As an older Electrician who moved on in my career I find it fascinating all the testing which is done now. In my day (mid 80s) Bonding was king and the testing was IR testing must be >1MOhm with an earth loop test. I used to do Rewires and Jobbing . We would often break the seals to remove the Main fuse and Tails. We would call the LEB (As it was then) and they would come out, complete their tests (a repeat of mine) and certify the installation and renew the seal.
I went self employed in in 1976 and it was exactly like you have said, I also broke the seal to reconnect and take my completion certificate back to Norwed who would go and inspect and reseal but today no one goes back to inspect the work carried out that’s the reason there’s to many cowboys doing electrical work.
_IR tests must be greater than 1MΩ?..._ I took a PAT course in 2003, and I was taught the same values then - Which I'm still using today (And yes, I test using an Ohmmeter) but thankfully only on my own consumer equipment and not professionally. ⚡ Heck, the information I'm using must be older than I am... 😲
The StarBreaker range of CUs was first introduced in in 1979. This spark was obviously cutting edge as he was installing split-load CUs before they were commonplace. The whole installation could be from 1986 or the wiring could be original and only the board newer. Looking at all the accessories would help you decide: if they all match, chances are they were all replaced at the same time. Just because all the pendants are close to window does not mean the wiring is the same age as the house: customers often did not want to repair the decoration, so requested the new fittings be put back in the same place. Interesting fact, there was much confusion over the introduction of the 15th Ed. Regs. Sparks complained it was very difficult for them to understand (the format changed greatly from the 14th Ed), so compliance with the 15th was delayed until 1985, even though the 15th was first introduced 4 years earlier. So that means up until that date, it was very common to find houses wired to the 14th Ed. This is why vo ELCBs (included in the 14th Ed) were deleted from the regs in 1985, to coincide with the use of the 15th Ed becoming mandatory.
I would agree with your initial comments, most likely 1970s wiring (with modifications) and def mid-80s Crabtree consumer unit and cooker switch. Presumably the house was tested at the time of the board change, definitely practices and regulations have changed significantly since then!
I guess the original board was probably a tiny BS 3036 job - 5 amp lights, 15 amp immersion, 30 amp sockets and possibly another 30 for the cooker but since the current cooker is gas the original one might have been too.
Funnily enough; My flat had its 5-year test last week, and the (MK) cooker point was replaced for having dead neons (Despite having had very little use over time and no cooker) with a Crabtree unit. Beyond the switches being larger and orange to make them visually distinct, the new unit sat on my wall is quite visually similar to the one seen in this video - Especially the rather odd positioning of the outlet _between_ the switches! 😲 Obviously the unit I have will be compliant with _currant_ regulations (Sorry! 🙃) but it's interesting to see Crabtree have changed the overall design very little over a 45-year period! 🙂
It’s amazing for the time I was on the tools Crabtree was a respected market leader and now is a brand name of a company owning many brands and now nothing special. Hager was a budget brand and is now a quality brand. Certainly I wouldn’t expect anything installed in the past couple of years to be in service in 50 years time! I certainly saw many products in service for 50+ years, MEM was a prime example with thick metalwork.
Take home message - To safely check dead, first use your fingers to dig out the safety cover directly over the live incoming terminals. Don't dig them in too far though... Then leave the apprentice with the beeping flashing tool to put on random terminals and assume the beep is good and carry on. ⚡⚡⚡
Personally if it was my house I’d want it fully rewired anyway. No doubt they’re going to decorate the whole property only to need a rewire in the near future anyway. Get it out the way now and it won’t need it for a long while. Of course, it’s up the the customer tho. Good video J 👌🏼
To be honest, if someone is buying that as a forever home I would mention rewiring as they wouldn't want to have to do it in say 5 years time once the property is already renovated. Agree it may not be essential but now's the time to do it. Great video again Jordan, you and the other TH-camrs are actually raising the standard across the industry, I have certainly raised my game since watching you guys, Nick and Dave keep up the good work. Kieran KTW Electrical
Lead water supply pipe. Id let homeowners know about that. Definitely make a point to them directly that you noticed it. That's really costly to replace.
you can apply for a lead replacement grant, the only thing the home owner has to do is run their new water pipe from the house to the point where it joins the main in the street. As part of the grant scheme the waterboard will connect the new pipe for free. however you have to find and isolate the old pipe now thats fun. Took 4 waterboard engineers and £7k worth of ground radar gear to try and find our old pipe - guess what still didnt find where a neighbour was "t" ed in.
I don’t know what the rules are nowadays on water pipes , but years ago I was able to buy the plastic pipe , then dig up the 30 M garden to the required depth , put some indicator tape down the trench then fitted a bypass under the floor and got the water company to come check it , They made the final connection to the main , then I closed one valve then opened the new one , job done, relatively cheap. ( a 30 m load of thick lead pipe buried elsewhere in the garden if anyone wants to do the work )
@@TheChipmunk2008 I'm guessing this is based on an assumption (Or proof) that the limescale coats the inside of the pipe, protecting the water from lead contamination? 😇
With some tweaks, that could be made satisfactory. Move shower circuit to RCD side, sort the junction box out etc. Based on what the report is for, a property purchase with potential renovation works, it makes sense to recommend a full rewire to bring up to current standards. Lights not central, shower cable should be 10mm, more socket outlets, kitchen and bathroom upgrade. A nice video of a void EICR Jordan, the best kind to do lol
I would say the building is possibly late 60's. Lead water pipes became illegal in 1969, and CPC's became mandatory in lighting circuits in (i believe) 1966, so perhaps between those dates. The floor tiles behind Ruben in the last minute look typical of that era too.
@@ashmanelectricalservices4318 Or the board was replaced and some other work done in 1986. When did earth sleeving change from green to green/yellow? 1971? And didn't T&E change from stranded Imperial to solid metric right around that time too? Some of the decor definitely screams 1950s/60s, especially those lovely PVC tiles you mentioned!
Assuming the previous owners bought it from new and it became their _forever_ home; If they bought it in their 30s and had the modern average lifespan of 80 years, that would correlate with your suggestion. The fact the decor dates from the period also suggests a family who might've had little social contact outside of work and church, and clearly didn't have many visitors.¹ The presence of the stairlift - Sadly - Also suggests to me the house has likely come onto the market via Probate. 🪦📜😥 One thing I would say is the house probably needs a full survey before it's lived in again. If I'm reading the signs correctly¹ there's quite the possibility of unseen issues that many reasonable householders would have repaired, but people of this order would try to avoid because of fears over the cost... 🏚💸⚠ (¹ - I have direct experience of this, coming from such a family myself. Sadly, I cannot express anything positive about coming from that sort of background.)
Not just”the fear of the cost”, it’s also inability to pay the cost, and no desire to upend their life to deal with the issue, and literal inability to physically deal with things. It all happens to all of us eventually.
It's called Inspection and Testing, you can find far more defects with inspection than you can do with testing. 75% inspection, 25% testing is a good balance. I think your inspection is great Jordan, a credit to you. Well done.
This might be a bit sad, but I have my codebreakers book next to me whilst watching this video! They class that socket above the cooker as a C2 in there (socket outlet above free standing cooker with the potential to connect equipment). Not that I'm judging your work of course, I just remember reading specifically about that point the other day!
Yer I thought that was a little harsh, I get where he is coming from. in NAPIT code breakers its only a C2 if you can get a go finger in there and touch live parts. I’m sure Jordan has his reasoning though
It's IPXXB for sides and bottom (fingers) and IP4X (pin sized objects) for top surfaces isn't it? I think it originates from the days when fusewire was always kept on top of the fusebox and it was generally a handy spot for granny to keep her knitting needles. I don't see anything harsh about the C2 for the open grommets on top. But i agree with the suggested solution of a bit of fire rated silicon.
Wow. I was shocked to hear we are the same age (2 months apart). I always imagined you being a guy in his early to mid 40s, running a successful business and so on. I literally had to stop the video and rewind and check if i did hear right. Or maybe i just didn't realize how old i've become, haha. I did want to become an electrician at some point when i was little, and today i really wish i had become one. So keep up the great work, i do enjoy your videos alot!
I'm '87 born I didn't realise Jordan's little over a year older them me, oh well. I guess I presumed the same with him owning a successful company. 34 and I'm already feeling old.
I did an EICR the other day and there was no earthing cables at all to the house and everything was run in singles. The consumer unit had 4 bonding cables bonding the steel conduit, the conduit was not linked at all to 3 sockets. I had to fail it obviously and I have recommended a re-wire to the customers dissatisfaction
The conduit was the CPC. Perfectly acceptable installation method . Bonding correctly also by the sound of it. Was the conduit not physically connected to those 3 socket metal back boxes or are you taking about no 'earth tail' connected ?
@@Marco-mg9tv thanks for the reply Marco, I was aware that the installation method was acceptable but in my opinion it was becoming tired. There was no locking nuts connecting the conduit to the back box and was not making a connection. I also did an R2 reading to the conduit and was getting over 6 ohms so it’s questionable if I even connected it, if it would acceptable.
Just had that same board replace due to new LED lighting inrush causing random breaker tripping! Shame as the board overall was fine just didn't want to risk getting new old stock and finding the issue carries on. Got a slick Fusebox RCBO board now and no issues.
Will Add. Imo the wiring is 1970s , but it could do with a rewire , more sockets are required. And it could do with being updated . As it will have to soon ..
I don’t know what’s going on with all these whizzkids sparks ??... you can’t do a ring test at the sockets as it could be any old neutral ,or any old earth as they are still in block connections at the fuse board !!!...it’s the same when they were doing a R1 R2 test , the Earth was not disconnected from the Earth block in the fuse board ,without disconnecting this could be any old earth ,especially on the lighting circuit , where 2 lighting circuits would have crossed at a switch
Combi boiler, put in an electric shower. I get the feeling this was a half arsed update at some point. Interesting they've used plastic boxes in the kitchen wall, looks like an unfilled cavity typical of the age but the plastic box doesn't shout DIY to me, from experience it shouts Damp issues.
Very important to prove dead on an unknown circuit - I know someone who moved into a house and found a socket that was always live regardless of the main consumer unit isolator. It was also at around 415v between live and "neutral" - some previous occupier had tapped an illegal feed from nearby powerline which was on a different phase to the house supply.
Helped a mate doing a rewire. So save money, we chased out the walls and removed the old wiring. Power was off , all fuses were out so everything was dead. Came do do the cooker wiring 😨😨 It tested live 240V. The cable into the ceiling before dropping into the cellar and was spliced into a SWA cable that have 6 inches of armour removed in order to make the connection.
@@johnxenofontos1058 that's the thing, what was presumably meant to be a neutral must have actually been another phase, my guess is that whoever installed it must have taken their tap from two phases rather than from one phase and neutral.
In my first house my dad who was an electrician was helping my boyfriend rip the kitchen out, he turned the cooker breaker off & asked if the cooker clock had gone off, it was still on, turned out the cooker was wired on the Shower circuit, the whole house was lethal, bare wires in the shower, multiple sockets that it was a miracle the house hadn't burnt down. My dad ended up rewiring the whole house, new consumer unit, new shower, new sockets & light fittings, earth bonded everything that needed it. Then we found the plumbing, the seller had sat & instructed his wife to plumb the bathroom in, no length of pip longer than a foot & thousands of compression fittings, if you emptied the bath, the shower cubicle filled up. Cost a fortune to make the house safe & liveable.
@@danielfensom1022 simplest thing to do in that situation is C3 and put a small amount of sealant to satisfy regulations then if required it can be swapped out if desired later ( client paying you up to £250 plus vat have some heart)
Wow, that house is a real snapshot in time. lol I slightly enjoy the nostalgia factor, but I think I'd have to rip most of that out, including the doors. The old airing cupboard reminds me of hiding in ours as a kid. lol
Makes me cringe when I see people grab meter tails / wires and run their hands up and down the back of cable. I've seen many with rat damage down to copper😭⚡
Fresh Norwegian electrician apprentice here. Have been watching you for a while, and I really like your videos so far. I've found them to be very educational, from my perspective at least. But there are some things I don't completely understand though. For example, at 22:08 in the video, you said you can't disconnect the PE because it could blow the cable. I would greatly appreciate it if you perhaps could elaborate on why you do or don't do certain things. If I were to look at it from a sensible point of view, I'm guessing it's because it can mess with the supply cable/connection, or somehow cause other undesirable shenanigans?
That earth strap with the terminals on it is not intended for cable sheaths, they're intended for use on pipes. If you use a strap like that on sheathed cables like they have here, the strap can crush the inner conductors. Jordan didn't want to remove it because the cable could already be damaged and messing with it could make it worse. When you're testing Ze, it is normal to remove all bonding conductors so that the earth loop reading you get is only via the main earth. He could not remove the bonding conductors because he didn't want to mess with the strap. It is unusual to see bonds to the service head like this, they normally go to the consumer unit or a separate earth block where they are easier to remove.
I don't see a problem testing ring circuit continuity at a socket ... some older consumer units you struggle to get at the earth bar ..we as electricians always give the wires a tug anyway to make sure they are in correctly 👍👍
in agreement with you , if its a commercial eicr wired in singles with more than two ring final circuits ,at least at the socket you will find the correct neutrals for the circiut under test , as not everyone identifies the cables in the consumer unit
Unfused spurs on a ring must not exceed the points actually forming part of the ring, so with just one socket on the ring there mustn't be the 2 unfused spurs, (which there is). Easiest way, swap the MCB for a 16 or a 20, and call it a radial, on which you can have many spurs, albeit there's 2 lots of 2.5 going to one of the sockets :-)
I've seen lights wired in 2.5mm before where the previous installer either didn't want to or didn't have the space to fuse down. I can't see an issue with doing that as long as the cable is rated to match the OCPD?
No way that’s a 1970’s house looks a lot more like 1950’s looks like a new town development house / council house. That’s had a new board in its life and roses maybe even wire. The lights by the window I believe are so that you could get undressed at night without casting a silhouette for all those dirty old men 😂 Good video again Jordan
I was told that the light fitting was put in front of the window because...That was where light came from (the window) and the original installers and specifiers felt they were replicating daylight near to where the dressing table was likely to be. Mad.
yep lights by window are defo to cast people in shadow to get undressed. Also doors always opened into a room so if you are getting undressed you have time to warn the person entering the room that you are not decent. I also hate it when I have to test the cpc continuity of a ring and it is double sleeved at the db
@@Jamie-kj9fh I don't even know why we bother putting covers on the boards I mean why do we bother putting a cover over the busbar, when we could just not put our fingers in ?
I've had one break. It tested fine after as I always check every one. There is a whole list of things that can go bad. TPC was done and apparently one of the wires broke when it went to test. The screw sliced it I assume. As apparently that's were it was broken. She could have been lying about the whole thing. Or it may have broke on inspection/ removal.
I would say much older than 70s, lights by windows were to stop shadows of people being cast onto curtains. I’d go 30s to 50s. Needs a rewire for redesign anyway so a pointless costly exercise.
Just professional curiosity, but under gas safe if the gas pipe is or was under 150mm from the consumer unit it would either need physical protection or a warning notice. Are the regs different in that regard from the electric end?
