Condensation in steel socket back boxes

Risteard

The backbox where the cables have been jointed appears not to be Earthed.

KeithP

Risteard said:

The backbox where the cables have been jointed appears not to be Earthed.

Will adding an earth fix the moisture problem?

I think not, but who am I to say?

FreeBear

KeithP said:

Risteard said:

The backbox where the cables have been jointed appears not to be Earthed.

Will adding an earth fix the moisture problem?

I think not, but who am I to say?

Earthing the back box won't cure the condensation problem. However, it will ensure the electrics comply with current standards.

Risteard

KeithP said:

Risteard said:

The backbox where the cables have been jointed appears not to be Earthed.

Will adding an earth fix the moisture problem?

I think not, but who am I to say?

It will remove a potential hazard of the backbox becoming energised with a fault. 

edgex

Was the cavity not able to be insulated?

What is the actual make-up of the wall now?
Did you have the original plaster removed before adding insulation boards, or have you battened out, creating a void, & then added the boards over the battens?

A.Chapman

Hi edgex, originally we hacked back to the brick and at that stage the back boxes were fitted and subsequently rendered around. We were then informed by building regs that the wall had to be thermally upgraded. This meant the tradesman battened onto the render then boarded on top, creating a void. I’m starting to think the warm air in the room is being sucked towards the electrical socket opening and hitting the cold BB and wall behind. 

Bendy_House

A.Chapman said:

Hi edgex, originally we hacked back to the brick and at that stage the back boxes were fitted and subsequently rendered around. We were then informed by building regs that the wall had to be thermally upgraded. This meant the tradesman battened onto the render then boarded on top, creating a void. I’m starting to think the warm air in the room is being sucked towards the electrical socket opening and hitting the cold BB and wall behind. 

I think, since the back box is so well sunk into the wall, and surrounded by battens, it's actually unlikely that there's an actual passage of air through it, so I revise my original suspicion of this. Unless you can see an airway path through that BB somewhere?

More likely is that the bb is being cooled by its contact with the bare, uninsulated wall; ie, it's probably the coldest point in the room!

I'd be unhappy about this - it's just careless, unplanned. It'll be a hassle, but not a huge one, to slice around the boxes and then gently tap them repeatedly sideways to loosen them and pull them out. Tbh, if the BBs are mangled in the process, it's no big deal - they are cheap to replace. Then cut a block of insulation to sit in the hole first, of a thickness that the new BBs are now sitting flush/fractionally below the finished surface of the plastered wall - which is where they should be in the first place!