Hall of shame

No.

The trip current is way above that which can be fatal.

It is worth investing in a voltage detector of some kind- a meter or one of those non-contact detectors you hold next to the cable.

BRRR. Little or no insulation inside those sloping upstairs 'walls', especially if it was built in the 50's or 60's (or

I heard a tale that many were built during periods when bricks were expensive

Ok, thanks for that. I only added it to power an ONT, router, DECT phone or similar but the next owner might plug two fan heaters into it so its an arse-covering exercise hebce rating it at 10 amps (Red and Black cable, I did it before Part P guv, honest).

If it's that important, you should have a UPS - in case of mains failure.

Built 1983. Very solid, cavity insulation, dormer walls have 6" rock wool, loft has about 12" except it's about 4' where they stacked up what was left over. Under floor allegedly insulated and if you want to fix anything to the outside walls you put the plugs in the mortar unless you have a diamond drill!

Avocado suites and Artex ceilings, absolutely pristine. Have to be careful about the Artex in case it was old stock.

Gas CH, just had new boiler fitted, will see me out!

You need a neon screwdriver (if they are still available).

Ah, that little snag had passed me by ... Clive will be upset.

One man's Avocado is another man's Pampas Green (which is much lighter in colour).

PS what is the modern era equivalent of planting a Pampas grass in the middle of the front lawn ?. (wife swapping).

We do, but it is intended to ride out short interruptions or provide for graceful shutdown on longer ones, not to keep everything running for an extended period.

Was it a remnant of former DC supply that had been converted?

GH

I have never understood neutral fusing though I had an idea it was a DC feature. Was the black wire not referenced to earth then? Could you get an electric shock from the black wire? Were three pin plugs with an earth used in DC supplies? Would the whole house need to be rewired for conversion from DC to AC?

There has never been DC supplies to UK homes. Some off-grid rural places used farm systems which were on site 32 volt DC gererators with batteries. Now very rare.

Wrong.

I grew up in Brighton and the whole town was DC until the late 1950s.

We had sockets with socking great switches that opened fast to minimise the arc. And my model train set ran off 12v from a small rotary converter.

Oh?

I think residential areas of north Nottingham were late to be converted to AC.

It was common for Sixties TVs and mains valve radios to be AC/DC, there must have been a need. The Radiospares (not RS) catalogue in the late Sixties contained many common mains dropper resistor banks, along with wirewound sections to make your own if you had an unusual one.

I thought RS *is* the evolution of Radiospares?