The lights were placed by the window above a dressing unit for the missus to put her make up on, 😂not sure the earth clamp on the incoming cable is legal ,they do one especially for concentric come lead 👍
I've heard a number of suggestions for the light by the window convention, I suppose there could have been multiple contributing factors - makeup / dresser position - stopping curtain shadows - reading in bed without direct light in the eyes - accommodation for four poster / canopy beds - so the electrician can see when he's wiring it up 😂 - to mimic the source of natural light in the room so things look the same at night (hands on clock faces especially) - easier access for bulb changing (if you don't want to stand on or move a bed) - keeps moths that fly in near the window - victorians could show off to their neighbours, having the light near the window would make their rooms look brighter from outside showing that they had electricity Sometimes I wonder if we should go back to this convention 😂
I'm in a place where sockets in bathrooms (outside zones 0-2 obviously) are perfectly normal and have been for almost 50 years. So you can find plenty of grouted in sockets in bathrooms too. Our washing machine socket has a slightly convex cover (70s design) and was grouted in so far it looked like a round socket rather than a square one! The combi boiler was fed off of that socket and the electrician who did the conversion to whole-house central heating wasn't happy when I told him where that feed came from :-D He needed to extend the cable to the new circulation pump but couldn't do a junction box at the old boiler location because that was in zone 2 right above the bath so he had to run a new cable from the hall and disconnect the old feed from the washing machine socket.
Jordan with that earth bonding on the gas supply tube I noticed the earth was attached above the joint which had plumbers thread tape (PTFE?) does that affect the continuity of the earthing??
Old school had the luxury of stranded tinned copper, even if a twisted pair was completely pulled out of the tunnel ring circuit continuity was preserved.
Is there even a point in doing an EICR before all the renovation and remodeling has even started. Or is it helpful to establish safe electricals before any work commences?
Extra sockets in kitchen would be great. But for now, the 13A fuse (in the trailing plug and socket) prevents the kettle, toaster, coffee maker scenario from actually overloading the wall socket. It's also MCB and RCD protected. But it is a pain if you want to have everything on at once.
I used to think the same, but it's not really true, you can run 20A through most 13A fuses for an hour, causing degradation to the socket and plug until they overheat. An old crusty socket and plug like that will probably start to produce excess heat down at about 10A.
@@edc1569 yes, I should have thought of that! I'd certainly be adding sockets once I'd confirmed ring continuity. Or waiting till I ripped out and replaced the kitchen.
Personally I don't think that any connections on stuff plugged into a socket should be included on an EICR as they are by definition not part of the electrical installation. When the house is sold all those extensions etc would be removed by the vendor as they are not "fixtures and fitting" (unless otherwise agreed with the buyer). It is useful to highlight the inadequacy of the number of sockets though but is obvious to the buyer and not directly a matter of safety. On a rented house where appliances are fitted and perhaps connected through unsuitable means I would think this should be highlighted (and possibly action taken) but don't know enough to say whether they should be considered as part of EICR.
@@_chrisr_ I think it gets a bit less clear when it’s screwed to the wall like that and in the kitchen IMO, I’d definitely make a bit about it as it’s not a good idea.
Everything is BIG in the UK!60 amps total fuse is scary to me.Dont the houses in the UK have the 3 phase connection??Like we have in the Netherlands in ALL the houses?Even when the wiring is just 1 phase.So more electric appliances then just make it 3 phase and just 3 x 25 amps,or if you have a lot more, 3 x 35 amps!Normal is 1 phase and 25 amps.
We don't often have 3-incoming phases for domestic properties in UK -typically they run the 3 phases down the street and distribute the phases across the properties. If we want three phases we have to pay to have them run into the property. My brother bought something that demanded 3-phases on ebay and was shocked when I explained what was needed to run it! Fortunately he was able to sell it again (and made a profit too!). We typically have 100A supply but this is often downgraded to 60A at the point of entry for variety of reasons.
Ipx4 ippx hmm 😒 the use of a finger entering a board or any fitting fixture, yes you can conduct a ze via the lower screws not the main screw to which clamps on the sheath.
Notices some comments about the installation and to me I would say a re wire would be preferable but the point of the eicr is to test what's there not what should be there you could always put in comments things like regs state min amount of sockets in rooms smoke alarms in various rooms etc but I see people failing or putting unsatisfactory for things like no rcd plastic boards etc again you can't fail it for what's not there just something that an imminent danger ie exposed wires or potential danger no earth etc
It's also failed, hurt and killed a lot more people so what's your point? I've had my LED lights on for a decade now and they're all working fine, nobody ever burned their hands on them, nobody ever got hurt by them, they never blew up and blew glass everywhere, LED is a LOT safer and if you need to switch them out every decade so be it, you SHOULD do that with traditional lights anyways
There's no way you need to go in a loft to do an EICR, open the loft hatch and have a look, if it's not boarded, back off. You have duty of care to yourself and any employees under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Great vid, enjoyed it.
Think it is something to do with increasing privacy. If you stand between the light and the window you are more visible than if you were to stand behind the light......(????) Maybe
Pretty sure its because back in the day lamps has a lot less output so you tended to put them above where the light was needed most -- where you'd have a mirror/dresser.
Always wondered about that. Our Victorian built flat has centrally positioned main lights in all rooms yet council flats from the 50's etc seem to have these "window " lights.
@@fabianmckenna8197 yes I live In a Victorian flat with 10 ft ceilings and you will find they are in the middle with a old decorative Plaster rose which is a work of art so would look silly near the window ,being old school worked in many houses with the light near the window and not necessary council , 👍
Something I really like about UK Electrics is that they go to Town with fuses and isolator switches on everything. Also UK Fuse Boards are some of the best ive seen so far. All metal, fire protection is taken seriously and RCDs are mandatory equipment.
@@johnxenofontos1058 Hi John, I understand this, same way I wouldn’t like to….. Although you can remove the cable from the clamp at the gas and water pipes.. especially when the main earth doesn’t appear to have been done by the DNO it would be the first thing I would have checked.
the power strip on the 4 way splitter in the kitchen........yikes. Never trust an isolation either.....or isolation officer, always test for live before hooking on. Two electricians were fried by a massive transformer at Bayswater,NSW Power station. The isolation officer screwed up, and the unit was live.
He just seems a bit shy with his arms crossed ;) I would probably do the same knowing thousands of electricians will watch me forever. Anyway, what does we all have our crosses to bare? Like Jesus did, he who died for our sins
Yeah, show some enthusiasm instead of standing with either arms crossed or hands in pockets. If he was my apprentice I wouldn't even expect to catch him still on camera after I'd asked him to do something. Just move it, get going, do it! Then of course the "I can't get this socket face off"...... WHAT!
Work experience? Is that where you hope to get experience of work or work at getting some experience? Neither seemed to apply here where he appears uninterested so why bother, I mean he's on camera, on TH-cam where someone might just think " looks positive in his work attitude, might be worth giving him a chance" Yeah, OOPS MAYBE NOT!
@@fabianmckenna8197 We only have a 32 minute window into what went on with this job, so I'd cut the kid some slack. We have no idea what other instructions and guidance were given to him on how to work. Not to mention that filming the work for a TH-cam video adds unique requirements to the work. And removing a grouted in socket normally is going to cause some damage, so asking about it first seems sensible to me. As a worker you should strive to be productive, but you shouldn't be causing damage or getting hurt on your first few days either. And as an American, I'm still shocked at the casual response UK electricians have when seeing a lead water pipe. I know it is a different trade, but if I hired an electrician and they discovered a health or safety risk next to some wiring I would hope that they would raise the issue to me with some elevated level of concern.
Do buyers ask for an EICR as part of a survey to decide whether to go ahead with a purchase (or negotiate on price) or are they generally done after exchange of contracts?
Depends. . Often it’s only required if the buyer is borrowing the money and the mortgage company ask for it. I bought a house about 2 years ago and my solicitor asked me if I wanted a survey . I declined as I didn’t have to borrow the money and on viewing before I bought it it was visually obvious it wanted a rewire.
I'm just now selling my 1980s flat in London. The first buyer didn't have a problem with my not having an electrical test certificate. In the end they pulled out for a different reason. However, since then the estate agent suggested that I should have a new consumer unit (and associated testing) in case a future buyer did insist on this. So it's probably a good idea to do this to help the process go through more smoothly even if not every buyer requires it.
