More electrical shenanigans - any thoughts?

[slowmotion]

A meter is on the shopping list.

And no, turning additional stuff on like oven / oil radiator / kettle etc makes no difference whatsoever.

For poking around, Screwfix does something for £8.24.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-ac-d...0v/75337#product_additional_details_container

 

[gbb]

those are the type we have here,

View attachment 624927

coloured ends according to fuse rating that conveniently pop off to show that the fuse has blown

We used to use them in a former factory, in control panels, fuses sat in a screw in holder iirc. For the life of me i couldnt remember what we called them when we ordered them, then i saw Gl/Gg, that was it.
Biggest ones we had were 600 amps, not bottle fuses but bladed ones, size of a housebrick

Sorry for the thread diversion.

Back on topic, it'd be easy to suspect voltage drop. Beyond many peoples scope, id be checking the security of the connections feeding the light circuits, a loose wire perhaps. Any odd smells, odd sounds, fizzing or anything, ?
Or it could be external, supply problems etc

 

[fossyant]

A meter is on the shopping list.

And no, turning additional stuff on like oven / oil radiator / kettle etc makes no difference whatsoever.

I'm sorry to break this too you, it's probably age.

 

[Reynard]

We used to use them in a former factory, in control panels, fuses sat in a screw in holder iirc. For the life of me i couldnt remember what we called them when we ordered them, then i saw Gl/Gg, that was it.
Biggest ones we had were 600 amps, not bottle fuses but bladed ones, size of a housebrick

Sorry for the thread diversion.

Back on topic, it'd be easy to suspect voltage drop. Beyond many peoples scope, id be checking the security of the connections feeding the light circuits, a loose wire perhaps. Any odd smells, odd sounds, fizzing or anything, ?
Or it could be external, supply problems etc

I've checked as much as I can. And as I mentioned upthread, my armchair is next to the cupboard that houses the fuse box. I'd notice it pretty quickly if the thing had suddenly developed language skills or strange smells.

 

[Mr Celine]

Is your kettle taking longer to boil?
You could measure the temperature of a known quantity of cold water and work out how much power the kettle is getting from the time it takes to boil.

 

[irw]

Is your kettle taking longer to boil?
You could measure the temperature of a known quantity of cold water and work out how much power the kettle is getting from the time it takes to boil.

Blimey…that’s getting a bit technical! Not to mention the fact that the theory is that there is a lack of voltage rather than a lack of power ;p

 

[newfhouse]

Blimey…that’s getting a bit technical! Not to mention the fact that the theory is that there is a lack of voltage rather than a lack of power ;p

Power is volts x amps. Low volts means low power.

The boiling time measurement would only be useful if the OP knew how long the kettle took to boil normally.

 

[CXRAndy]

Is your kettle taking longer to boil?
You could measure the temperature of a known quantity of cold water and work out how much power the kettle is getting from the time it takes to boil.

Just measure resistance of element. Power = V^2 x R.

Or put amp clamp around live or neutral

 

[bruce1530]

Just measure resistance of element. Power = V^2 x R.

If resistance was constant, that'd be straightforward. But resistance varies with temperature.
And how do you propose to measure the resistance, bearing in mind that the reason for this circular discussion was that the original poster didn't have a multimeter!

 

[Reynard]

And I've got a knackered, scaled-up kettle cos you can cut the water out this way with a carving knife...

 

[Reynard]

Bollocks...

Whether this is related or not, goodness knows, but I now have no power in the garage / utility room. Was fine yesterday evening when I went to fill the wood bins in the house, but when I went for an armful of extra logs this afternoon, zilch. Ordinarily it wouldn't be a biggie, but that's where the freezer and the main fridge are. (The joys of only having a galley kitchen) I do have a bit of grace, what with it being so cold right now, but it is a pain.

Have tried resetting the main switch, but nada. Mind, it's cold and dark, I'm up a ladder and I can't see what I'm doing. I will leave it till the morning and good daylight.

But the only things that are always on and running are the fridge and the freezer. So the obvious culprit is the circuit for the sockets and those things connected to them. The other one is the light circuit, but I'm less certain about that.

It's the new style fuse box in there btw, not the Wylex that's in the house.

N.B. Supply to the house isn't affected in any way. Lights actually seem to be OK at the moment, btw. It's been a lot better since some of the neighbours cleared up their outdoor Xmas lights.

 

[13 rider]

Can you run an extension lead from the house to garage to plug the freezer in to save it's contents for now

 

[aferris2]

Have you got a long extension cable? One end to a socket somewhere in the house (where there is power). Other end to fridge and or freezer.

 

[Reynard]

Unfortunately not. I don't have any external power sockets and I don't have a cable that's long enough. I've got a couple of days' grace, because it's cold and the garage is unheated. The freezer is also full, so it will hold its temperature for a while as long as the door isn't opened.

 

[Noodle Legs]

Can you run an extension lead from the house to garage to plug the freezer in to save it's contents for now

The problem with that is if the appliances are faulty then it’ll trip the power inside the rest of the house.

If you suspect it’s the socket circuit then Unplug everything in the garage and try resetting the trip. If it doesn’t hold in then it could be a wiring fault. If it holds in then plug in your appliances one at a time and see if it trips and with what appliance. If it does then try again in case it’s just nuisance tripping and holds in the next time. If it persists in tripping out then that appliance could be faulty, or maybe damp. Hard to say for sure when I can’t see it.