Okay... This all just confirms the guy is a waste of time and my money yes?
The questions below may be difficult to answer for some. An electrician of say around 30-40 years experience in the field would probably be the best to advise but however, does experience always trump knowledge?
Q1: What would you suspect the incoming electrical type to be considering the building age and multiple rewires/upgrades and a known rewire done 40-30 years ago? (TN-S etc..)
You've already posted a picture showing what appears to be a TNS supply (though a better picture would confirm) so this question just seems daft?
Q2: With the answer to Q1 in mind, and in the knowledge of the CU, What type of cabling arrangements would you expect to find in the property?
The answer to Q1 has no bearing at all on the type of cabling arrangements in the property, what exactly do you mean by cabling arrangements? if you mean what type of cable then, it being domestic, its likely to be twin and earth whatever its age.
Q3: Years ago an old Electrician got an electric shock from a ceiling rose and mumbled something about the damned Neutral is... What and Why?
What? if they got an electric shock then it must be live, though you might also be looking for looped (if theyve realy failed at isolation) or borrowed.
Why? simple, they received a shock because the circuit was not fully isolated
Q4: We have found in some ceilings, particularly where there is a beautiful centre ceiling cornice approximately 1m wide and protruding down approximately 150mm, there is old RMC with JB's carrying 1.5mm² T/E. Would this inhibit certain tests from being carried out and if so, Why?
What is RMC? the only vaguely relevant thing i can think of is from the USA where RMC is rigid metal conduit, its not a term ever used in the UK as far as I know.
If it is metal conduit then the person who rewired the property has just used it to save having to create a new cable route which could result in a lot of damage.
But no this does not prevent any tests being carried out as you have described it.
Also I think you mean a ceiling rose rather than a cornice, a cornice would run around the perimeter of the room.
Q5: Without the ability to lift floors and dig -out walls, in what way/method would you suspect cable runs to be?
under the floors and buried in the walls unless they are surface mounted.
Q:6 Hidden behind a 3.6mm ply board clad on the front of a 12" high 3" depth ornate skirting board, we discovered an old metal back box 6" x 4". The back box contained some beautifully crafted wiring, a truly artistic masterpiece in terms of connections and precisely cut lengths shaped perfectly for their purpose. The wiring conductors are clad in cloth. What are the chances of this wiring being in use or perhaps the RMC still being utilised, and if so how would this effect IR, Ze and PFC testing?
if wiring as old as that is still connected I would expect it to affect the results of an IR test.
It will not affect the measurement of the Ze and PFC as this is carried out on the incoming supply with the installation isolated and the earthing conductor disconnected (or test link removed etc)
Q6: In one of the CU photos, you can see a shared outgoing, a partially white painted cable heading off upward to the flat upstairs for approx 8-10m, What impact would this have on the IR, Ze and PFC testing, in particular for the incoming origin OPD of the installation?
I am going to assume this is a DNO shared supply and not privately fed from your installation?
No effect on the testing, it appears to be unsecured from what i can see so may attract a comment about that.
Q7: In what way would the answer to Q6 affect the ELI?
Do you mean EFLI? in which case not at all.
Q8: If seriously concerning readings were observed at Q6 above what would be your remedy for the problem?
Investigate the reason for the high readings and then come up with a plan to rectify them, there are a number of possibilities and soloutions.
Q9: If your results from the Ze and PFC tests, just don't tally, what would be your remedy and what would be the maximum values you would normally expect from this type of installation?
When Ze is measured the tester calculates the PFC from this measured value, PFC is not measured directly so if the results don't tally then I would send my tester away to be repaired, its not possible for a correctly working tester to give a PFC value which does not tally with Ze
Q10: Would you run a mile or fudge the EICR to ensure you got paid?
Neither, if I agree to carry out an EICR then I will do it.
Thanks...