@@fuzzylon yes no easy solution can go both ways,either they insist on one or they don't, or they negotiate on the price for allowing for a new board,obviously if the buyers plans is to rent the flat out then he will need a nicer ,also the actual installation might need updated or even a rewire ,so if it was me, would wait for what your solicitor asks for,you will find the longer the sale goes the buyer does not pull out , obviously this is my opinion and after just selling my parents no certificate was asked for,good luck 👍
How far do you travel? I'm about 15 miles from Cambridge. No current faults 🤞(pun intended), but always like to have someone I have faith in who I can call, as it's only a matter of time!
But quite old. For example the ancient supply cable to the house is something id bring up to UK Power it is very likely that they would rip it out and install a new supply. Now that the house is empty all sorts of things can be addressed.
The worst electrical installation that i saw is on UK and Australia. In Greece and Germany electrical installations are much more better and elegant...Also on Dubai.
The house is empty and in a perfect state to just rewire it, I personally don't see the point in going any further than the inspection but it would be up to the owner to make that decision shame you just can't write rewire now! across the cert and call it a day.
Old school boys like me were taught to twist the earths and single sleeve them. I still find myself tempted on occasion, the indoctrination is strong ;-)
I am old school like you I still give mine a slight twist together at least you know there is continuity and no chance one of the wires is going to fall out of the Earth terminal you are connecting into,When I was trying to do it by the book I found I was pushing the sleeving instead of the wire and found the wire didn’t go into the terminal properly
Are these problems you are finding actually dangerous or are you just looking for work because new regulation might require them? For example, does 'old '1970's wire require a full rewire in real life? .I understand switches loose or inappropriately positioned sockets or lack of bonding but really new boards with up to date switches?
@@sukhi17 Ruben is still in high school,just getting some experience, because he is keen for an apprenticeship,when he has finished school & don't be so quick to judge!
What ONLY and USEFUL textbooks, websites etc. do I need to become from zeeero to very good career having electrician. Please order them in hierarchy. Thanks for the help!
Under 2 minutes and your talking about a board change. Let’s see if it fails on anything first relating to the standard at the time of the installation. It’s getting worse as now you just said you can not disconnect the earthing conductors ! Have you forgotten your screwdriver.
Looks to me like the CU isn't up to current regs, which means he's got to change it or risk being liable for anything untoward that probably won't occur.
@@Strider9655 if he is not confident about his testing he can increase what he tests. If he has multiple failures then yes board change. You can not apply new standards to old installations. However he should highlight the increased safety with a modern consumer unit with RCD/RCBO’s. Pull off those extension leads in the kitchen first off all. If it’s rental I would always advise of RCD/RCBO’s especially with young families. The annoying thing within the first 5 minutes he talking about board change and then C3 lack of the MET so he can not test Earth. He has gone in there with the intent to get a board change and fail it. I didn’t even watch the end. He wants to hit his day rate of £800 so I can see why he goes that route .
@@rogerbean393 Ok, now I did 16th 20 years ago, i'm not up on later regs, but i'm sure that if you carry out work on an installation, and the CU is not to regs, then it has to be changed. I know gas is different, but a few years ago my boiler packed in and I had to fix it myself (changing a thermistor) because I had 3 guys round to look at it, and all of them refused to fix it because the flu didn't meet regs, none of them were looking to sell me a new boiler. This is the sort of madness we have these days.
@@Strider9655 An EICR is not geared for carrying out work to the installation, that's where you're misinterpreting what's actually going on here. Reporting on the existing condition is exactly that. If nothing is presenting an immediate danger, or needs urgent improvement to maintain a safe condition, thats it. Achieving compliance with current regs is not the excercise.
The earth conductor was connected to the outer lead sheath using the wrong type of connector. It is fairly well known that using this type of connector can damage the internal conductors. He is wise to steer well clear. Zs at db is a good indicator of Ze.
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As an older Electrician who moved on in my career I find it fascinating all the testing which is done now. In my day (mid 80s) Bonding was king and the testing was IR testing must be >1MOhm with an earth loop test. I used to do Rewires and Jobbing . We would often break the seals to remove the Main fuse and Tails. We would call the LEB (As it was then) and they would come out, complete their tests (a repeat of mine) and certify the installation and renew the seal.
And nobody got a shock and died.
A walk down memory lane.
UK owned power and local electricity boards.
I went self employed in in 1976 and it was exactly like you have said, I also broke the seal to reconnect and take my completion certificate back to Norwed who would go and inspect and reseal but today no one goes back to inspect the work carried out that’s the reason there’s to many cowboys doing electrical work.
_IR tests must be greater than 1MΩ?..._
I took a PAT course in 2003, and I was taught the same values then - Which I'm still using today (And yes, I test using an Ohmmeter) but thankfully only on my own consumer equipment and not professionally. ⚡
Heck, the information I'm using must be older than I am... 😲
The StarBreaker range of CUs was first introduced in in 1979. This spark was obviously cutting edge as he was installing split-load CUs before they were commonplace. The whole installation could be from 1986 or the wiring could be original and only the board newer. Looking at all the accessories would help you decide: if they all match, chances are they were all replaced at the same time. Just because all the pendants are close to window does not mean the wiring is the same age as the house: customers often did not want to repair the decoration, so requested the new fittings be put back in the same place. Interesting fact, there was much confusion over the introduction of the 15th Ed. Regs. Sparks complained it was very difficult for them to understand (the format changed greatly from the 14th Ed), so compliance with the 15th was delayed until 1985, even though the 15th was first introduced 4 years earlier. So that means up until that date, it was very common to find houses wired to the 14th Ed. This is why vo ELCBs (included in the 14th Ed) were deleted from the regs in 1985, to coincide with the use of the 15th Ed becoming mandatory.
I would agree with your initial comments, most likely 1970s wiring (with modifications) and def mid-80s Crabtree consumer unit and cooker switch. Presumably the house was tested at the time of the board change, definitely practices and regulations have changed significantly since then!
I guess the original board was probably a tiny BS 3036 job - 5 amp lights, 15 amp immersion, 30 amp sockets and possibly another 30 for the cooker but since the current cooker is gas the original one might have been too.
Funnily enough; My flat had its 5-year test last week, and the (MK) cooker point was replaced for having dead neons (Despite having had very little use over time and no cooker) with a Crabtree unit. Beyond the switches being larger and orange to make them visually distinct, the new unit sat on my wall is quite visually similar to the one seen in this video - Especially the rather odd positioning of the outlet _between_ the switches! 😲
Obviously the unit I have will be compliant with _currant_ regulations (Sorry! 🙃) but it's interesting to see Crabtree have changed the overall design very little over a 45-year period! 🙂
It’s amazing for the time I was on the tools Crabtree was a respected market leader and now is a brand name of a company owning many brands and now nothing special. Hager was a budget brand and is now a quality brand. Certainly I wouldn’t expect anything installed in the past couple of years to be in service in 50 years time! I certainly saw many products in service for 50+ years, MEM was a prime example with thick metalwork.
Take home message - To safely check dead, first use your fingers to dig out the safety cover directly over the live incoming terminals. Don't dig them in too far though... Then leave the apprentice with the beeping flashing tool to put on random terminals and assume the beep is good and carry on. ⚡⚡⚡
Haha. Great comment
Personally if it was my house I’d want it fully rewired anyway. No doubt they’re going to decorate the whole property only to need a rewire in the near future anyway. Get it out the way now and it won’t need it for a long while.
Of course, it’s up the the customer tho.
Good video J 👌🏼
To be honest, if someone is buying that as a forever home I would mention rewiring as they wouldn't want to have to do it in say 5 years time once the property is already renovated. Agree it may not be essential but now's the time to do it.
Great video again Jordan, you and the other TH-camrs are actually raising the standard across the industry, I have certainly raised my game since watching you guys, Nick and Dave
keep up the good work.
