What are the Electrical Compliance Certificate Requirements

[MikeS]

Hello all

I have recently bought a house in PE and the electrical certicicate has been issued. On closer inspection (a laymans opioion) there are some areas which concern me.

I would like to know where I can obtain a copy of the requirements for an electrical certificate or better still if there is a qualified person in PE who would take a look through the house to give his oppinion on the matter ( I would be prepaired to pay for this)??

I have pictures that I can post if you are interested to see what I am concerned about.

Thanks
MikeS

[murdock]

my advice is to check if the inspector is eca registered and if so contact your local eca (electrical contractors ass.)office...if you dont have any joy

post the pics with all your queries on this website...lets see what we can do...there are a few knowledgable people on this site who might be able to help you.

[AndyD]

I have pictures that I can post if you are interested to see what I am concerned about.

Pictures will provoke more interest (and might be entertaining). Seriously though you can get any licensed/registered electrician to perform another COC from scratch for a minor financial outlay and just compare the results with the first one you got.

[skatingsparks]

Post pics, we all enjoy therm! You'll get a lots of opinions.

[murdock]

so long as you dont have pics like this to show us because then it is just too late...this picture is of aircon connection gone bad...it gutted the entire granny flat...the aircon exploded and piece that blew off the front took the kitchen cupboards off the wall...from the explosion...one of the most common aircon connections the one hanging half way down the wall because the cable was tooo short to reach the plug...so they just put a connector block and extend it...this is the result



or this one which is a connection screeded into the floor...when i tried to stop the builder from completing the screed...i was asked what all the fuss is about...this is a supply cable feeding the main DB...but because it was a bit short they joined a 6 mm twin and earth with an open back 4x4 metal box(yes skrewits not ferrols and just twisted the earth wire) they went ahead and completed the floor.



or this one which i found after hours of tracing the circuit fault...the cable was too short but no problem to this electrician ("a cut above the rest" of us as his ad indicated eeeeish) i had to chip the wall to find this box then found the connector block next to the junction box which was causing the problem



let me stop hijacking your post...maybe one day i will start a thread just with all the scary pics i see on a daily basis...and i ask myself why dont we see more fires...are our circuit still over rated even though we have reduced plugs to 2,5 mm instead of 4 mm...could we get away with 1.5 mm...or do you think thats pushing it

[MikeS]

Thanks everyone who posted here, I have contacted the ECA and sent a copy of the Certificate as well as the pics to them to get their opinion, once I hear from them I will put the pics on the forum.

MikeS

[MikeS]

I also understand that the requirements for the certificate have been drastically reduced some months ago, is this correct??

[AndyD]

I also understand that the requirements for the certificate have been drastically reduced some months ago, is this correct??

Drastically reduced in what respect? I don't understand, the installation standards (SANS0142) are still the same.

[MikeS]

Okay, maybe I missunderstood the agent and conveyencing Atorney, it could be the requirements have been changed in the last 12 months??

This is what I am being told when I complaint to the above 2 parties.

Here are some pictures which concern me and please comment on them if you feel they do not comply...

[MikeS]

Can someone please explain to me how to attach pictures...??

Thanks.

[MikeS]

[AndyD]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2008[/ATTACH]

Yep,it's non-compliant and shouldn't have been issued a COC. There's several obvious issues such as no labeling, the twisted earth wires, the earth leakage breaker not in an enclosure, the rats nest at the back speaks for itself, the DB looks like it's too high to be easily accessible and it's a bit hazy in the background but the earth bonding on the hot water cylinder looks like it's lacking. There's probably many more issues if this is typical of the rest of the installation.

Get a reputable electrician to do another COC inspection from scratch before someone gets injured or worse..

[bergie]

eish! dodgy to say the least, although circuit breakers with shrouds are legal.i would fail the complete d.b. and quote on a new surface d.b.
no earth leakage neutral bar,no earth bar,what are those twin+earths going to the pre pay meter?
there are no changes in the requirements that would make any of those faults acceptable.it has only got more strict.

[Justloadit]

And the way the prepaid meter is wired, it is so simple to by pass, that no one would even notice that there is a bypass in that mangle.

[AndyD]

....what are those twin+earths going to the pre pay meter?

I wondered the same thing but I cleaned up the photo and it looks like they go into the trunking below the energy dispenser and not actually into it.