ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades DIY Work

Thanks to all who have replied to this topic.
But I think that there is one underpinning idea here, that I think that we may have overlooked.
If a DIYer, wanted to do some work in their place, would it not be pertinent, for them to contact a Qualified Electrician, before the work was undertaken, to find out cable sizes for length of run(V. Drop), regulatory requirements, etc.
Let's be realistic here, us people in the Electrical trades are not monsters, we are not going to bite some persons head off for enquiring about a proposed electrical job?.
I would imagine that most, if not all of the people involved with ECN, would greet these people with a smile and advise them accordingly, rather than go in and do a fix-up job later.
Just a small side-line here, all of the books about Electrical Wiring in our local library, are referenced to either the UK or the US.

Good point Trumpy.

I have a neighbor who is quite capable of carrying out basic installation to an acceptable standard -- installing a receptacle, wiring a switch etc. I've seen his workmanship, and it's fine (better than some supposedly "professional" installations, in fact).

But he freely admits that he doesn't know how to calculate cable sizes, or how to wire more complex arrangements such as heating controls. I'm happy to help him out with diagrams and calculations, and I know that in the case of something being unclear that he'll come back and ask me to go check it for him before he throws the switch.

There are other people to whom I'd be reluctant to give any information, because I've seen the mess they made of something as simple as replacing a switch.

Thats a good system you've got with your neighbour, Paul, its just unfortunate that all DIYer's aren't like this, they would sooner just rip into it and bugger the consequences.

Paul,
Had an experience today, with a homeowner,I never wan't to have again.
I was rang on my cellphone from work to go and check some wiring in a house, that had been disconnected by the local Power Board,as the wiring was not up to scratch, when inspected recently.
Upon arriving,I was verbally abused for taking so long to respond to the call(5-10 minutes).
I was then told,by the guy, that I was to simply fill out a Certificate Of Compliance and leave.
Upon, visually inspecting the place,most of the socket outlets were damaged, one light switch was hanging out of the wall, all of the light sockets were either burned out or broken and the Switch-board/Metering had been tampered with, there were no seals left on either of the meters or the ripple relay.
All the while, I was being abused for taking far too long,( Where are you going now?, Why do you need to look at that?, would you PLEASE hurry up, for Christ sake!)
I left the place, listing all of the remedial work required to bring the installation up to Regulation standard,
for my efforts, I was told that I would NOT be doing the work, and I had better not send him a bill for my time spent there, or else.(Go on Bugger Off, he told me, as I reversed down the driveway, at speed.)
How Rude!, I normally laugh these situations off, How would you handle this situation?.

Oh boy.... I don't think I've run across anyone quite that bad. Most of the people I deal with are reasonable, although I've had moments when I wonder about their intelligence. Like the ones who wanted outlets, switches, and wall lights moved, and also wanted me to hide all the cables that were presently run in trunking around the top of the room.

Not a problem? Well, they'd just redecorated the place and didn't want any holes cut in the walls! Drop the cables into the wall cavities from above I hear you say. No... Flat-roofed house and I'm not allowed to either cut into the interior ceilings or remove any roofing materials from the outside. Up from underneath? Nope... Concrete floor, and I wasn't even going to think about digging that up, not that they'd allow it of course. Fish the cables through the cavity from holes made in the outside wall? You're kidding aren't you?! No way...

Ending up asking where the h*** they thought I was going to run cables. Maybe they imagined sci-fi style power beams invisibly transmitting electricity to each outlet!

Seriously though, there have been a couple of occasions when I've seen wiring so dangerous that I've opened the main switch and told the people that I will not be responsible for turning it on again. I know they'll turn it on afterward, and probably not get anything done to the wiring for months, but what else can one do?

Paul,
Thanks for your comments, just like to add that this was a Rental property(Tenanted),
where the people had just moved out and the meter-reader had noticed the seals missing from the meters, when he done the Final Reading.
Land-lords,eh?, they everything under the sun done, as long as it doesn't cost them a cent!.
This guy(the one complaining), had had probably NZ$150-200 per week from this place,for the last 2 years, with little or no maintenance done on the place,
you can't tell me, he cannot afford to do have the work required, done.
They are all the same.

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 11-18-2002).]

When will people learn to turn the Main Switch Off, before they change a fuse wire?.
Went around to this fella's house, because he changed the fuse and it blew again, when he was holding the fuse carrier, his hand was all burnt.
No wonder, there was a Dead Short in the Range, and he tried to fit a 50A wire in the
fuse carrier, to keep the Range going long enough to cook his Dinner.

Oh yeah... The householders rule of electrical failure #1: "If it blows, fit a larger fuse."

Wish I had a dime for every overrated fusewire I've seen fitted.

You know what the Householders rule of Electrical failure #2:
If the Heavy fuse you've already fitted, blows, bypass the fusing, as it is not working properly.
Seen this a few times and everytime I have
been riding in a Red truck, with flashing lights on the roof.

Diazed fuse blows too often? Rip out that darn gauge ring that keeps you from screwing in more than 6A fuses and screw in 25A ones! Saves much money! And your 1 mm2 wires will be really happy they can finally show what they're actually able to do without the restrictions of that ole fuse!

Seriously, the old lady next door in our appartment house had cloth covered 1 mm2 wires (correctly fused @6A). When she got the new washing mashine, the "electrishun" completely removed the gauge rings from one circuit, replaced the other 2 with 16A ones and screwed in 4 16A fuses. This is how we (my dad is the landlord) found this nice setup. I replaced them with 10A Diazed breakers until I put in a completely new 5 circuit din-rail panel with main RCD and all new wiring.