Dodgy kitchen and lighting circuits

[HKRC]

Hi there,

I'm new to the forum and looking for some advice on what is and isn't acceptable when it comes to household wiring.

Our flat was wired by questionable electricians (before we moved in) and over the years lots of problems have cropped up. Each room has at least 4 spotlights, 90% of which don't work anymore so most rooms are lit by lamps. This means we are using a lot of extension cables to plug them all in but also because each room doesn't have enough wall sockets.

I'm fairly certain we are overloading the wall sockets and extensions but most people do, don't they? Or not...?

Recently the kitchen has gone haywire. My husband's friend is 'knowledgeable' about electricity and has fiddled with our spotlights, changed the transformers and bulbs and got a lot of them working. However since then there has been an odd burning smell whenever the Insinkerator is turned on.

Now, the Insinkerator has no blades in it (like I said, questionable work before we moved in) but sometimes it needs to be turned on to drain the water.

Today the water wasn't draining so I turned it on and something blew. There was smoke and an awful awful burning smell like nothing I'd smelt in smoke before. A socket on the other side of the room also sparked and the plug which was in it melted a bit on the bottom left pin.

There is electrical switch for the oven too which has a clear plastic rectangle through which you can see a red light usually but that light now looks like a little open flame burning away.

Now I know we need to call an electrician but my husband is stubborn and says he can sort it however I am pretty certain we need an electrician to sort this out!

If anyone can decipher any of what I've explained it would be MUCH appreciated!

Many thanks in advance!

 

[Simonslimline]

You are correct, you need to call an electrician to carry out an EICR and go from there. Does your husband have calibrated in date test equipment and the knowledge to use it to determine the issues in the installation?

 

[HKRC]

Thank you for replying!

No he definitely doesn't...

I don't think the friend who helps out does either.

I've been adamant we need to get an electrician but I don't know if I'm over-worrying about how dangerous the current wiring is. I do tend to worry about safety a lot, like right now I'm worrying whatever blew earlier is going to cause some kind of fire while we're asleep which my husband thinks is OTT.

Would you say it's pretty certain the circuits are overloaded and that perhaps the transformers his friend put in the spotlights have something to do with it?

I'm going to find some local electricians and see if we can get one in tomorrow because this is only going to get worse surely

You are correct, you need to call an electrician to carry out an EICR and go from there. Does your husband have calibrated in date test equipment and the knowledge to use it to determine the issues in the installation?

lyi

 

[The Ghost]

I absolutely agree with Simoslimline.

 

[telectrix]

agree with simon. get an electrician in asap. what price the lives of your family? this is not a DIY job. several forum members (experienced sparks) are in the London area. maybe one of them can help.

 

[The Ghost]

I think you can alleviate your worry by getting an electrician. Look at the trustmark site for instance and put in your postcode. You will then see bona fide electricians. Phone one. You are not over-worrying. I'm worried from here from what you describe. Fire is a possibility. Electric shock from the sink would be my greatest worry. I am concerned a "fuse" did not blow when the sinkerator blew, or did it ? I doubt you are overloading the socket circuit as you are probably only using lights on it. If you were using loads of heating appliances then yes maybe you could overload it. Extension leads are really not desirable in too great a number.

 

[HKRC]

Thank you for all these replies. Doubt I'll be sleeping tonight out of worry!

Will get an electrician in tomorrow to hopefully finally sort this all out.

I'm not sure if a fuse blew when the Insinkerator went, it has its own wall switch and casing so no idea what's happened in there. What was bizarre was the way the socket the kettle was plugged into in the other side of the room obviously blew too and the three pin kettle plug was hard to pull out due to one pin being melted. Nothing turned off though - lights stayed on etc. I'll check the fuse box downstairs and see if anything has flicked down on there if that will give any indication?

 

[HKRC]

I've attached a photo of the fuse box, nothing tripped right?

 

[telectrix]

well, i'd definitely be adding RCD protection, at least for the socket circiuts and all bathroom circuits for a start. if that was fitted after 1991, then it's never complied with regulations.

 

[HKRC]

Really??? Googling RCD now and I've never known our flat to have anything like that...

well, i'd definitely be adding RCD protection, at least for the socket circiuts and all bathroom circuits for a start. if that was fitted after 1991, then it's never complied with regulations.

 

[HKRC]

Adding another photo, the switch on the far left is the Insinkerator, middle is washing machine and far right is the extractor fan... the far right one is the one where that tiny little red rectangle looked like there was literally a little flame in it

 

[David M]

Really??? Googling RCD now and I've never known our flat to have anything like that...

RCD's are a safety device that greatly minimise the chance of an electric shock in the event of a fault. If you want peace of mind (which I'm sure you do) get a qualified electrician in to fix your problems and to install an appropriate Rcd/s

 

[The Ghost]

It may help to allay your worrying, to switch off any circuit you have doubts about, such as sink waste disposal at the "fuse board" until an electrician comes ?

 

[David M]

Adding another photo, the switch on the far left is the Insinkerator, middle is washing machine and far right is the extractor fan... the far right one is the one where that tiny little red rectangle looked like there was literally a little flame in it

View attachment 33644

The red rectangle is the neon light which indicates if the switch is on. They sometimes flicker like a flame, which can sometimes indicate a poor connection.

 

[HKRC]

I really appreciate all these replies, thank you. I'll get an electrician tomorrow who can fit an RCD and check the whole flat's wiring. Lots of those lights flicker here especially on extensions etc. Thanks David M

Vortigern do I just flick down the switch for 'kitchen sockets' on the downstairs fuse box then?

 

[HandySparks]

The red rectangle is the neon light which indicates if the switch is on. They sometimes flicker like a flame, which can sometimes indicate a poor connection.

Or, more likely, the neon's just getting old and will eventually pack up completely (which isn't a safety issue).

 

[The Ghost]

Hi yes just pull the switch down and the circuit is isolated. It is not properly labelled you should have a label that indicates the on/off position. But anyway down is off up is on

 

[ETO]

Just as a bit of advice, don't be alarmed if any of the electricians turning up advise a fuse board upgrade. They aren't fishing for work, it needs one going by the pic

 

[captaincaveman]

What is this, Scare city?
There is no way of telling the state of the system from the description given! It sounds to me like just a load of small issues.

• The light transformers need replacing (I'm forever changing them - done 5 this week) & they 'should' have nothing to do with the insinkerator.
• The insinkerator is obviously nackered and either burnt out or water has got in = Remove the fuse (which has probably blown) so the insinkerator can be replaced/removed.
• The 'flame' window is the LED on it's way out (one of mine has been for about 3 years) = forget it or replace the FCU if prefered.
• The melted plug/socket definitely wants looking at. Sounds like a loose connection to me but I'm not there.

Of course, this is only speculation. Call an electrician out to look at the problems (your husband wont know what to look for, however handy he is even if he has 'callibrated' equipment). Let him or her diagnose/fix the issues and then ask the electrician if a condition report is recommended. If the system hasn't been checked in a decade then it's probably worth a check. If he can solve all the above simply & he says it looks ok then you may not require a condtion report. Either way, although I do recommend RCDs, if the system is deemed safe then RCDs (and a new board) are not considered a requirement.

I would suggest turning off the 2nd breaker (marked kitchen sockets) till the socket issue has been looked at. You can plug your freezer into one of your many extension leads

 

[Midwest]

Isn't that just what everyone else said, but without 'scare city' :gru2: