electrical installations question
Nov 25th 2005, 10:06 pm
#1
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Joined: Apr 2005
Location: port kennedy, WA
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electrical installations question
I might have been better off posting this in the working abroad forum, but figured that there are more people viewing this one.Anyway, my question is- do the aussies test and certify their installations to roughly the same guidelines as britain, and is it worth taking my own tester over there? I'm thinking about buying a multimeter that tests to the 16th edition requirements and don't really want to fork out the money if it isn't worth the expense.
Cheers for any help/guidance.
Neil
Cheers for any help/guidance.
Neil
Nov 25th 2005, 10:14 pm
#2
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 9,397
Re: electrical installations question
I've always found that sticking an uninsulated screwdriver into the socket works for me!
Nov 26th 2005, 12:11 am
#3
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Joined: Jul 2003
Location: Mawson Lakes, Adelaide SA
Posts: 27
Re: electrical installations question
to be honest, its not worth buying a fancy meter, as i'm pretty sure all test equipment has to be to AS/NZ standards. I'm a Electrical fitter and been out here nearly two years, and any installtions i have done, most companies provide all that sort of gear. so just bring your standard multimeter for checking and fault finding. hope it helps
Nov 26th 2005, 1:18 am
#4
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Joined: Jan 2003
Location: On The Outside Looking In!
Posts: 1,499
Re: electrical installations question
Originally Posted by lilstewie
I might have been better off posting this in the working abroad forum, but figured that there are more people viewing this one.Anyway, my question is- do the aussies test and certify their installations to roughly the same guidelines as britain, and is it worth taking my own tester over there? I'm thinking about buying a multimeter that tests to the 16th edition requirements and don't really want to fork out the money if it isn't worth the expense.
Cheers for any help/guidance.
Neil
Cheers for any help/guidance.
Neil
I brought my Robin KTS 1620, which works fine as the system is the same 230v/50Hz but have never used it yet! The testing that is done before the system is made live it just ticking a few boxes on a sheet. Is the Earth connected - yes, does everything work - yes, did you flush the toilet - yes....PASS.
The standards here are quite shocking. There are no ring mains, a feed is brought from the board to a central point in the roof space, a cable to every socket is also brought here where you have one massive junction which is soldered together and bound up with tape! If you have sockets on the cavity wall, these can be done on a sort of radial, by dropping the wire all along the cavity.
Cookers and hotplates are wired in 2.5mm, Mains incoming is 6mm, maybe 10mm if it's a really big house. Everything is MEN (PME to us). The chases in the wall are made with an angle grinder and the wire is stuffed in there, unprotected just 2mm below the plaster! Everything is chased from the ceiling down, so a socket 200mm AFL have a long chase down the wall.
The switchboards are something else as well. They are mostly on the side of the house and wired like a bowl of spaghetti. No busbars, unless the client has paid extra for a posh board, so if there are 6 breakers coming of your RCD, then you have 6 wires shoved into the RCD feeding the 6 breakers.
Apparently there is alot of money to be made in summer resetting everyones electric after the aircon causes fires on top of the poles in the streets!
What I would say, though, is bring everything you can as tools are not cheap. I brought my Bosch 24v Hammer Drill and had a crowd of people all saying, "Wowww!"
Anyway, good luck with it all, the work is so easy. The work I do now, is the same as I was doing 15 years ago. You have an apprentice to do everything for you. All you have to do is turn up and get paid!
Steve.
Nov 26th 2005, 2:47 pm
#5
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Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: port kennedy, WA
Posts: 248
Re: electrical installations question
Originally Posted by SteveBannister
Hi Neil,
I brought my Robin KTS 1620, which works fine as the system is the same 230v/50Hz but have never used it yet! The testing that is done before the system is made live it just ticking a few boxes on a sheet. Is the Earth connected - yes, does everything work - yes, did you flush the toilet - yes....PASS.
The standards here are quite shocking. There are no ring mains, a feed is brought from the board to a central point in the roof space, a cable to every socket is also brought here where you have one massive junction which is soldered together and bound up with tape! If you have sockets on the cavity wall, these can be done on a sort of radial, by dropping the wire all along the cavity.
Cookers and hotplates are wired in 2.5mm, Mains incoming is 6mm, maybe 10mm if it's a really big house. Everything is MEN (PME to us). The chases in the wall are made with an angle grinder and the wire is stuffed in there, unprotected just 2mm below the plaster! Everything is chased from the ceiling down, so a socket 200mm AFL have a long chase down the wall.
The switchboards are something else as well. They are mostly on the side of the house and wired like a bowl of spaghetti. No busbars, unless the client has paid extra for a posh board, so if there are 6 breakers coming of your RCD, then you have 6 wires shoved into the RCD feeding the 6 breakers.
Apparently there is alot of money to be made in summer resetting everyones electric after the aircon causes fires on top of the poles in the streets!
What I would say, though, is bring everything you can as tools are not cheap. I brought my Bosch 24v Hammer Drill and had a crowd of people all saying, "Wowww!"
Anyway, good luck with it all, the work is so easy. The work I do now, is the same as I was doing 15 years ago. You have an apprentice to do everything for you. All you have to do is turn up and get paid!
Steve.
I brought my Robin KTS 1620, which works fine as the system is the same 230v/50Hz but have never used it yet! The testing that is done before the system is made live it just ticking a few boxes on a sheet. Is the Earth connected - yes, does everything work - yes, did you flush the toilet - yes....PASS.
The standards here are quite shocking. There are no ring mains, a feed is brought from the board to a central point in the roof space, a cable to every socket is also brought here where you have one massive junction which is soldered together and bound up with tape! If you have sockets on the cavity wall, these can be done on a sort of radial, by dropping the wire all along the cavity.
Cookers and hotplates are wired in 2.5mm, Mains incoming is 6mm, maybe 10mm if it's a really big house. Everything is MEN (PME to us). The chases in the wall are made with an angle grinder and the wire is stuffed in there, unprotected just 2mm below the plaster! Everything is chased from the ceiling down, so a socket 200mm AFL have a long chase down the wall.
The switchboards are something else as well. They are mostly on the side of the house and wired like a bowl of spaghetti. No busbars, unless the client has paid extra for a posh board, so if there are 6 breakers coming of your RCD, then you have 6 wires shoved into the RCD feeding the 6 breakers.
Apparently there is alot of money to be made in summer resetting everyones electric after the aircon causes fires on top of the poles in the streets!
What I would say, though, is bring everything you can as tools are not cheap. I brought my Bosch 24v Hammer Drill and had a crowd of people all saying, "Wowww!"
Anyway, good luck with it all, the work is so easy. The work I do now, is the same as I was doing 15 years ago. You have an apprentice to do everything for you. All you have to do is turn up and get paid!
Steve.
Neil
