Thread: Electrical work, US versus Oz

Originally Posted by elkangorito

The only real differences between Oz & Kiwi regs are ambient temps .

And they change all the vowels in the NZ regs

Originally Posted by Pete F

Of the electrocutions that occur in Australia, I would certainly like to know how many are caused by dodgy appliance (dis)repairs/extension cords/etc etc all of which a person can legally do themselves. Apparently as long as it's not part of the fixed wiring 240v is quite safe

Good question. And while you are asking questions, ask what proportion of the fatalities are qualified and licensed electricians - you might be surprised by the percentage. (The answer can be found on the web).

Help us out Chris. Is this a serious problem are people both professional and diy getting fried regularly?

Originally Posted by Notsquare

Help us out Chris. Is this a serious problem are people both professional and diy getting fried regularly?

The overall fatality rate is very low, have a look at this thread for some numbers.

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=51292

For electrical fatality figures in Australia, you can go the the various State/Territory electrical authorities web sites for annual fatality figures. The figures are very low, and very "noisy" (i.e. they vary a lot from year to year) but some years electricians made up about 50% of the fatalities.

As to the causes, it is hard to tell from the figures. A crane driver dying after hitting an overhead power line counts as an electrical fatality. This that an electrical wiring fault?

Watched Holmes On Homes last night and his electrical nightmare.

Landlord recently had to have a repair to kitchen normal bayonet type and dinning room down lights lights wired to same dimmer switch.

In 6 months we had 6x2 lots of bayonet globes blow and 2x2 sets of down globes blow. Flickering etc over 8 months.

Electrician came and had trouble sorting wiring out.
All was the for separate switches which he put in doing away with the dimmer altogether.
He couldn't understand why the electrician who wired the place had installed it that way saying they should have been on separate switches with a dimmer only on the dinning down lights.

Then he repaired the ceiling plug in the garage for the garage door opener it was hanging loose, he had to come back the next day to fix it again.
He the licensed electrician hadn't attached the earth wire correctly.

Originally Posted by Notsquare

Does any one know why it appears you can do a large percentage of your own electrical work in the US, or at least that is the impression I get after reading Fine Home Building, and why you can't change a pendant fitting here in Australia. Even though most electrical equipment can be bought from Mitre 10 or an electrical wholesaler, no questions asked?

The regulations vary from state to state in the US so you have 50 possibilities.

However, I have personally been across the 110/120V 60 Hz from the US AND the 220/240V 50 Hz from Australia and I can unequivocally state that being in contact with the Aussie mains shakes you harder but a slower rate.

People in high risk situations are naturally going to have a statistically higher incidence of electrocution, however it is still remarkably low when compared to other forms of job related death.

I have just purchased a new house and was shocked to find that, in spite of what seems to be reasonably recent electrical work, there was no RCD fitted. Personally I feel they should be absolutely mandatory in every house, not just new houses.

The government and its agencies can bury their heads in the sand and claim that fixed electrical work is only done by appropriately licensed people, which we all know is absolute BS. I think the regs in NZ make a lot more sense, though maybe make DIY work contingent on having an RCD fitted. While they may not provide 100% protection, they certainly go a long way.

Dream over

The regulations vary from state to state in the US so you have 50 possibilities.

Isn't the NEC generally followed?

Well I think we have two issues here: whether any regulations are needed at all; and whether the regulations as they stand are working.

People get these two issues mixed up when they argue that the current regulations are not working and so therefore we should get rid of them.

Lets really heat things up shall we. How do I sharpen the end of the copper wire and then hook up a GPO to it. Should I use the scary sharp method and buff or water stones and ceramic. Wondering if a micro bevel will increase resistance. Which should I sharpen first the green and yellow or the brown wire. SHould I disconnect the wires first if I use water stones...

Originally Posted by Toolin Around

Lets really heat things up shall we. How do I sharpen the end of the copper wire and then hook up a GPO to it. Should I use the scary sharp method and buff or water stones and ceramic. Wondering if a micro bevel will increase resistance. Which should I sharpen first the green and yellow or the brown wire. SHould I disconnect the wires first if I use water stones...

Toolin,

I hope you are kidding...
If not, I wouldn't advice sharpening copper on a water stone as it may clog the stone

Originally Posted by Toolin Around

Which should I sharpen first the green and yellow or the brown wire. ..

Definitely the green and yellow first, then you will have a good earth.



Peter.

Originally Posted by Sturdee

Definitely the green and yellow first, then you will have a good earth.



Peter.

i'd disagree with that, unless you are intending to connect it before you bevel/sharpen the others.

the longer the copper is exposed to the atmosphere the more likelihood corrosion will build up [only minutely in say... 5 minutes] which increases the resistance of the join.

I can't see how you can get three colours wrong. I wonder what these brown and blue wires do?

I must say this version of the Great Electrical Rules Debate has been a fizzle.