Kieran
KTW Electrical
No every body is rich
Lead water supply pipe. Id let homeowners know about that. Definitely make a point to them directly that you noticed it. That's really costly to replace.
could be a hard water area, lead service pipe not an issue if so
you can apply for a lead replacement grant, the only thing the home owner has to do is run their new water pipe from the house to the point where it joins the main in the street. As part of the grant scheme the waterboard will connect the new pipe for free. however you have to find and isolate the old pipe now thats fun. Took 4 waterboard engineers and £7k worth of ground radar gear to try and find our old pipe - guess what still didnt find where a neighbour was "t" ed in.
@@TheChipmunk2008 It still isn't great tbh
Lead can still seep in the water even if it's a hard water area
I don’t know what the rules are nowadays on water pipes , but years ago I was able to buy the plastic pipe , then dig up the 30 M garden to the required depth , put some indicator tape down the trench then fitted a bypass under the floor and got the water company to come check it ,
They made the final connection to the main , then I closed one valve then opened the new one , job done, relatively cheap.
( a 30 m load of thick lead pipe buried elsewhere in the garden if anyone wants to do the work )
@@TheChipmunk2008 I'm guessing this is based on an assumption (Or proof) that the limescale coats the inside of the pipe, protecting the water from lead contamination? 😇
With some tweaks, that could be made satisfactory. Move shower circuit to RCD side, sort the junction box out etc. Based on what the report is for, a property purchase with potential renovation works, it makes sense to recommend a full rewire to bring up to current standards. Lights not central, shower cable should be 10mm, more socket outlets, kitchen and bathroom upgrade.
A nice video of a void EICR Jordan, the best kind to do lol
The check is based in saftey. With fire, burns elocution in mind. Alot of what you rltalk about is not related
I would say the building is possibly late 60's. Lead water pipes became illegal in 1969, and CPC's became mandatory in lighting circuits in (i believe) 1966, so perhaps between those dates. The floor tiles behind Ruben in the last minute look typical of that era too.
I'd agree, the test label was most likely from a periodic inspection and test and from not the initial verification.
@@ashmanelectricalservices4318 Or the board was replaced and some other work done in 1986. When did earth sleeving change from green to green/yellow? 1971? And didn't T&E change from stranded Imperial to solid metric right around that time too? Some of the decor definitely screams 1950s/60s, especially those lovely PVC tiles you mentioned!
Assuming the previous owners bought it from new and it became their _forever_ home; If they bought it in their 30s and had the modern average lifespan of 80 years, that would correlate with your suggestion. The fact the decor dates from the period also suggests a family who might've had little social contact outside of work and church, and clearly didn't have many visitors.¹
The presence of the stairlift - Sadly - Also suggests to me the house has likely come onto the market via Probate. 🪦📜😥
One thing I would say is the house probably needs a full survey before it's lived in again. If I'm reading the signs correctly¹ there's quite the possibility of unseen issues that many reasonable householders would have repaired, but people of this order would try to avoid because of fears over the cost... 🏚💸⚠
(¹ - I have direct experience of this, coming from such a family myself. Sadly, I cannot express anything positive about coming from that sort of background.)
Not just”the fear of the cost”, it’s also inability to pay the cost, and no desire to upend their life to deal with the issue, and literal inability to physically deal with things. It all happens to all of us eventually.
It's called Inspection and Testing, you can find far more defects with inspection than you can do with testing. 75% inspection, 25% testing is a good balance. I think your inspection is great Jordan, a credit to you. Well done.
Just a note you forgot to tell him to ground the test leads. Lowest potential to first lead then you are not waving mains around.
This might be a bit sad, but I have my codebreakers book next to me whilst watching this video! They class that socket above the cooker as a C2 in there (socket outlet above free standing cooker with the potential to connect equipment). Not that I'm judging your work of course, I just remember reading specifically about that point the other day!
What's the justification for a C2 for a small gap through the grommets in the top of the CU?
yeah i'd do a strong c3
C3, fill any gaps with fire seal. C2 for the socket behind the cooker.
Yer I thought that was a little harsh, I get where he is coming from. in NAPIT code breakers its only a C2 if you can get a go finger in there and touch live parts. I’m sure Jordan has his reasoning though
It's IPXXB for sides and bottom (fingers) and IP4X (pin sized objects) for top surfaces isn't it? I think it originates from the days when fusewire was always kept on top of the fusebox and it was generally a handy spot for granny to keep her knitting needles.
I don't see anything harsh about the C2 for the open grommets on top. But i agree with the suggested solution of a bit of fire rated silicon.
@@TheChipmunk2008 Maybe even a c3+ to be honest.
Wow. I was shocked to hear we are the same age (2 months apart). I always imagined you being a guy in his early to mid 40s, running a successful business and so on.
I literally had to stop the video and rewind and check if i did hear right.
Or maybe i just didn't realize how old i've become, haha.
I did want to become an electrician at some point when i was little, and today i really wish i had become one.
So keep up the great work, i do enjoy your videos alot!
I'm '87 born I didn't realise Jordan's little over a year older them me, oh well. I guess I presumed the same with him owning a successful company. 34 and I'm already feeling old.
I did an EICR the other day and there was no earthing cables at all to the house and everything was run in singles. The consumer unit had 4 bonding cables bonding the steel conduit, the conduit was not linked at all to 3 sockets. I had to fail it obviously and I have recommended a re-wire to the customers dissatisfaction
The conduit was the CPC. Perfectly acceptable installation method . Bonding correctly also by the sound of it. Was the conduit not physically connected to those 3 socket metal back boxes or are you taking about no 'earth tail' connected ?
@@Marco-mg9tv thanks for the reply Marco, I was aware that the installation method was acceptable but in my opinion it was becoming tired. There was no locking nuts connecting the conduit to the back box and was not making a connection. I also did an R2 reading to the conduit and was getting over 6 ohms so it’s questionable if I even connected it, if it would acceptable.
Just had that same board replace due to new LED lighting inrush causing random breaker tripping! Shame as the board overall was fine just didn't want to risk getting new old stock and finding the issue carries on. Got a slick Fusebox RCBO board now and no issues.
What about RCBOs for some circuits, upgrading one or two at a time? Buy new stock of the same brand. Or is that no longer possible?
You got a gazillion GU10s on a circuit or something!?
@@tobysherring1369 Not possible by my searches. Also peace of mind too. The CU install was dated 1986 so to get 35 years use from it was great!
@@edc1569 Nope! 6 spots and 5m of LED tape! No faults found on any of the wiring so just age related. It was 35 years old after all.
Will
Add. Imo the wiring is 1970s , but it could do with a rewire , more sockets are required. And it could do with being updated . As it will have to soon ..
I learn more when you are hosting. You are so informative. Brilliant
Who said ring continuity can’t be done at a socket 🤣🤣🤣 your competent enough to inspect and test but not fit the face place on securely 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I don’t know what’s going on with all these whizzkids sparks ??... you can’t do a ring test at the sockets as it could be any old neutral ,or any old earth as they are still in block connections at the fuse board !!!...it’s the same when they were doing a R1 R2 test , the Earth was not disconnected from the Earth block in the fuse board ,without disconnecting this could be any old earth ,especially on the lighting circuit , where 2 lighting circuits would have crossed at a switch
Combi boiler, put in an electric shower. I get the feeling this was a half arsed update at some point. Interesting they've used plastic boxes in the kitchen wall, looks like an unfilled cavity typical of the age but the plastic box doesn't shout DIY to me, from experience it shouts Damp issues.
If you have ever had a combi boiler breakdown the value of an electric shower quickly becomes obvious.
Very important to prove dead on an unknown circuit - I know someone who moved into a house and found a socket that was always live regardless of the main consumer unit isolator. It was also at around 415v between live and "neutral" - some previous occupier had tapped an illegal feed from nearby powerline which was on a different phase to the house supply.
