wiring failure

[Exfarmer]

So last night about 8 I lost power to half the house, trip was out but left the lights on.
So do the obvious and unplug everything , in fact nearly nothing was working at that time apart from the TV I was watching , which was not involved.
Nothing would persuade the trip to go back on and having had a couple of glasses of wine for dinner decided the sensible thing would be to take a closer look in the morning.
Up silly early as the power was out in the bedroom so had no idea of time
Luckily kitchen was still powered so after my usual coffees set to work.
Double checked all the sockets and nothing.
So luckily I have a spare trip ( that is another story ) so power the house down and change trip but as soon as I switch on it trips out instantly.
Nothing for it but to check out the wiring first in my garages where I put some extension sockets in a while ago , but nothing
Then in my office where we had some extra sockets 15 years ago installed and bingo luckily first socket I pulled off there was a black mark on the steel pattress set in the wall.
where the wire passes through it had burnt through and allowed it to flash across.
There was no grommet which I think is the norm, but just a bit worrying.
If this had been the old rubber wiring I would not have been surprised but 15 year old plastic should never fail that quickly.
The wire came out of the patress and went though a plastic duct on the running along the top of the skirting, could that have had any effect?
Luckily I had a bit of wire and was able to replace the lot and put a grommet in the pattress so up and running now

 

[Lincsman]

It is perfectly possible, and predictable without the grommet, what caused it is vibrations.. very small ones, doors closing etc,, but over time it wears away

 

[vantage]

So last night about 8 I lost power to half the house, trip was out but left the lights on.
So do the obvious and unplug everything , in fact nearly nothing was working at that time apart from the TV I was watching , which was not involved.
Nothing would persuade the trip to go back on and having had a couple of glasses of wine for dinner decided the sensible thing would be to take a closer look in the morning.
Up silly early as the power was out in the bedroom so had no idea of time
Luckily kitchen was still powered so after my usual coffees set to work.
Double checked all the sockets and nothing.
So luckily I have a spare trip ( that is another story ) so power the house down and change trip but as soon as I switch on it trips out instantly.
Nothing for it but to check out the wiring first in my garages where I put some extension sockets in a while ago , but nothing
Then in my office where we had some extra sockets 15 years ago installed and bingo luckily first socket I pulled off there was a black mark on the steel pattress set in the wall.
where the wire passes through it had burnt through and allowed it to flash across.
There was no grommet which I think is the norm, but just a bit worrying.
If this had been the old rubber wiring I would not have been surprised but 15 year old plastic should never fail that quickly.
The wire came out of the patress and went though a plastic duct on the running along the top of the skirting, could that have had any effect?
Luckily I had a bit of wire and was able to replace the lot and put a grommet in the pattress so up and running now

We moved our meters a couple of years ago, local sparky did the move, reckoned he’d managed gangs of sparkies, wasn’t anything he didn’t know. Time moved on and we installed 3 phase and a new sparky, who does a fair amount of farm work, saw what the previous sparky had done and proclaimed “If one of my lads had done that, I’d have fired him!”, apparently he hadn’t put a grommet between a wire and the box!

 

[TheTallGuy]

So last night about 8 I lost power to half the house, trip was out but left the lights on.
So do the obvious and unplug everything , in fact nearly nothing was working at that time apart from the TV I was watching , which was not involved.
Nothing would persuade the trip to go back on and having had a couple of glasses of wine for dinner decided the sensible thing would be to take a closer look in the morning.
Up silly early as the power was out in the bedroom so had no idea of time
Luckily kitchen was still powered so after my usual coffees set to work.
Double checked all the sockets and nothing.
So luckily I have a spare trip ( that is another story ) so power the house down and change trip but as soon as I switch on it trips out instantly.
Nothing for it but to check out the wiring first in my garages where I put some extension sockets in a while ago , but nothing
Then in my office where we had some extra sockets 15 years ago installed and bingo luckily first socket I pulled off there was a black mark on the steel pattress set in the wall.
where the wire passes through it had burnt through and allowed it to flash across.
There was no grommet which I think is the norm, but just a bit worrying.
If this had been the old rubber wiring I would not have been surprised but 15 year old plastic should never fail that quickly.
The wire came out of the patress and went though a plastic duct on the running along the top of the skirting, could that have had any effect?
Luckily I had a bit of wire and was able to replace the lot and put a grommet in the pattress so up and running now

Lack of grommets is just about my biggest bugbear - they cost pence and take seconds to fit. Aside from natural vibration within the fabric of the building (doors shutting etc) it's easy to forget that every time you plug in or remove a plug the socket plate will flex along with the cable attached, even operating the switch can cause movement and vibration. Then of course there is thermal expansion - as the load on a circuit varies so will the temperature of the cable and hence small amounts of movement.

