| Forum Home | ||||
| PC World Chat | ||||
| Thread ID: 66706 | 2006-03-05 01:41:00 | House Electrics | barcarth (9913) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 435564 | 2006-03-05 06:34:00 | We pay good money for a permit to build,yet this sort of thing goes on,beats me. Next door built a new place about 18 months ago,all with permits and inspectors,yet the septic tank wasn't installed right,just being fixed now. |
Cicero (40) | ||
| 435565 | 2006-03-05 06:36:00 | Kinda strange those NZ wiring standards...I just got thru remodeling a house for a friend..did the kitchen actually and one interior wall... Anyway, we have a 240 stove top and a 240 oven, a dishwasher, microwave and refrigerator..all on dedicated circuits with 4-conductor including ground for the stove and oven at 40 amps each, the refrig at 120 volt/30 amps, the dishwasher with finishing element at 120 volt/30 amps, all the counter top circuits feed thru at 120 volt/30amp GFIC'd and ceiling fans and dimmable lights at 120 volt/30 amp..all these circuits are separate in the kitchen and all separate circuit breakers. This is just the kitchen...then we have the living room at 120 volt/30 amp divided up in 8 fourplex receptacles and a separate circuit for lighting at 120 volt/15 amps. The garage is 120 volt, 20 amp circuits (4) separate lines for lighting and appliances, not including the heater and a/c or the water softener circuits which are all dedicated and separate breakers and GFIC'd too. The master bedroom is 30 amp service, one master GFIC and separate ceiling fan and lighting circuits...all dedicated from the main panel too. Each bedroom has it's own dedicated circuits and they are broken down into service for the wall receptacles and the lighting. Our codes will not allow us to tie fluorescent lighting with any other service for the RMS values with 70 volt feedback, and all circuits must be GFIC'd for human and animal protection. Service is 120 volt/60 hz throughout the home except for furnaces (sometimes) and stoves/ovens with 240 volt/40 or 50 amp legs. Stoves have to have 6/4-line (6 ga AWS THHN multistrand wires) + ground....and this is just a very small 3 bedroom home with simple kitchen and heating a/c and water conditioner. Main pole drop service is Delta 240 VAC divided up to 2- 120 volt legs at 100 amp per leg. Newer systems are 208 VAC Triad with 117 VAC at 180 amps per leg. Kinda hard to imagine a home on such small fuses and circuit loads like you guys have..... |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 435566 | 2006-03-05 07:08:00 | Hi, I've recently bought a house and am a bit concerned about the state of the electrics. As far as I can tell, all the lighting is wired on a single circuit to a 10A fuse and all the sockets are on a single circuit to a 32A fuse. The cooker is on its own 32A fuse. Can anyone tell me if these ratings are normal? Also, are there limits on the number of sockets allowed on one circuit, or the number of light fittings? I'll get an electrician in if it's unsafe, but I'd rather avoid the expense if things look normal! Thanks for your help. Barcath, if fuses are used, then only 2 ppts are meant to be on that circuit.Using circuit breakers it's discretionary. I usually wire around 6-8 ppts per circuit using c/b's. That 32 amp fuse doesn't sound good, as ppts are usually wired in 2/2.5mm and earth cable, which is rated at 20 amps. The stove is usually 32 amp depending on cable used. So I agree, it would pay to get it checked by an electrical inspector, who can then certify it safe. I as a lowly sparky can't certify some one elses work, only my own. |
Neil McC (178) | ||
| 435567 | 2006-07-18 00:42:00 | Is it possible to get a book explaining domestic wiring setups in New Zealand? - with diagrams etc.? Have been told not. In the UK such books are available in all bookshops! |
Electric (9914) | ||
| 435568 | 2006-07-18 02:06:00 | No, there are AS/NZS standards, but they do not tell you how to wire a house. Their predecessor documents were Codes of Practice, which were a little bit more helpful, but still not enough. At best, as a homeowner you are allowed to install the wiring but not connect it to a source of supply. The installation then has to be checked by a licensed electrician and certified as safe and compliant (they are not necessarily the same thing). That means the electrician has to take responsibility for your work when he signs it off, so not too many guys will want to do that unless they can check it regularly as the job progresses. If the walls are all closed in you have fat chance of getting anybody to carry the can, no matter how carefully you did the work, and you can't offer to indemnify them either, they carry the can regardless of any disclaimers or excuses. Not getting it certified would invalidate any home and contents insurance, so you are on a hiding to nowhere here unless you can get an electrician into the family. :D I'd flag the idea if I were you, the risks are just not worth any saving you might make. Best to get an electrician in and persuade him to let you help with the fetching and taking to reduce the labour costs. Cheers Billy 8-{) |
Billy T (70) | ||
| 435569 | 2006-07-18 03:48:00 | This is what you are allowed to do (www.ess.govt.nz/safety/pdf/brochure.pdf). | Graham L (2) | ||
| 435570 | 2006-07-18 04:45:00 | Thanks Graham. That greatly expands on what I have traditionally thought was allowed. | Scouse (83) | ||
| 435571 | 2006-07-18 11:31:00 | Thanks Graham. That greatly expands on what I have traditionally thought was allowed. But........you still have to find an electrician willing to connect and certify your work, and that's where it might get difficult. Depending on what it is you want to do, and how extensive the work is, I'd suggest lining one up before you start and getting appropriate advice on cable sizes etc. That way there's more chance you'll get it certified without hassles. Of course if you want to pick their brains etc, you may have to pay for their time. Cheers Billy 8-{) |
Billy T (70) | ||
| 1 2 | |||||