Helped a mate doing a rewire. So save money, we chased out the walls and removed the old wiring. Power was off , all fuses were out so everything was dead. Came do do the cooker wiring 😨😨 It tested live 240V. The cable into the ceiling before dropping into the cellar and was spliced into a SWA cable that have 6 inches of armour removed in order to make the connection.
Are you sure it was 415V between live and neutral and not between phases!!
@@johnxenofontos1058 that's the thing, what was presumably meant to be a neutral must have actually been another phase, my guess is that whoever installed it must have taken their tap from two phases rather than from one phase and neutral.
In my first house my dad who was an electrician was helping my boyfriend rip the kitchen out, he turned the cooker breaker off & asked if the cooker clock had gone off, it was still on, turned out the cooker was wired on the Shower circuit, the whole house was lethal, bare wires in the shower, multiple sockets that it was a miracle the house hadn't burnt down. My dad ended up rewiring the whole house, new consumer unit, new shower, new sockets & light fittings, earth bonded everything that needed it. Then we found the plumbing, the seller had sat & instructed his wife to plumb the bathroom in, no length of pip longer than a foot & thousands of compression fittings, if you emptied the bath, the shower cubicle filled up. Cost a fortune to make the house safe & liveable.
@@Nat6999 sometimes people have weird ideas when doing drainage - e.g. expecting water to run uphill!
DYI as you call it was probably kitchen fitter, conservatory installer and stairlift fitter.
Yes Graham D Barber Electrical Services Ltd is still going and in your neck of the woods. I just Googled his name good Job you didnt slag him off lol.
🤣👍
I think you'll find the company dissolved in 2013
He’s retired officially but still around.
the shower cable under floor is next to the cold water main 15mm feeding electric shower ,how is it getting hot
Would love to see Oscar do an EICR on Jordan's house. It might be a bit like a mechanics car.
C2 on grommets in top of board a little harsh
Agreed
It is not subjective. Jordan is not being harsh, just applying the regulations accurately. Check BS7671 or code breakers...
@@danielfensom1022 simplest thing to do in that situation is C3 and put a small amount of sealant to satisfy regulations then if required it can be swapped out if desired later ( client paying you up to £250 plus vat have some heart)
Wow, that house is a real snapshot in time. lol
I slightly enjoy the nostalgia factor, but I think I'd have to rip most of that out, including the doors.
The old airing cupboard reminds me of hiding in ours as a kid. lol
Makes me cringe when I see people grab meter tails / wires and run their hands up and down the back of cable. I've seen many with rat damage down to copper😭⚡
I felt worse when he pried off the live terminal cover with his fingers.
Smoke alarms should be installed horizontally not vertically, as it can delay how soon they respond, as the smoke passes by it instead of into it.
Fresh Norwegian electrician apprentice here. Have been watching you for a while, and I really like your videos so far. I've found them to be very educational, from my perspective at least. But there are some things I don't completely understand though. For example, at 22:08 in the video, you said you can't disconnect the PE because it could blow the cable. I would greatly appreciate it if you perhaps could elaborate on why you do or don't do certain things.
If I were to look at it from a sensible point of view, I'm guessing it's because it can mess with the supply cable/connection, or somehow cause other undesirable shenanigans?
That earth strap with the terminals on it is not intended for cable sheaths, they're intended for use on pipes. If you use a strap like that on sheathed cables like they have here, the strap can crush the inner conductors. Jordan didn't want to remove it because the cable could already be damaged and messing with it could make it worse. When you're testing Ze, it is normal to remove all bonding conductors so that the earth loop reading you get is only via the main earth. He could not remove the bonding conductors because he didn't want to mess with the strap. It is unusual to see bonds to the service head like this, they normally go to the consumer unit or a separate earth block where they are easier to remove.
@@havoctrousers I see. Thanks a lot for answering and making me understand!
I don't see a problem testing ring circuit continuity at a socket ... some older consumer units you struggle to get at the earth bar ..we as electricians always give the wires a tug anyway to make sure they are in correctly 👍👍
in agreement with you , if its a commercial eicr wired in singles with more than two ring final circuits ,at least at the socket you will find the correct neutrals for the circiut under test , as not everyone identifies the cables in the consumer unit
Totally. End to end and figure of 8. One less accessory to sample and 2 tests performed at the same time 👊
Unfused spurs on a ring must not exceed the points actually forming part of the ring, so with just one socket on the ring there mustn't be the 2 unfused spurs, (which there is). Easiest way, swap the MCB for a 16 or a 20, and call it a radial, on which you can have many spurs, albeit there's 2 lots of 2.5 going to one of the sockets :-)
I've seen lights wired in 2.5mm before where the previous installer either didn't want to or didn't have the space to fuse down. I can't see an issue with doing that as long as the cable is rated to match the OCPD?
It’s nasty when you find a lighting circuit in 2.5 you can’t get the cables in anything that’s why 😭
No way that’s a 1970’s house looks a lot more like 1950’s looks like a new town development house / council house.
That’s had a new board in its life and roses maybe even wire.
The lights by the window I believe are so that you could get undressed at night without casting a silhouette for all those dirty old men 😂
Good video again Jordan
I miss those silhouette days 🤓🤓🤓😂😂😂😂
I was told that the light fitting was put in front of the window because...That was where light came from (the window) and the original installers and specifiers felt they were replicating daylight near to where the dressing table was likely to be. Mad.
yep lights by window are defo to cast people in shadow to get undressed. Also doors always opened into a room so if you are getting undressed you have time to warn the person entering the room that you are not decent. I also hate it when I have to test the cpc continuity of a ring and it is double sleeved at the db
Not a 50s house I’ll say a 1970 50s had round ceiling plates and round light switches.
@@mbenn8168 It was also to provide light on one's face on dark days - you simply tilted the mirror on the dressing table.
Hi Jordan, we have a similar style MCB as those Crabtree ones here in Spain. We can't pass them as the terminals aren't protected.
@@Jamie-kj9fh I don't even know why we bother putting covers on the boards I mean why do we bother putting a cover over the busbar, when we could just not put our fingers in ?
I've had one break. It tested fine after as I always check every one. There is a whole list of things that can go bad.
TPC was done and apparently one of the wires broke when it went to test. The screw sliced it I assume. As apparently that's were it was broken.
She could have been lying about the whole thing. Or it may have broke on inspection/ removal.
I would say much older than 70s, lights by windows were to stop shadows of people being cast onto curtains. I’d go 30s to 50s. Needs a rewire for redesign anyway so a pointless costly exercise.
Just professional curiosity, but under gas safe if the gas pipe is or was under 150mm from the consumer unit it would either need physical protection or a warning notice. Are the regs different in that regard from the electric end?
The lights were placed by the window above a dressing unit for the missus to put her make up on, 😂not sure the earth clamp on the incoming cable is legal ,they do one especially for concentric come lead 👍
It was to stop shadows or silhouettes of women being seen outside the house.
@@AndyK.1 Spot on, that's exactly why they used to do that.
I've heard a number of suggestions for the light by the window convention, I suppose there could have been multiple contributing factors
- makeup / dresser position
- stopping curtain shadows
- reading in bed without direct light in the eyes
- accommodation for four poster / canopy beds
- so the electrician can see when he's wiring it up 😂
- to mimic the source of natural light in the room so things look the same at night (hands on clock faces especially)
- easier access for bulb changing (if you don't want to stand on or move a bed)
- keeps moths that fly in near the window
- victorians could show off to their neighbours, having the light near the window would make their rooms look brighter from outside showing that they had electricity
Sometimes I wonder if we should go back to this convention 😂
Oh joy, a grouted in socket. Great Vlog 👍👍
I'm in a place where sockets in bathrooms (outside zones 0-2 obviously) are perfectly normal and have been for almost 50 years. So you can find plenty of grouted in sockets in bathrooms too. Our washing machine socket has a slightly convex cover (70s design) and was grouted in so far it looked like a round socket rather than a square one! The combi boiler was fed off of that socket and the electrician who did the conversion to whole-house central heating wasn't happy when I told him where that feed came from :-D
He needed to extend the cable to the new circulation pump but couldn't do a junction box at the old boiler location because that was in zone 2 right above the bath so he had to run a new cable from the hall and disconnect the old feed from the washing machine socket.
most of the time I test the ring from the socket outlet as if I didnt I would never get the cables back in (square d moeller)
What's happened to Oscar? I was expecting much worse with this house, but the DIYer tried to make it look a little tidy I guess!
