It should be banned here, too.
In Tennessee , my house had it's common/earth through the water pipe and the power company cable. Major hum in my Hi-fi 😕 .
NO GROUND ROD !
I even had a couple volts between my cable company ground and the house ground ! I immediately pounded a 8' rod into the earth , ran #6 copper to the main ground bus in the 200A service (the house had a standard grounded breaker box).
I've seen this in a lot of old rentals "grandfather'ed in" - scary !
He will see that repairman again... YES !
Just replaced ALL the PS caps in my 32 YO sansui (1981 Z3900 -below).
Turned it on - at high volumes amps crackled = bad main rail caps.
All seemed good , phono preamp hummed - the +/-15V aux. supply caps.
Tuner would drift after warmup = all the other aux. supply caps.
Every cap (all 12 of them) in the supply section was either "shot" or "on the edge". 😀
BTW , it were the caps that saw the most ripple (main rails + main aux PS)
that were actually leaking. All semi's survived , luckily. 🙂
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In the UK, rental properties are actually subjected to the strictest compliance checks, whether they be private rent, or housing association/council properties. Electrical installations in such properties must be regularly tested and be up to the latest code.
Here all water/gas pipes are often bonded to ground, but they are not expected to be used as the fault current conductor - rather, it is to ensure that should the pipe become live, there is a low impedance path to earth to ensure a breaker/fuse will trip.
edit: Apparently, the UK is known for having some of the most strict, rigorous practices when it comes to electrical installations. Certainly not a bad thing 🙂
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Originally Posted by jaycee
In the UK, using a cold water pipe as a earth rod is an old practice - but one which is now banned. If a local earth is present (such as in a TT system) it must be a dedicated earthing rod.
The NEC requires that all accessible earth grounds (ground rods or plates, ring wires, UFER's and water pipes) be connected to the GEC near the service entrance.
Your problem was because the TV cable company did it wrong.
In the UK, using a cold water pipe as a earth rod is an old practice - but one which is now banned. If a local earth is present (such as in a TT system) it must be a dedicated earthing rod.
In most geographic locations, an all metal water pipe will be the best earth ground you will have.
The NEC requires that all accessible earth grounds (ground rods or plates, ring wires, UFER's and water pipes) be connected to the GEC near the service entrance.
Your problem was because the TV cable company did it wrong.
No. Even in the UK 3 phase is available.
My current house and my previous two houses all had a three phase electricity supply.
Interesting. Never seen that here in England. Maybe things are different in Scotland?
no. I'm surprised but it seems to be old folklore.
Google "domestic one or three phase?" and there are endless tales of folks switching over.
Problems are new meters, different utility tariffs and, the one I had always thought was a no-no, having 415V between phases in the same area.
Google "domestic one or three phase?" and there are endless tales of folks switching over.
Problems are new meters, different utility tariffs and, the one I had always thought was a no-no, having 415V between phases in the same area.
Interesting. I have never seen a domestic property with three phase, and would have assumed that it's impossible to get. The way I was told this worked by an uncle who used to work for the electricity board some years ago, was that a three phase feed is typically only to a housing estate, and alternating rows of houses will be connected to each phase to "balance" the load.
I guess there are places though, where there are small businesses nearby that may require higher load than the typical 80A drop supplies to a house, where this is needed.
I could only see three phase being useful in a domestic property if it was a LARGE property
I guess there are places though, where there are small businesses nearby that may require higher load than the typical 80A drop supplies to a house, where this is needed.
I could only see three phase being useful in a domestic property if it was a LARGE property
In this country, which generally follows UK regulation applying to 240VAC domestic use, 2 phase supplies were mandatory in suburban areas to power fixed appliances (hard wired) electric water heaters and stoves. These were only available as 2 phase appliances and consequently, 3 and even 4 wire copper overhead supplies were once common for suburban homes. That's 2 or 3 phase AC and neutral, overhead, exposed copper wiring, MEN system.
Modern distribution to homes is via heavy, insulated aluminium/steel cables, with maybe just a distributed single phase and neutral, as already described by others. Grounding of neutral at the box or the pole is still a minor problem in dry soils and where the rod is unwittingly damaged.
Rural farming properties require industrial supplies for machinery and these have usually been installed and maintained at the owner's cost. A 3 phase transformer and several poles or underground cabling for this is not cheap but does mean that the supply will be available for associated dwellings. It shouldn't be surprising that AndrewT or anyone living out of town has it available.
Modern distribution to homes is via heavy, insulated aluminium/steel cables, with maybe just a distributed single phase and neutral, as already described by others. Grounding of neutral at the box or the pole is still a minor problem in dry soils and where the rod is unwittingly damaged.
Rural farming properties require industrial supplies for machinery and these have usually been installed and maintained at the owner's cost. A 3 phase transformer and several poles or underground cabling for this is not cheap but does mean that the supply will be available for associated dwellings. It shouldn't be surprising that AndrewT or anyone living out of town has it available.
My first and second houses were "in Town". One in the centre of Edinburgh.
You may find that "off peak" supplies in domestic premises are on a different phase from the "on peak" supply. That first centre of Edinburgh house had a 3 phase cable to the mains fuses. Two were fitted and the third was empty. One phase fed "on peak" meter, the other fuse fed the off peak meter.
I simply asked SoSEB (~1983) to change the on peak meter to a 3phase version. There was no charge for this meter swap. The attached lock-up had a separate 3phase cable but this had been disconnected by removing the fuse block above the junction box.
We may be at cross-purposes here, comparing domestic 3-phase supply connections with with the ability to use 3-phase appliances. Perhaps you are just referring to the existence of 3-phase supply connections, AndrewT?
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