This is a good example of why an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) should be done on a regular basis. The guidance is typically 10 years for owner occupied homes (5 years for tenanted properties), but I personally think that 5 years is more appropriate.

 

[HatsOff]

Grommets are definitely required in timber walls but are they needed when fixed to masonry?

 

[Exfarmer]

I cannot think when I last saw a grommet in any fittings I have investigated. Industrial yes but not in the house.
Good job we have trips as I may have been looking for a new houses today.
I did wonder after whether perhaps somebody had possibly nicked it when trimming the cable, who knows .

 

[harrow]

So last night about 8 I lost power to half the house, trip was out but left the lights on.
So do the obvious and unplug everything , in fact nearly nothing was working at that time apart from the TV I was watching , which was not involved.
Nothing would persuade the trip to go back on and having had a couple of glasses of wine for dinner decided the sensible thing would be to take a closer look in the morning.
Up silly early as the power was out in the bedroom so had no idea of time
Luckily kitchen was still powered so after my usual coffees set to work.
Double checked all the sockets and nothing.
So luckily I have a spare trip ( that is another story ) so power the house down and change trip but as soon as I switch on it trips out instantly.
Nothing for it but to check out the wiring first in my garages where I put some extension sockets in a while ago , but nothing
Then in my office where we had some extra sockets 15 years ago installed and bingo luckily first socket I pulled off there was a black mark on the steel pattress set in the wall.
where the wire passes through it had burnt through and allowed it to flash across.
There was no grommet which I think is the norm, but just a bit worrying.
If this had been the old rubber wiring I would not have been surprised but 15 year old plastic should never fail that quickly.
The wire came out of the patress and went though a plastic duct on the running along the top of the skirting, could that have had any effect?
Luckily I had a bit of wire and was able to replace the lot and put a grommet in the pattress so up and running now

Well done for doing the repair, maybe its time to get everything checked over before it lets you down again.

 

[Tarw Coch]

We moved our meters a couple of years ago, local sparky did the move, reckoned he’d managed gangs of sparkies, wasn’t anything he didn’t know. Time moved on and we installed 3 phase and a new sparky, who does a fair amount of farm work, saw what the previous sparky had done and proclaimed “If one of my lads had done that, I’d have fired him!”, apparently he hadn’t put a grommet between a wire and the box!

Off topic but I’ve come to the conclusion that those who claim to know and have done everything are usually full of sh!t.
Those who are at the top of their game are usually quite humble about their abilities

 

[Lincsman]

Lack of grommets is just about my biggest bugbear - they cost pence and take seconds to fit. Aside from natural vibration within the fabric of the building (doors shutting etc) it's easy to forget that every time you plug in or remove a plug the socket plate will flex along with the cable attached, even operating the switch can cause movement and vibration. Then of course there is thermal expansion - as the load on a circuit varies so will the temperature of the cable and hence small amounts of movement.

This is a good example of why an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) should be done on a regular basis. The guidance is typically 10 years for owner occupied homes (5 years for tenanted properties), but I personally think that 5 years is more appropriate.

A EICR does not look that hard, only a small sample of sockets are opened up to see the state of the installation, I had one done on a house 6 months ago, a month later the tenant asked to come and swap a faulty lock, and while i was there look at a twin gang socket where the left side didn't switch properly and had been like it for over a year, this socket had been having a melt down due a a loose wire for months, ironically it was the one nearest to the Consumer unit and easiest to check!

Still the paperwork is in order so thats OK... a bit like red tractor!

 

[TheTallGuy]

A EICR does not look that hard, only a small sample of sockets are opened up to see the state of the installation, I had one done on a house 6 months ago, a month later the tenant asked to come and swap a faulty lock, and while i was there look at a twin gang socket where the left side didn't switch properly and had been like it for over a year, this socket had been having a melt down due a a loose wire for months, ironically it was the one nearest to the Consumer unit and easiest to check!

Still the paperwork is in order so thats OK... a bit like red tractor!

As ever, it depends on who you get doing the job - there are those who do a proper job & then those who do it as a drive-by. As a bare minimum, they should be doing a basic polarity check and R1+R2 at each outlet which should also check operation of the switch & in my experience loose connections will show up on the R1+R2 as well.

 

[X344chap]

Are the cables not vibrating at 50hz - which will eventually cause a sharp pattress to eat into the cable sheath? Is this not why screws on electrical connectors can slacken off - if not tighted properly in the first place?