I have installed a board like that one going back in 1984
Would love to see more eicr testing matey
Love watching electrical from different countries ⚡️⚡️🪜
A single socket on the ring! With 2 spurs!! I'm speechless.
Looks more like a late 1950s vintage house. There were not many electric kitchen gadgets back then
Yeah, and those marble-effect vinyl tiles really took off around that time. Probably asbestos in them too.
Every home should have a Breville Hot Cup, even an unoccupied one apparently. 4:35
new stock in 1990.... fitted it in my house as a YTS trainee
and now i feel old, thanks Jordan
Jordan with that earth bonding on the gas supply tube I noticed the earth was attached above the joint which had plumbers thread tape (PTFE?) does that affect the continuity of the earthing??
Comment about replacing socket and losing continuity is why conductors were always twisted ‘old skool’.
Old school had the luxury of stranded tinned copper, even if a twisted pair was completely pulled out of the tunnel ring circuit continuity was preserved.
From my own experience, twisting solid core copper makes the connection less reliable in the first place.
Is there even a point in doing an EICR before all the renovation and remodeling has even started. Or is it helpful to establish safe electricals before any work commences?
Extra sockets in kitchen would be great. But for now, the 13A fuse (in the trailing plug and socket) prevents the kettle, toaster, coffee maker scenario from actually overloading the wall socket. It's also MCB and RCD protected. But it is a pain if you want to have everything on at once.
I used to think the same, but it's not really true, you can run 20A through most 13A fuses for an hour, causing degradation to the socket and plug until they overheat. An old crusty socket and plug like that will probably start to produce excess heat down at about 10A.
@@edc1569 yes, I should have thought of that! I'd certainly be adding sockets once I'd confirmed ring continuity. Or waiting till I ripped out and replaced the kitchen.
Personally I don't think that any connections on stuff plugged into a socket should be included on an EICR as they are by definition not part of the electrical installation. When the house is sold all those extensions etc would be removed by the vendor as they are not "fixtures and fitting" (unless otherwise agreed with the buyer). It is useful to highlight the inadequacy of the number of sockets though but is obvious to the buyer and not directly a matter of safety. On a rented house where appliances are fitted and perhaps connected through unsuitable means I would think this should be highlighted (and possibly action taken) but don't know enough to say whether they should be considered as part of EICR.
@@_chrisr_ I think it gets a bit less clear when it’s screwed to the wall like that and in the kitchen IMO, I’d definitely make a bit about it as it’s not a good idea.
@@edc1569 yes, In UK sale of adaptors with screw holes was prohibited back in the 80s or 90s to stop them being used in permanent installations.
Wow rueban is a lucky boy getting good experience
Everything is BIG in the UK!60 amps total fuse is scary to me.Dont the houses in the UK have the 3 phase connection??Like we have in the Netherlands in ALL the houses?Even when the wiring is just 1 phase.So more electric appliances then just make it 3 phase and just 3 x 25 amps,or if you have a lot more, 3 x 35 amps!Normal is 1 phase and 25 amps.
We don't often have 3-incoming phases for domestic properties in UK -typically they run the 3 phases down the street and distribute the phases across the properties. If we want three phases we have to pay to have them run into the property. My brother bought something that demanded 3-phases on ebay and was shocked when I explained what was needed to run it! Fortunately he was able to sell it again (and made a profit too!). We typically have 100A supply but this is often downgraded to 60A at the point of entry for variety of reasons.
Ipx4 ippx hmm 😒 the use of a finger entering a board or any fitting fixture, yes you can conduct a ze via the lower screws not the main screw to which clamps on the sheath.
Notices some comments about the installation and to me I would say a re wire would be preferable but the point of the eicr is to test what's there not what should be there you could always put in comments things like regs state min amount of sockets in rooms smoke alarms in various rooms etc but I see people failing or putting unsatisfactory for things like no rcd plastic boards etc again you can't fail it for what's not there just something that an imminent danger ie exposed wires or potential danger no earth etc
He doesn’t like old-fashioned lighting, but a lot of it has lasted a lot longer than most LED fittings ever will!
I still use the rb4 system works great and fine plus less cable low resistance
‘Old’ fittings that take E26 or GU10 but are LED compatible are easily more sustainable than built in units.
It's also failed, hurt and killed a lot more people so what's your point? I've had my LED lights on for a decade now and they're all working fine, nobody ever burned their hands on them, nobody ever got hurt by them, they never blew up and blew glass everywhere, LED is a LOT safer and if you need to switch them out every decade so be it, you SHOULD do that with traditional lights anyways
There's no way you need to go in a loft to do an EICR, open the loft hatch and have a look, if it's not boarded, back off. You have duty of care to yourself and any employees under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Great vid, enjoyed it.
I thought he was going to the loft to inspect the condition of the wiring
why did they hang the lights at the window??
Think it is something to do with increasing privacy. If you stand between the light and the window you are more visible than if you were to stand behind the light......(????) Maybe
They placed them there so it was above a dressing unit for the missus to put her make up on 😂
Pretty sure its because back in the day lamps has a lot less output so you tended to put them above where the light was needed most -- where you'd have a mirror/dresser.
Always wondered about that.
Our Victorian built flat has centrally positioned main lights in all rooms yet council flats from the 50's etc seem to have these "window " lights.
@@fabianmckenna8197 yes I live In a Victorian flat with 10 ft ceilings and you will find they are in the middle with a old decorative Plaster rose which is a work of art so would look silly near the window ,being old school worked in many houses with the light near the window and not necessary council , 👍
Fascinating to compare UK wiring to US, certainly is different.
Something I really like about UK Electrics is that they go to Town with fuses and isolator switches on everything. Also UK Fuse Boards are some of the best ive seen so far. All metal, fire protection is taken seriously and RCDs are mandatory equipment.
Such a great teacher, shame there isn’t as much money in teaching
Usually i'd agree but in this case nothing was really learned other than how to use a tester which is basic knowledge anyways
Why couldn’t you disconnect the bonding at the water and gas pipes if you were worried about touching the service cable?
He did not want to disconnect the bonding/main earth cable from the main header lead cable because he did not want to damage the cable in any way.
@@johnxenofontos1058 Hi John,
I understand this, same way I wouldn’t like to….. Although you can remove the cable from the clamp at the gas and water pipes.. especially when the main earth doesn’t appear to have been done by the DNO it would be the first thing I would have checked.
That pendant you dropped in the second bedroom had single insulation cable showing, thats a c2
Exposed single insulation on the JB and all
the power strip on the 4 way splitter in the kitchen........yikes. Never trust an isolation either.....or isolation officer, always test for live before hooking on. Two electricians were fried by a massive transformer at Bayswater,NSW Power station. The isolation officer screwed up, and the unit was live.
why did you tighten all the screws on the board then 10 mins later you loosen them ?
Holes through the wall in the lean too. Kids with screwdrivers? Is the unit dead?
I dont see the issue with extension leads providing they are fused correctly.
POD could definitely use one since I'm currently using a pencil case 😂
Rubens show some enthusiasm , I know it's hard to do when working with Jordan ,but we All have our crosses to bare
He just seems a bit shy with his arms crossed ;) I would probably do the same knowing thousands of electricians will watch me forever.
Anyway, what does we all have our crosses to bare? Like Jesus did, he who died for our sins
Yeah, show some enthusiasm instead of standing with either arms crossed or hands in pockets.
