domestic elec sockets..any help

[Blobber]

Sometimes if your really lucky you can pull a bit of slack on the cables

 

[Onoff]

Found this buried in the vermiculite at the parents house attic......View attachment 473924View attachment 473925

WAGOs like these could replace those now. 2, 3, 5 way genuine ones available. I've also bought 8 way clones. Constant force clamping so deemed maintenance free.

Old style:

Newer, see through type:

 

[Agroshield]

Old style:

Newer, see through type:

Are both of those pictures to the same scale?

 

[Robotstar5]

View attachment 473931

This isolator put me in Hospital. I switched it off, the metal case alarm was not dead.

Did you not test/prove dead the equipment before you started working on it?.

 

[Onoff]

Are both of those pictures to the same scale?

No. The see through 221s are shallower:

 

[Seadog]

Did you not test/prove dead the equipment before you started working on it?.

Clearly not

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Did you not test/prove dead the equipment before you started working on it?.

A week before, it was all OK.
That week their sparkies had rewired it, to allow a customer counter to be wired into that supply.

I was a carless that day, a shortened the power up my left arm and to earth down the right/

 

[MetalMonkey]

When I was in the CCF Signal Corps we were taught when crossing roads for field telephone circuits to coil sufficient cable on one of the supporting posts to re-make the crossing if wiped out by an abnormaly high vehicle.

I've always applied a similar technique to domestic wiring. Leave tails curled up in the back box of ample length to beable to replace the socket / light fitting if the need arrises.

I spent quite a few years putting in power, data and AV for organisations whose main purpose seemed to be restructuring their staff and reorganising their offices every week, which meant swapping all the power and data points back and forward constantly.

Not so bad in the big open plan ones with suspended ceilings, but an absolute mare in the Georgian listed buildings where everything was surface trunking and dado.
Consequently you caught on pretty quick to leave as much slack as possible on everything for the next guy, as invariably that was going to be you.

I got pretty adept at hiding loops of cable, and lost count of the number of times having a few extra feet saved my bacon. Especially handy as it allowed you to play Tetris with the unobtanium trunking lids and move the backboxes to suit the joins.
A couple of extra inches in a back box was a lifesaver when somebody pulled a desk out and ripped the socket off the wall, which happened regularly.

Even now I always prefer to leave things a little long and dress them in neat.

 

[MetalMonkey]

wound me right up , then you fight to jam it all in the backbox and risk pulling out a wire

had to order longer screws as well

Not much to add to what has been said, but really it comes down to practice in dressing it in and tenacity to get it all connected up.

More light the better helps with my failing eyesight. Extend wiring as necessary.
Flat plate stuff is the worst as nobody ever puts in deep enough back boxes for it.

One thing to watch out for with the longer screws, especially on metal boxes where the screws go through internal lugs and have a habit of pinching overcrowded wiring to the back or side of the boxes resulting in a nice surprise when energised.

 

[steveo3002]

One thing to watch out for with the longer screws, especially on metal boxes where the screws go through internal lugs and have a habit of pinching overcrowded wiring to the back or side of the boxes resulting in a nice surprise when energised.

yeah tell me about it , its a pigging puzzle

this one didnt help the wire locations on the new plate didnt match the old ones so wire length not ideal

 

[brightspark]

We did away with acorn connectors about 80 years ago.

screwits

 

[dobbslc]

Pigs dicks round here

 

[dobbslc]

View attachment 473931

This isolator put me in Hospital. I switched it off, the metal case alarm was not dead.

What was wrong with it?

 

[brightspark]

yeah tell me about it , its a pigging puzzle

this one didnt help the wire locations on the new plate didnt match the old ones so wire length not ideal

join the club been doing thousands for the last 55 years its called practice and a bit of patience same as replacing shower pull switches wired in 10.0mm with the wiring burnt back a bit

 

[dobbslc]

An asre of a job even without burnt wiring.

 

[brightspark]

What was wrong with it?

the incomers and out going are connected together probs didnt do safe isolation test on it 1st dont take anything for granted its turned off and you will live to tell the tale

 

[dobbslc]

Yeah I wasnt sure, it's hard to tell.
Was that terminal screw touching the earth bar?

 

[Seadog]

Yeah I wasnt sure, it's hard to tell.
Was that terminal screw touching the earth bar?

That how I saw it.
Or else it was out far enough for a certain person to make contact with live and earth.

 

[brightspark]

That how I saw it.
Or else it was out far enough for a certain person to make contact with live and earth.

the earth bar is set back from the mains terminals so wont touch if unscrewed. if it was touching there would be a bloody big bang no screw left . a big hole in the bar and a ton of black carbon round it

 

[Anguz]

Dog's cocks I know them as.

Me too..bloke where I did my time, would open a panel, and mutter dogcocks.... dogcocks everywhere