When I was a teenager (mid-70's) my Dad and I installed a ring main in our house, using a DIY encyclopaedia and my knowledge of O-level physics. It wasn't difficult. When we were done, we just called the electricity board, who came along to the house, ran a couple of tests, pronounced it OK and connected the consumer unit up to the Company Fuse for us. Simples!adam2 wrote:Soldering is very easy, buy a basic soldering iron, read the instructions and practice.RenewableCandy wrote:Yes I thought that as soon as I hit send...do I want to learn, literally, how to wire/repair stuff, or do I want to qualify to do it for a living. And as you say, the latter costs!
The actual physics isn't an issue for me: it's things like soldering technique, the most basic bit of house-wiring practice, what the best kit is to buy, etc. Proper practical stuff, in other words.
Basic electrical tests and measurements are easy, buy a basic multimeter and read the instructions, and practice (dont take measurements on mains voltage circuits without experience)
Basic house wiring is suprisingly easy, up to about 1975 it was considered normal and reasonable for an integilegent householder to re-wire a basic home themselves.
These days it is made far more complex by rules and regulations, but the basic principles have not changed.
There are pages of calculations to determine the correct cable size, but in the real world, very simple rules of thumb will ensure a safe and suitable installation, in all but most improbable cases.
For example 1.5mm cable on a 6 amp circuit is in practice suitable for almost any domestic lighting circuit, without furthur calculation.
In theory one should calculate the voltage drop and use a larger cable if this be exccessive, in practice it wont be problem in a normal size dwelling. Likewise one should in theory allow for thermal insulation reducing the capacity of the cable, in practice 1.5mm on a 6 amp circuit has a large enough margin that it wont be a problem.
These days detailed testing with specialist instruments is required for new or modified installations.
In practice it should be fine if the correct size cable is used on the correct sized fuse, and correctly connected.
Just do not tell the part pee police !
Maybe there's an opportunity to set up an organisation of some kind to teach these basic skills, at low cost, but not to "qualification standard". It could be a co-operative or social enterprise. The target market would be people such as those on this forum, who recognise the need to learn the skills, but accept that they might not be able to fully use them in the current "Business As Usual" situation.
Out of interest, I wonder what would happen if one had, say, an area of woodland and was to "camp for less than 28 days a year" on it, in a "temporary structure". If one was to set up an electrical installation in this "temporary structure", which was only "camped in for less than 28 days a year", would it still need to meet Part P regulations?
