DIY: What is this power junction box?

[cosmicbike]

Don't use that for testing for dead FFS.

Wrong range and it's possible there will be a black lump in what's left of your hand.


Hard to tell cable size supplying however it's rough as feck and certainly NOT compliant with regs even in 2006 . Done by a yeehah kitchen fitter that did 5 days electrical course and is now " Electrician" .

A 13A socket replacing the JUnction box ( looks like a 20A as too small for a 32A ) you will need to see what circuit protective device protects it though. Best advice is switch off at mains replace with a socket outlet and mounting box then plug new micro in .

As said DO NOT cut plug off , it won't void warranty , but it may mean you burn your house down if the new micro goes into fault.

Where is the OP located as if you are within an hour of E11 I will happily come and sort it for a beer or 2 .

Use that to test dead at my place of work and I will escort you off site. Martindale PI & Proving unit only at LV levels for us. That said, used correctly and applying 'Prove-Test-Prove' it's likely what most people use in their own home, and far better than a volt-stick. Agree with your course of action though

 

[subaqua]

Use that to test dead at my place of work and I will escort you off site. Martindale PI & Proving unit only at LV levels for us. That said, used correctly and applying 'Prove-Test-Prove' it's likely what most people use in their own home, and far better than a volt-stick. Agree with your course of action though

When I gave authorised persons training yesterday I said that if I saw a meter used I would use my check device ( a hammer) to check it wasn't going to work . And fingers may be used.

BTW old GS38 equipment is not now GS38 compliant . The standards changed .

Drummond are owned by martindale now . MTL20 is my preferred VI or PI on LV

 

[Tin Pot]

So, on top of my Maplins 34-piece-vde-electricians-tool-kit
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-34-piece-vde-electricians-tool-kit-a51qy

And 17th edition regulations (I assume this is not the regulations but a book on them)
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/17th-edit...electric-wiring-for-domestic-installers-a84tw

I need a GS38 compliant thingummy to test there is no current.

And something about proving before testing which I'm sure makes sense outside of logical reality.

 

[classic33]

Is the setup what caused the microwave to fail?

 

[Tin Pot]

Is the setup what caused the microwave to fail?

Doubt it, it worked for years, but could be I suppose. Don't know what's wrong with it yet.

Maybe I'm better off fixing the microwave than playing with the wiring. Might need to back it out if it starts working again

 

[classic33]

Doubt it, it worked for years, but could be I suppose. Don't know what's wrong with it yet.

Maybe I'm better off fixing the microwave than playing with the wiring. Might need to back it out if it starts working again

Remember the anti-flood float?

 

[Tin Pot]

Remember the anti-flood float?

Oh yeah.

Burn the lot of it.

 

[subaqua]

bin the neon from that "VDEcompliant kit" . and you only need insulated tools if working live . which you shouldnt be

and good luck with Brian Scaddans book. - his writing is awful. its also very much the theory behind the practical .

if you are not sure what you are doing with electricity dont work on it . its a sneaky little fecker and will try and kill you.

this is a GS38 compliant Voltage indicator

 

[Tin Pot]

bin the neon from that "VDEcompliant kit" . and you only need insulated tools if working live . which you shouldnt be

and good luck with Brian Scaddans book. - his writing is awful. its also very much the theory behind the practical .

if you are not sure what you are doing with electricity dont work on it . its a sneaky little fecker and will try and kill you.

View attachment 342018 this is a GS38 compliant Voltage indicator

I understand electricity pretty well, better than most I'd hazard. House wiring, not so much.

How hard can it be?

You have a bunch of wiring loops running through the house all with a fuse that allows you to break the circuit or break automatically when a surge occurs which indicates something is wrong (like Dad having 20,000 volts* running through him) centralised at the "consumer unit".

Understand the wiring, and cut off all the power before you work on anything.

The trick I imagine is not getting killed by some dodgy fecker who has wired the existing stuff backwards - which some guys have said to be the case in my garage and upstairs bathroom.

*I am aware that ampage is the more deadly measure

 

[fossyant]

I'd replace the junction box and wire in a single or double wall socket. It's already a bodge, o you can only improve it.

 

[cosmicbike]

When I gave authorised persons training yesterday I said that if I saw a meter used I would use my check device ( a hammer) to check it wasn't going to work . And fingers may be used.

BTW old GS38 equipment is not now GS38 compliant . The standards changed .

Drummond are owned by martindale now . MTL20 is my preferred VI or PI on LV

Martindale VI13800 and PU for us up to 3-ph LV. Change to ALS HV for ground power and AGL, then big sticks @ 11kV, followed by Pfisterer Phase Comparators at 33kV.

And something about proving before testing which I'm sure makes sense outside of logical reality.

PROVE your tester (potential indicator, PI) works on a known live source (either proving unit, PU, or another circuit which you know is live, not ideal)
TEST the circuit on which you want to work using your PI.
PROVE your PI still works by testing on PU

 

[Cycleops]

What certifications do you need to be qualified to do all the electrics in a house?

If it's a two week course I can do I'll do it.

Do the bodgers course, its much shorter.

 

[keithmac]

Not nit picking but when did "amperage" become a word? I see it used all over the place now.

When we did A Level physics the tutor insisted on Current as the measure (in amps) and bollocked anybody even mumering the wors amperage..

 

[snorri]

Do the bodgers course, its much shorter.

Not as easy as it may seem, the lecturer for the bodgers course was electrocuted last week.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Not nit picking but when did "amperage" become a word? I see it used all over the place now.

When we did A Level physics the tutor insisted on Current as the measure (in amps) and bollocked anybody even mumering the wors amperage..

We used to get rollocked for using grammar such as 'mumering' and 'wors'.