electrics/water reinstated

[gazdkw82]

weve had a large flood from the 7th floor at work and the building is closed. The electrics turned off around 4 hours after the initial flood. The power is back on now and it got me thinking.

How would you go about making sure it was safe to initiate the power after such an event. Would it be a simple case of drying the system out as much as possible then doing some visual checks for moisture in DB's, JB's etc,

I would imagine a certain level of testing?

 

[Strima]

EICR is the best option. Paying particular attention to water ingress in accessories etc.

 

[gazdkw82]

ok cool, I get that.

but what about the bits you cannot see? its a large building with many DB boards and many accessories. Checking everyone would take a long time. I doubt that has been achieved in my building. 24 hours later the power was back on.

I just wondered what type of testing/inspection would they would have likely done to be sure it was safe

 

[HandySparks]

I would do a global IR test, L+N to E, of the whole installation for a start. It would give an indication of the state of things without having to disconnect all loads.

 

[westward10]

Damp or no damp if that IR tests clear do the lottery tomorrow.

 

[hightower]

Do you want the textbook answer mate, or the real world answer? Real world answer is they flicked the switch and prayed to whichever deity was most relevant at the time, maybe Poseidon.

 

[Strima]

IR at 1000v for a few minutes should dry the joints out a bit...

 

[Octopus]

If its very wet, I would do a good visual first...............

 

[westward10]

Water is actually a poor conductor even though it will trip rcbos, corrosion is generally what it inflicts.

 

[gazdkw82]

Think you've hit the nail on the head Hightower. I bet they just turned it on and hoped for the best

 

[telectrix]

bye bye bang test. hello to glug-glug test.

 

[gazdkw82]

Well it's quite scary when you think of it. Part of basement (where over 30 people work) was in an inch of water. The same water that ran through all the DB's down the risers

 

[hightower]

bye bye bang test. hello to glug-glug test.

I'm currently half way through one of those glug glug tests.

 

[telectrix]

Well it's quite scary when you think of it. Part of basement (where over 30 people work) was in an inch of water. The same water that ran through all the DB's down the risers

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