If he was my apprentice I wouldn't even expect to catch him still on camera after I'd asked him to do something.
Just move it, get going, do it!
Then of course the "I can't get this socket face off"...... WHAT!
He is only on work experience
Work experience? Is that where you hope to get experience of work or work at getting some experience?
Neither seemed to apply here where he appears uninterested so why bother, I mean he's on camera, on TH-cam where someone might just think " looks positive in his work attitude, might be worth giving him a chance"
Yeah, OOPS MAYBE NOT!
@@fabianmckenna8197 We only have a 32 minute window into what went on with this job, so I'd cut the kid some slack. We have no idea what other instructions and guidance were given to him on how to work. Not to mention that filming the work for a TH-cam video adds unique requirements to the work. And removing a grouted in socket normally is going to cause some damage, so asking about it first seems sensible to me. As a worker you should strive to be productive, but you shouldn't be causing damage or getting hurt on your first few days either.
And as an American, I'm still shocked at the casual response UK electricians have when seeing a lead water pipe. I know it is a different trade, but if I hired an electrician and they discovered a health or safety risk next to some wiring I would hope that they would raise the issue to me with some elevated level of concern.
Do buyers ask for an EICR as part of a survey to decide whether to go ahead with a purchase (or negotiate on price) or are they generally done after exchange of contracts?
You will find the solicitors will ask the seller for electrical and gas Safe certificates 👍
Depends. . Often it’s only required if the buyer is borrowing the money and the mortgage company ask for it. I bought a house about 2 years ago and my solicitor asked me if I wanted a survey . I declined as I didn’t have to borrow the money and on viewing before I bought it it was visually obvious it wanted a rewire.
I'm just now selling my 1980s flat in London. The first buyer didn't have a problem with my not having an electrical test certificate. In the end they pulled out for a different reason. However, since then the estate agent suggested that I should have a new consumer unit (and associated testing) in case a future buyer did insist on this.
So it's probably a good idea to do this to help the process go through more smoothly even if not every buyer requires it.
@@fuzzylon yes no easy solution can go both ways,either they insist on one or they don't, or they negotiate on the price for allowing for a new board,obviously if the buyers plans is to rent the flat out then he will need a nicer ,also the actual installation might need updated or even a rewire ,so if it was me, would wait for what your solicitor asks for,you will find the longer the sale goes the buyer does not pull out , obviously this is my opinion and after just selling my parents no certificate was asked for,good luck 👍
Most people ask for a EICR before they buy the property so that they can drop the price of the property.
28:30 Don't drop it like that chandalier scene out of Only Fools and Horses 😆😆😆
🤣🤣🤣
Dr Creme isn't the name of the donuts, it's Corey's artist name when he's busking on the streets at the weekend. 😀🎸
So the thing where I tiled in my sockets would annoy you?
10:43 You said cable was touching a pipe and had got "a bit hot". That was the cold riser.
1986 the cpc was green not green and yellow, they used 6mm so it’s not 1986
How far do you travel? I'm about 15 miles from Cambridge. No current faults 🤞(pun intended), but always like to have someone I have faith in who I can call, as it's only a matter of time!
Great work thax
18:56 you'll need to be paid royalties 😆😆😆
Better cable is above required rating than below
Quite a nicely done place.
But quite old. For example the ancient supply cable to the house is something id bring up to UK Power it is very likely that they would rip it out and install a new supply. Now that the house is empty all sorts of things can be addressed.
Wants all ripping out rewire and desperate needs a new kitchen & bathroom, (do houses like that still exsist) well done Jordan
I believe Graham Barber is semi retired but still in the trade.
GRAHAM BARBER ELECTRICAL SERVICES LIMITED. Dissolved on
14 August 2013
The worst electrical installation that i saw is on UK and Australia. In Greece and Germany electrical installations are much more better and elegant...Also on Dubai.
Ruben is quiet so he can absorb all the information that Jordan is relaying to him !
Do you mean he's quiet? As in doesn't say much?
Has Cory got the flat blade screwdriver today 🤣
The house is empty and in a perfect state to just rewire it, I personally don't see the point in going any further than the inspection but it would be up to the owner to make that decision shame you just can't write rewire now! across the cert and call it a day.
I am the 62%! Raspberries! Oh, no hang on I subscribed.......
Old school boys like me were taught to twist the earths and single sleeve them. I still find myself tempted on occasion, the indoctrination is strong ;-)
I am old school like you I still give mine a slight twist together at least you know there is continuity and no chance one of the wires is going to fall out of the Earth terminal you are connecting into,When I was trying to do it by the book I found I was pushing the sleeving instead of the wire and found the wire didn’t go into the terminal properly
Is this the generation that used to tin flex before putting it into screw terminals?
@@Strider9655 😳
Are these problems you are finding actually dangerous or are you just looking for work because new regulation might require them?
For example, does 'old '1970's wire require a full rewire in real life? .I understand switches loose or inappropriately positioned sockets or lack of bonding but really new boards with up to date switches?
Agree mate thats an awful lot of C2s for an installation that is honestly pretty decent and has not been messed with by assholes
Jordan... What happened to Oscar, have you got multible to-be-sparkys now?
Oscar left a few months ago for personal reasons
@@robertburrows6612 Let's see how long Ruben last lol.. He'll probably get his expensive freebies and then disappear
@@sukhi17 dont say that. What is freebies anyway?
@@sukhi17 Ruben is still in high school,just getting some experience, because he is keen for an apprenticeship,when he has finished school & don't be so quick to judge!
I'll take recommend a rewire for 10 points please Bob.
It’s a fluke , if you get the same reading twice !!!
What ONLY and USEFUL textbooks, websites etc. do I need to become from zeeero to very good career having electrician. Please order them in hierarchy. Thanks for the help!
Under 2 minutes and your talking about a board change.
Let’s see if it fails on anything first relating to the standard at the time of the installation.
It’s getting worse as now you just said you can not disconnect the earthing conductors ! Have you forgotten your screwdriver.
Looks to me like the CU isn't up to current regs, which means he's got to change it or risk being liable for anything untoward that probably won't occur.
@@Strider9655 if he is not confident about his testing he can increase what he tests.
If he has multiple failures then yes board change.
You can not apply new standards to old installations.
However he should highlight the increased safety with a modern consumer unit with RCD/RCBO’s.
Pull off those extension leads in the kitchen first off all.
If it’s rental I would always advise of RCD/RCBO’s especially with young families.
The annoying thing within the first 5 minutes he talking about board change and then C3 lack of the MET so he can not test Earth.
He has gone in there with the intent to get a board change and fail it.
I didn’t even watch the end.
He wants to hit his day rate of £800 so I can see why he goes that route .
@@rogerbean393 Ok, now I did 16th 20 years ago, i'm not up on later regs, but i'm sure that if you carry out work on an installation, and the CU is not to regs, then it has to be changed.
I know gas is different, but a few years ago my boiler packed in and I had to fix it myself (changing a thermistor) because I had 3 guys round to look at it, and all of them refused to fix it because the flu didn't meet regs, none of them were looking to sell me a new boiler.
This is the sort of madness we have these days.
@@Strider9655 An EICR is not geared for carrying out work to the installation, that's where you're misinterpreting what's actually going on here.
Reporting on the existing condition is exactly that. If nothing is presenting an immediate danger, or needs urgent improvement to maintain a safe condition, thats it. Achieving compliance with current regs is not the excercise.
The earth conductor was connected to the outer lead sheath using the wrong type of connector. It is fairly well known that using this type of connector can damage the internal conductors. He is wise to steer well clear. Zs at db is a good indicator of Ze.
Weird place for a stairlift, what on the stairs? 😅😉
13:01 Naughty Cory 😆😆😆
16:03 Nooo don't encourage those commenters 😆😆😆
Not a lot wrong with it really is there apart from the junction box