Got an electric shock - power was off?!!?

muckybutt

Part P imo is a load of cobblers !
I am an apprentice trained sparks with over 20 years exp. but because I dont have the Part P qual I cant technically do work in my own home without getting it signed off by an inspector, yet I can go contracting and work on shop or swimming baths etc and thats fine no Part P req, theres no difference between working in a domestic environment to a commercial one, electricity still kills in either location, and another thing with Part P !!!!!! does B and Q sell electrical stuff ? What is really needed is a registration scheme like gas safe where sparks are issued licenses / registration cards which need to be kept upto date

waynehayes

muckybutt wrote: »

and another thing with Part P !!!!!! does B and Q sell electrical stuff ? What is really needed is a registration scheme like gas safe where sparks are issued licenses / registration cards which need to be kept upto date

I agree about the B&Q statement. However, the same can be said about gas appliances. I can buy a gas oven or hob from there, but I can't fit them myself.

zax47

muckybutt wrote: »

Part P imo is a load of cobblers !
I am an apprentice trained sparks with over 20 years exp. but because I don't have the Part P qual I cant technically do work in my own home without getting it signed off by an inspector, yet I can go contracting and work on shop or swimming baths etc and thats fine no Part P req, theres no difference between working in a domestic environment to a commercial one, electricity still kills in either location, and another thing with Part P !!!!!! does B and Q sell electrical stuff ? What is really needed is a registration scheme like gas safe where sparks are issued licenses / registration cards which need to be kept up to date

You need to do some reading!!

There is LOADS of stuff you can do that is non-notifiable under Part P, this is typical of the common misunderstandings about Part P. If you area suitably trained to be a "competent person" within the definitions in BS7671:2088 and can thus confidently issue EICs and MWCs then what's the problem? You would have to involve LABC for any notifiable work but you really need to understand just what is and what isn't notifiable first. (like for like replacement except for kitchens, bathrooms and outside, for example, is NON-notifiable, as is adding spurs or sockets or lights outside those 3 locations)

This might shed some light on things for you - a lot has changed in 20 years, but a lot hasn't. Like you, I finished my training over 20 years ago, but I've been in the trade ever since and kept up to date as necessary (16th & 17th editions).

BTW, I agree to some degree - Part P IS a load of cobblers and was a knee jerk reaction which doesn't solve the problem it was allegedly meant to. The Aussies have it right - no-one, who isn't trained and certified and assessed and registered, can do ANY work on domestic electrics.

jonesjw

People should be allowed to do whatever electrical work they like in their own homes & should take the responsibility themselves.
The government should not interfere.

SplanK

jonesjw wrote: »

People should be allowed to do whatever electrical work they like in their own homes & should take the responsibility themselves.
The government should not interfere.

people dont look at the bigger picture when they make this type of comment... it might be ok for YOU - however, if somebody has made a bodge, then when you sell on or the property changes hands and they are unaware of this...

there was a new story linked on here not so long back where the pipework was not correctly earth bonded and somebody got killed when filling a bath!

Steel_2

I'm pretty divided on this issue. On the one hand I don't want a nanny state interfering on what I do in my own home. On the other hand the previous owner of my home was an utter muppet and cocked up the electrics. If he hadn't have passed away I'd have been tempted to rip a strip off him.

Too many feeds off too many things, every now and then you'd switch the kettle on and everything would go off. Plugs sockets that would suddenly start smoking because he's wired them up badly. Even things like the plug on the electric cooker hadn't been done properly and that actually melted one evening. Thank God I was in the kitchen at the time....

When it comes to changing lights, replacing plug sockets and light switches hubby is very good and very safe. When it comes to rewiring or tidying electrics up, we get an electrician in. But then what's the difference between hubby doing it himself and the previous muppet owner?

MORPH3US - can I suggest you invest in a really good electrical screwdriver that will show you if a wire is live before you start doing anything to it. Hubby swears by his and checks and double checks everything is off before he starts anything.

Heyman_2

On the first day that we moved into our current home a few years ago, I almost killed myself attempting to pull out a fuse holder in one of the electrical boards in the downstairs cupboard.

The upstairs lights fuse had blown, so was just trying to sort it. Put my hand on the fuse board and got a bang. :eek:

Installation has since been ripped out and replaced with modern MCBs by a Part P qualified electrician. Old installation was a real hotch-potch and had lots of rubber wire and 1930s fuse boxes. Oh, and no earth :eek:

Just shows - you really need to take some time learning about things and getting advice before you go messing with stuff you know barely anything about.

MORPH3US

Steel wrote: »

MORPH3US - can I suggest you invest in a really good electrical screwdriver that will show you if a wire is live before you start doing anything to it. Hubby swears by his and checks and double checks everything is off before he starts anything.

Thanks Steel, I will look at those...

To be honest though, it was a simple mistake, I mixed the switches up and so thought one thing was off and it wasn't. Lesson learned, I now switch EVERYTHING off and then double check by turning items on to make sure they aren't working.

Lesson well and truly learned, not death or even injury... (maybe by luck more than judgement)

Steel_2

Andrew-b thank you for posting the link. I will send hubby over to have a look and a read, and then if he feels he is taking an unnecessary risk using the screwdriver we will rummage in our budget to buy a meter.

BTW, who aren't they recommended by?

The thread appears to be a fairly even p****ng contest between a few professional electricians who ended up insulting one another and coming to no valid conclusive agreement about neon screwdrivers. I've looked up other threads on other forums about neon screwdrivers and they all descend the same way: some agree, some disagree and then they all start insulting one another because the other side won't give in and agree.

Or is that just all forums?

needaspirin

I was watching the electrician who came to install our new meter. He disconnected the cables with his screwdriver and pulled them out of the old meter.

I said, “As a matter of interest have you got that isolated elsewhere?”

He jumped and quickly pulled out the 500amp fuse.

He said, “It’s been a long day.”

I said, “And it could have ended right here for you.”