Unbelievable...

[flyingsparks]

Went somewhere today to do a periodic test. Part of the school has had an extension and other work done, including new fuseboards in the last 2 months.

This the start of what I found..

At first it looked like possibly not a bad job..

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• flyingsparks
• 2 Apr 2012
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Then the covers came off...

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• flyingsparks
• 2 Apr 2012
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• flyingsparks
• 2 Apr 2012
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Then I found this whilst gently tugging on a cable in the trunking to trace where it went (the wire pulled out the crimp on tugging...)

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• flyingsparks
• 2 Apr 2012
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• flyingsparks
• 2 Apr 2012
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[peaps]

Didn't pass then..?

 

[RF Lighting]

That RCD main switch should have set alarm bells ringing before you even opened the DB doors

 

[AdrianUK]

Green/Yellow joined to a Brown....... interesting .......do tell .... had someone extended an earth in a phase colour ......or extended the phase using earth wire?

 

[RF Lighting]

It looks like another case of domestic installers having a go at commercial work, which is my absoloute pet hate.

The more I look at it the more I'm realising how wrong it all is.

Also are the DBs supplied with 2ph & n or is the fourth tail just not visible in the photos?

 

[AdrianUK]

Also are the DBs supplied with 2ph & n or is the fourth tail just not visible in the photos?

Good Call RF, that would explain why every L2 phase is blanked off & there are only three henelys under the lower trunking & not four....

I wonder if its split phase...... and if those boards are 500V rated....

 

[flyingsparks]

Green/Yellow joined to a Brown....... interesting .......do tell .... had someone extended an earth in a phase colour ......or extended the phase using earth wire?

The phase is being sent down the T+E cpc conductor, and the actual earth is using the red on the T+E...

 

[flyingsparks]

Also are the DBs supplied with 2ph & n or is the fourth tail just not visible in the photos?

Good Call RF, that would explain why every L2 phase is blanked off & there are only three henelys under the lower trunking & not four....

I wonder if its split phase...... and if those boards are 500V rated....

Yes its 2P + N, not split phase.

Yes I thought the same, domestic installer doing commercial..

Oh, some of the other faults I found were..
-No continuity on cpc's on ringmain
-Neutral being switched on lighting circuit
-Main earth into one of those boards connected via crimp and bolt, not even finger tight - complelty loose

 

[333rocky333]

I take it them boards are isolated elsewhere then before you poked around with them uninsulated crocodile clips

 

[Adam_151]

domestic installers having a go at commercial work, which is my absoloute pet hate.

Would never have guessed....

I've got plenty of pictures of poor work done by installers not of the domestic variety as well though!

I'll be the first to admit that my distboards arn't the neatest in the world, but the the ones in the pictures dont even appear to have any attempt made to get it half-neat

 

[ricicle]

Yuk ! - Metallic dis. boards and couplers/bushes with plastic trunking

 

[flyingsparks]

Well I have to admit I was wrong... Actually it is split phase and all the boards are rated at 415v as are the main switches. So i guess new boards required?! I think so far the fault list is at number 46!

 

[RF Lighting]

If it's split phase you'd be better off installing two single phase boards, one for each phase, or as you've got those nice new hager boards there, get a single phasing kit for the two big ones and run a phase off each.

It's one of those jobs that I'd love to do and then get back the original installers and show them how it's done.

 

[Adam_151]

Yuk ! - Metallic dis. boards and couplers/bushes with plastic trunking

Did you know it actually costs much more to buy plastic in that size than it does metal, which makes it kinda confusing why they choose to use plastic!

 

[RF Lighting]

Because they're idiots and don't know how to work with steel?