Electrical wiring inspection - pre-check!

[Lobster]

I will be having a rewire inspected (post-second-fix) on Friday. I'm confident (of course!) it will pass with no problem (!) but I'd like to do whatever checks I can myself in advance to forestall any obvious (ie stupid) issues. I was going to check continuity of the ring circuits using my multimeter, and was also considering buying one of these plug-in testers (which presumably should confirm each socket is wired OK?):

Are they worth having, and/or are there better ones available?

Is there anything else I can do simply? I'm not about to go and buy a full complement of test gear, I just want to avoid embarrassment when the proper check is done!

Thanks David

[Lurch]

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:09:17 GMT, Lobster mused:

I wouldn't bother with the cheap ones as you can get a Martindale plug in tester from most wholesalers for a tenner.

Really you want to test everything as it would be tested during a full inspection, so you want an insulation\loop\RCD\continuity tester.

I would at least do the ring tests and insulation tests, although if you don't have any test equipment then there's not a lot you can test!

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I believe there are slightly more sophisticated types available. But if you've done the wiring yourself there should be no need for this sort of tester. They're handy for an unknown supply, though, as a rough test.

If you've made a workmanlike job you should be ok.

[Bill]

Sorry to jump on your thread David but I'm just wondering, do these types of socket tester work OK when the ring is protected by an RCD or does it trip the RCD?

Bill

[Andy Burns]

They won't trip an RCD, they're only a plug with a few neons and resisitors in, they indicate (most) combinations of crossed or missing wires.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

They won't trip an RCD as the current taken by the neons and resistor network is tiny.

[RobertL]

I'd be interested to know more about the situation of this test. Is this a DIY rewire which you have submitted Building Contorl forms for and which BC are now coming to test?

What did BC charge where you are? In Cambridge they seem to charge =A3100+VAT regardless of the size of the job. Cambridge inspect periodically during the work and then do overall checks at the end. Is that what you are getting from your council's BC?

thanks,

Robert

[Bill]

Ah, thanks for that Andy. In the few minutes since my posting I've found a better tester but wonder if it's worth the extra money (£19.95 for the SOK

32

[Lurch]

On Tue, 26 Jun 2007 10:21:33 +0100, "Bill" mused:

is nothing wrong with them at all. Price does seem a little steep, I'd maybe shop around a little more, perhaps pop in a couple of local wholesalers and see what they have. From my experience most tend to have either Martindale\Kew Technik\Fluke and\or maybe some of the cheap ones.

[John Rumm]

CPC do the socket & see ones for a bit less - the SOK22 is about £16. They also have two Martindale ones - a basic one for £13 and one with combined earth loop measurement for £54

[Andrew Gabriel]

Mine does trip 10mA RCDs, but not 30mA RCDs.

[Andy Burns]

The martindale one claims to draw less than 5mA, could depend on if any residual leakage I suppose, mine has never tripped either of my RCDs, but then they're 30mA.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Although expensive at 54 quid that sounds like a good device for testing unknown supplies.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It must be more than the basic cheap type with only a few resistors and neons.

[John Rumm]

Could well be...

There are some more details here:

accuracy of the earth fault loop measurement is not really good enough for a formal test (at 10%), but as an added level of confidence it could be well worth having since it encourages you to test something that otherwise may well not get tested. Claims to not trip the RCD as well.

[Andrew Gabriel]

No -- that's exactly what it is. I should have said it trips _some_ 10mA RCDs -- I suspect it probably draws something like

7-8mA which puts in within the acceptable tripping range of a 10mA RCD.

The neons in it are quite noticably overrun compared with their use in indicators. I suspect this is to overcome any effects of stray cable capacitance and because they are only operated on a momentary basis.