Green Goo from plug sockets - 3 bed room - how long does re-wiring take?

wallbash

Some one still has to convince me that green goo is reason to rewire.

Its not dangerous.

anotherbaldrick

wallbash wrote: »

Some one still has to convince me that green goo is reason to rewire.

Its not dangerous.

Reading the report the Green Goo is caused by the wiring insulation breaking down into a Martian Mush. That may not give you cause for concern, but it would sure give me the terminal squitters .

wallbash

caused by the wiring insulation breaking down into a

Yes , but tell me the time scale ?As I posted all my oozing pus filled ( yes that is OTT) is still flexible and sound after 25 years. All cable will deteriorate over time .... but how long is the question.

anotherbaldrick

wallbash wrote: »

Yes , but tell me the time scale ?As I posted all my oozing pus filled ( yes that is OTT) is still flexible and sound after 25 years. All cable will deteriorate over time .... but how long is the question.

As I posted before, call an electrician in to test the insulation with his Megameter . Its not the situation to surmise over when an 1/2 hour of his time would prove the system safe or not. One causal of GG is known to be that the wiring is running hot.

wallbash

call an electrician in to test the insulation with his Megameter

I don't need to call an expensive electrician to tell me that a cable is showing me no cracking/brittle and is as flexible as the day it was installed.

prove the system safe or not.

The installation is safe .

anotherbaldrick

wallbash wrote: »

I don't need to call an expensive electrician to tell me that a cable is showing me no cracking/brittle and is as flexible as the day it was installed.



The installation is safe .

Is that your considered advice to the OP ??
quote OP and its recently got increasingly worse.

wallbash

Yes , the OP was/ is talking about the 'green stuff'
Has he ever taken the face plate off ? Has put up with it coming thru the holes in the face plate.

If he was a house owner , would have removed front,wiped terminals and repeated every few years.
Having left mess on the front plate ( why?) its now causing him to expect a rewire .
Until I see evidence that the OP has a problem far far worse than even I can imagine ( as the only poster who has first hand experience ) will still post that there is not a safety issue. Just a very small cosmetic one.

anotherbaldrick

wallbash wrote: »

Yes , the OP was/ is talking about the 'green stuff'
Has he ever taken the face plate off ? Has put up with it coming thru the holes in the face plate.

If he was a house owner , would have removed front,wiped terminals and repeated every few years.
Having left mess on the front plate ( why?) its now causing him to expect a rewire .
Until I see evidence that the OP has a problem far far worse than even I can imagine ( as the only poster who has first hand experience ) will still post that there is not a safety issue. Just a very small cosmetic one.

You should come with a health and safety warning . All the posted advice on the web is that this is an issue that needs to be checked by a professional . If you wish to take a cavalier attitude that is your prerogative but although you are welcome to end up as toast it is not advice that you should be suggesting others take.

wallbash

You should come with a health and safety warning

Will apologise as soon as some one proves the danger .

muckybutt

Green gunge is most prevalent in cables made between 1965 and 1971. The gunge is degraded di-isoctyl phthalate and is the result of the reaction between the plasticisor in the insulation and the copper. Between 1965 and 1971 the temprature performance of PVC was uprated by the inclusion of an anti-oxidant in to the PVC. An unappreciated side effect was that the anti-oxident encouraged the production of exudate.
Evidence suggests that that high ambient temperatures accelarate the process. The exudate is of low flammability and low toxicity. Although unsightly it does not reduce the electrical integity of the conductor or the insulation.
See also the draft BCA statement (April 2001) below: -
1) PVC
PVC comes in two main grades, plasticised and unplasticised PVC.
Unplasticised PVC (UPVC) is used for example in double glazing window frames where a rigid material is required.
The PVC used for manufacture of cables is a plasticised PVC that conforms to the relevant British Standard for the cable type in question.
2) Ageing effects.
As a cable ages; (at temperatures above normal ambient), the elongation to break decreases (also the Insulation Resistance increases). The life expectancy of a cable is arbitrarily considered to be when the elongation to break of the PVC is 50%.
A lower elongation to break value could be considered suitable especially for a fixed wiring cable. Therefore, providing the cable is not subject to movement or when moved due to inspection of socket outlet or the like, the PVC does not crack, a much lower value of elongation to break is considered by some as suitable.
3) Greening.
Greening is the appearance of a wet green substance that is a product of an adverse reaction between certain types of plasticiser and the copper conductors. This greening, which is a rare occurrence, can happen either after a long period of time for some cables, or if the cable has been severely overheated. The plasticiser itself is a clear oily liquid that is non conductive. The green substance is a combination of copper oxide and plasticiser which may become conductive under certain adverse conditions.
4) Action if Greening is found :
Whenever this green substance is found at socket outlets etc, initially it should be removed and the terminations cleaned (gloves should be used) otherwise it is possible that tracking/overheating may occur. It is strongly recommended that rewiring should be carried out as soon as possible.
(Taken from IET)
See also http://www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:cable_types:green_slime some photos on there.

Come across it many times, with reference to the laminate flooring ask for one of the council housing supervisors to come around, show them the flooring and ask em if the can rewire it from the downstairs.
I used to work for Nottm City Council on the building works / rewire team, we had to do a few houses like this where upstairs had been laminated, what we did there was to cut channels in the ceiling below and wire all the upstairs sockets from below.
Time taken to do a full rewire including patching up, done normally 1 and a half days sometime get it done in a day, we'de start at 7.30am and finish at 6pm, that was two sparkys and one labourer.