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Joined: Dec 2001
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Here I've got pics of some real steep old wiring from Austria. A tenant told me the old owner of the house (roughly 30 apartments, built around 1905) died in 1983, and from that day NOTHING was done to the house. The daughter lived in NYC and only flew to Austria every few years, lodged at Vienna's most expensive hotel, had the manager drive her around in his Rolls and cashed all rent money.
Note: in Austria if you own an apartment house it's very common to get a property management company that does all the work like taking care of the finances, deciding about smaller repairs and getting rid of tenants who complain of problems in their apartments. I know those management companies both as a tenant and son of a landlord in another place and neither like them. Their main job seems to be to get as much cash as possible out of the house without handing it over to the owner. That usually results in low-quality repairs if any.

This particular manager went belly up with about 50 000 Euro debt, went to jail for two years and now runs the next property management company...

Anyway. The wiring is most likely original in most parts, some stuff was redone in the 50s, some even later, but that's mostly patch work.

I don't know for sure what this is, but I think the main feed from the street comes in at the right top corner and at the bottom you have a cable that goes through the cellar to the riser that feeds all apartments.

[Linked Image]

A main fuse box. Pretty neat compared with what you'll see later.
[Linked Image]

The HRC fused switch at the left is probably the main fuse as it isn't labeled and there are 100A fuses in it. The one to the right is for a small shop and only has 25A fuses in it. 3 Diazed fuses would have been enough...
The D III fuses above are the main fuses for an apartment and a set of unused fuses. 35A. 3x35A is hefty, even considering the apartment is 200m2.

Those fuses are ahed of the meters and every tenant has got a key to these fuse boxes.

Yikes, what a mess!
[Linked Image]

Most of the fuses are unused because either the apartments are vacant or two apartments have been connected together. Still, it looks awful, and somebody removed PoCo disconnect stickers.

The meter box for the elevator, dated February 1958.
[Linked Image]


Detail of the fuses and switch
[Linked Image]

That's some kind of phone patch panel that seems to run most of the block according to the old labeling.
[Linked Image]

To be continued...


Last edited by pauluk; 09/26/07 11:12 AM. Reason: Images copied to ECN server
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
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That's a scary one. Located in a hallway that leads to the back yard and the trash cans, the door can't be locked any more. The diazed fuses without a cover are live.
[Linked Image]

Old lead cables, probably phone.
[Linked Image]

Old isolators tell stories of long forgotten wires...

[Linked Image]

One last look back before really going down in the cellar...
[Linked Image]

The basement fuses... conveniently located high above the stairs. Standing on the top step they're well above my head (and I'm 190cm). Fused neutral as always.
[Linked Image]

The water piping isn't much better than the electrical. A mix of iron (already rusted again), lead pipe and flexible hose (a recent hack job, joining two pieces of 1/2" pipe with 3/8" hose...)
[Linked Image]

Wooden junction boxes...
[Linked Image]

Last edited by pauluk; 09/27/07 05:59 AM. Reason: Images
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
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Anyone guess what this is?
[Linked Image]

Covers??? Why???
[Linked Image]

What's that cable coming out the bottom of the light???
[Linked Image]

Oh... never mind.
[Linked Image]

That's just the cord of that old desk lamp nailed to the wall.

Clamps?
[Linked Image]

A nice surprise... that's old but perfect.
[Linked Image]

I strongly suspect that's the only ground for the entire house (TT system).
[Linked Image]


Last edited by pauluk; 09/26/07 11:28 AM. Reason: Images
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
T
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Those "spider webs" are probably live...
[Linked Image]

That's definitely live, coneveniently at hand heigth.
[Linked Image]

That's got to be one of the worst DIY hack jobs I've ever seen.
[Linked Image]

That one looks awfully solid...
[Linked Image]

Does that tell us anything? *scratch*
[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]


Last edited by pauluk; 09/26/07 11:34 AM. Reason: Images
Joined: Jul 2002
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Likes: 3
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This thread has been moved to the Photo's submitted For Discussion Forum.

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 869
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Yuk, I can imagine the condition of the old building and the wiring from my days in the Netherlands and some work i have done in Northern France near Reims.

Very interesting photo's.
A good variety of 10, 16, 20, 25 and 35 Amp diazed fuses here.

The polyphase kWh meter looks very new to me.
I was expecting to see an old Landis & Gyr MG1 series meter here.


The product of rotation, excitation and flux produces electricty.
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 97
J
Member
I guess that the guess what is a lightswitch. it looks like it might be a switch that screws into an ES lampholder?

I love old electrical stuff. It is far more interesting than new stuff, you can actually see stuff working. We are upgrading our factory wiring at the moment. The oldest stuff is 1938 era but most has been modernised 1968 era. We have a board that has 100A rewirable fuses in it!


I took my time, I hurried up, The choice was mine, I didn't think enough
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
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Meters get swapped regularly for recalibration, so sometimes fairly new meters find their way into extremely old installations.

Yes, it's a light switch, nut not one that screws into an ES socket. It's a waterproof outdoor switch with a drip cap above the wires! I'll give my best to save that old stuff as they rewire the cellar.

Yesterday I received a sudden cold shower... I was carrying a door which was taller than the ceiling. trying to get it upright I hit one of the water pipes and a load of condensate dripped onto my neck...

On the other hand, it could have been far worse considering the state of the pipes... [Linked Image]

Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 144
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While i realize that there is a lot of work to be done here, it does seem like a really neat old building. Assuming that you are starting over, it must be kinda fun to work in.

Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
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Unfortunately I'm not working there, my parents are tenants...

The house itself is beautiful and must have been very modern when it was built. Where at that time all houses had wooden ceilings or vaulted brick ceiling, this one has those weird concrete ceilings throughout. In the living spaces and hallways they nailed reeds to the bottom of the concrete and plastered over them.

It also still has the original elevator!

Front view:
[Linked Image]

The elevator:
[Linked Image]

The sign says: "Caution Elevator!"
Inside it's all oak and carved glass... I LOVE it!
Unfortunately the owners want to replace it.

Last edited by pauluk; 09/26/07 12:47 PM. Reason: Images
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