it out. I don't need a virtual bun fight.
The comment about understanding RCDs is very fair. I should have a better knowledge of what these actually do and I should have acquired this knowledge before getting into fitting this one. I'll spend some time reading up on this subject. Much like so many things in life one only really gets to find out exactly how something works when the need arises. I would just say though that if all everyone ever did was to pay someone else to do everything that was even remotely challenging there'd be very little learning going one in this world.
The comment about understanding RCDs is very fair. I should have a better knowledge of what these actually do and I should have acquired this knowledge before getting into fitting this one. I'll spend some time reading up on this subject. Much like so many things in life one only really gets to find out exactly how something works when the need arises. I would just say though that if all everyone ever did was to pay someone else to do everything that was even remotely challenging there'd be very little learning going one in this world.
A wise decision. Bun fights never achieve anything, particularly when one of the participants does not understand the concept of giving up!
I agree with all that.
Kind Regards, John.
Have you lot seen what this degree level scientist has in his new garage?
//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=289043
Reassuring innit?
//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=289043
Reassuring innit?
The incoming Neutral must go through the RCD before it reaches the neutral bar.
The RCD detects any difference in the currents in the Live and Neutral. If the difference is greater than 30 mA the RCD will operate and disconnect. To do this BOTH Live and Neutral have to be passed through the RCD.
It worries me that you did not know this yet felt you knew enough to be able to install a CU. Is there anything else you may not know that is critical to the safety of people in the garage ?
No just a flabbergasted rgi.
So, you partially subscribe to the view that somebody displaying a lack of understanding of basic circuitry has installed a CU, without carrying out the tests (never mind not having the equipment to do so) should not be installin a CU.
In this BAS is spot on. This installation may be safe, but it may be an accident waiting to happen.
IMO, the pragmatic approach wasn't to help him energise the installtion - it would have been pragmatic to advise he get somebody in to do it properly.
Unfortunately too many un-informed DIYers will ignore the advice to "get someone in" or will get someone who is cheap and probably just as un-informed to to the work.
So providing the determined but un-informed DIYer with the knowledge they needed may in many cases end up with a system less dangerous than it was before they asked.
Disagree - always have and always will.
1) People must not work on things they don't understand, and must not be encouraged, advised or helped to do so.
2) A DIYer must not work to lower safety standards than a professional, and must not be encouraged, advised or helped to do so.
1) People must not work on things they don't understand, and must not be encouraged, advised or helped to do so.
2) A DIYer must not work to lower safety standards than a professional, and must not be encouraged, advised or helped to do so.
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