So we had our hot water cylinder removed as we went to gas, and I wanted to take the old outlet for the HWC and change it into a power point so I could keep the charger for the cordless vacuum in that space that the HWC used to be. So I turned the mains off and went to work on the outlet, and yet I got a buzz from the wires - not a zap, just a buzz. There was still power going down the cable, just not much.
Any ideas why this would be?
fatdat,
Sep 30, 10:38pm
It was just telling you to ring the sparkie.
ryanm2,
Sep 30, 10:49pm
Potentially the ripple control may have had a few volts , you may have a fuse carrier in the meter box which is still live, there's a few scenarios where your hwc circuit can still be live if your main switch is off ( due to crappy prior electrical work )
marte,
Oct 1, 2:45am
A bad earth connection at the earthing pole into the ground could cause a return back up thru the cables. I guess. This is the first thing I would check, some sort of earth.
What's happened to the cylinders earth cable too? Though I think it's sorta seperate, but if it's just been undone & left like that, then the stuff ( metal kitchen bench etc ) could be unearthed now as well.
lythande1,
Oct 1, 4:05am
Because hot water is wired back to the meter separate to the rest of the house power. Get an electrician.
captaingraham,
Oct 1, 7:51am
Many old installations had two main switches. One for the water heater and one for the rest of the installation. Comes back to the golden rule---test before touch.
johotech,
Oct 1, 9:46am
^^^^ These types of answers are why you should actually get a qualified electrician. :(
lythande1,
Oct 1, 6:41pm
Old? Our new(6 yrs) digital meter (and HWC) has 2.
captaingraham,
Oct 1, 7:12pm
Before the days of ripple control power boards used to use a special line and metering for the water heater. That line had its own main switch. That complied with the regulations on force in the 1950's era. I thought that only one main switch was allowed these days.Edited to say rule 2.3.2.2 still allows for more than one main switch in a domestic installation
captaingraham,
Oct 1, 7:16pm
Don't forget about the RCD to protect the new switch socket and the CoC to cover the new work. Also, will you insurance co. be happy with you doing your own elctrical work.
vivac,
Oct 1, 10:41pm
Grandfather clause allows anything that was previously legal to be considered legal still under new rules aswell.
vivac,
Oct 1, 10:44pm
Could be a variety of things that really do need a sparky to be sure. Can be anything from a faulty main switch, fuse left in to a neighboring property with a neutral fault or your property with a neutral fault.
wembley1,
Oct 2, 3:56am
Not quite. The regulations state that something that is not fully compliant with the current rules may continue to be used provided: a) It was compliant when installed, AND, b) Is not now unsafe.
I think a circuit that is still live when the main switch is off would be considered to be unsafe.
gyrogearloose,
Oct 2, 4:16am
I haven't read every post but regardless, the power supplied to the HWC using ripple control isn't intended for any other purpose such as charging appliances, running vacuum cleaners - nothing at all. The contract between you and the power supplier is an off-peak rate intended for a specific purpose, and if used for a different purpose is in breach of the terms and conditions of supply.
No electrician would risk their registration for this.
vivac,
Oct 2, 4:57am
My comment was in response to having multiple "main switches" on the old style boards, not a potentially live circuit.
gpg58,
Oct 2, 5:54am
Just a buzz could be just capacitance left in cables, if you are fairly sensitive to small amounts of charge. If you only turned the main switch off, and not the h/w switch, then you had the complete installations capacitive charge to deal with. As an aside, years ago(70's) i isolated a long circuit for a light fitting, then megger tested it (put 500volts on it), test was ok, so i then touched wires. The shock caused me to push down against ceiling, which lead to the alloy ladders step breaking, so one leg inside ladder other leg outside i fell towards floor, lucky though next step down slowed me, when it reached the space between my legs. , then just to add to the fun my head hit top of the kitchen stove before arriving at the floor. But things were still not over, my hand crank megger which had been on top of ladder, then found my forehead. Boss arrived while i was rearranging ladder with a sledge hammer, asking what the . i was doing, i turned and just said, it fell off the roof of the van on the way there, spotting my bleeding forehead, he just said ok and walked away. So just so you know, cables can hold a capacitive charge for a while(think it was an old metal conduit system if memory is correct).
captaingraham,
Oct 2, 8:49pm
HaHa. Reminds me of the story/song about the Irish bricklayer hoisting the bucket of bricks.
vivac,
Oct 3, 6:49am
Haha, that is one rough trip to the floor.
tygertung,
Oct 3, 5:48pm
Check the voltage of all lines with multimeter prior to commencing any work?
gpg58,
Sep 24, 9:44pm
Yes it certainly taught me the lesson that, if a ladder is loose and wobbly, either fix it or write it off, ideally before it has a go at writing you off.(it was the riveted on steps type and the rivets gave way).
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