This is another British electrical safety film I found while browsing, titled "Electricity on the Farm." Dating from 1969, I think it's probably old enough to qualify as nostalgia.

You can see some demonstrations of how not to replace a fuse, along with plenty of bad installation techniques and a snapshot of some typical accessories and fittings of the era.

In two parts, each running between 8 and 9 minutes:

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTxLZogfh6c

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4jdvDJuKN4

Marvellous stuff, Paul! The evocative and genuine old BBC accent, now sadly buried under an avalanche of dumbed-down pseudo-cockney glottal stops and foul language.

Here's some classic comic views of those old British Public Information Films that non-Brits may enjoy, with the BBC's Mr Cholmondeley-Warner and his manservant Grayson. Note the excellent diction [and the size of Engand on the Globe]!-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS37SNYjg8w&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4CXY6TVBMc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQWPR9TM0Gk&feature=related

I watched the farm one and I found it interesting from a historical point but also how it is still showing the problems I encounter at work today!

We now have the 55-0-55 system in our factory and RCDs everywhere but people are still complacent. Fortunately, we have only had one electric shock to date.

I cant recall seeing these public info films on TV at any point which is a little strange as many people talk about them. "The Bedtime Routine" is a good one

I remember quite a few of the public information films from the 1970s: The Charley ones (don't play with matches, don't go off with strangers etc.), the ones about old fridges, the "Spirit of Dark & Lonely Water," the various road-safety ads like Jimmy Savile urging everyone to "Clunk click every trip," and so on. I certain remember the bedtime routine one on fire prevention.

Did you also see the "Play Safe" film I posted here?

https://www.electrical-contractor.n...showflat/Number/179588/page/1#Post179588

Great stuff, Paul!.

One thing I did notice from the first video, is the use of HRC fuselinks for motors and the like in farm buildings.
Having worked in many elderly dairy sheds recently, I've noticed a move away from these, in favour of single pole or 3 pole MCB's.
To illustrate what I often encounter, here is a pic of an older panel that I removed from a dairy shed that was upgraded about 2 weeks back:



It's all been torn out and a new panel installed with more room for cables and wiring and MCB protection.

There is some very good advice in these videos, especially with respect to "amateur improvisations" and looking out for overhead power lines, which are by default 11kV+ out in the rural areas.
Farmers have been killed here, stringing fencing wires across gullies, when the wire is cut, it has a habit of springing up into the power lines.
7 metre long irrigation pipes are also a worry around HV lines.

BTW, did anyone else notice, that the first plug in the video had two black wires, but not a green earth wire?

Pretty common at the time here. Circuit-breakers in domestic and light commercial work didn't really start to become commonplace here until the 1980s.



The one from about 2:50 - 3:05 in part 1? The earth does look green on my monitor, albeit a very dark green. It's probably a combination of a faded 16mm print plus a little further degradation on the transfer to video.

Ahh OK, thanks Paul.
It's a shame they don't make films like this anymore.
I remember these sorts of things being shown to us at Primary School here, obviously they weren't about safety on farms, but there were films titled "Road Safety procedures when riding your bicycle or walking to school" and "The Importance of Good Oral Hygiene and Eating Correctly"

Shocking titles, yes, but they taught you a LOT about simple life skills.
And there was the guy with the BBC accent as well, I loved it!