This could have gone badly...

[Steve T]

So today, having turned and tested the circuit off, I pulled down one of the downlights in the kitchen, and some of the insulation of the downlights wires was gone, leaving bare wires only a couple of mm from each other, as the pics show. After seeing this I checked the other downlights in the kitchen, and they also had damage, but only about a mm of bare wire showing at the base of the lamp holder. The other downlights downstairs in other rooms had no bare wire, just the outer fabric sheathing was slightly scuffed. I'm wondering what caused this damage; I doubt it was rodents, but my theory is that when the house was built the downlights had been pulled out of and put back into the ceiling carelessly many times, perhaps causing this? Any ideas as to how this happened?

 

[telectrix]

halogens???

 

[Octopus]

Nothing unusual there. Old lamps, too much heat..... Normally made worse by builders putting too much insulation in ceilings ....

 

[Wilko]

Looks like Rats and mice to me

 

[Steve T]

Halogen bulbs were installed until I moved in, but there is no insulation in the ceiling. I doubt it was rodents as there are no droppings.

 

[Rpa07]

Looks like ‘fauna’ to me - might have been the tidy kind that take the droppings with them.
Could be the wasps and those poor souls are the brave buggers that gave their lives for the cause. All this is guess work though. Is it your house? You’ve hunted the attic for droppings?

 

[Rpa07]

Good photos by the way - take heed @Vortigern and @Gavin John Hyde!

 

[ruston]

Looks like ‘fauna’ to me - might have been the tidy kind that take the droppings with them.
Could be the wasps and those poor souls are the brave buggers that gave their lives for the cause. All this is guess work though. Is it your house? You’ve hunted the attic for droppings?

You are right I think , a combination of heat and maybe a meal for the wasps , they do chew wood and soft materials for their nests. Those cables have been nice and hot though.

 

[Rpa07]

You are right I think , a combination of heat and maybe a meal for the wasps , they do chew wood and soft materials for their nests. Those cables have been nice and hot though.
View attachment 38476

I think that the 18th may need a new factor for cables running through a wasps nest!

 

[ruston]

Lol, well cold is the enemy of the wasp , so what better than a bit of central heating.

 

[Rpa07]

I’ll bet they can feel a bit of the EMF as well. A lot we don’t know about wasps except that they make me run faster than ussain bolt!

 

[Rpa07]

I saw a hornet the other day - I walked backwards - scary looking critter that was. Horse fly’s are evil as well!

 

[ruston]

They are not aggressive , if you leave them alone they will not bother you . They only sting if they think they are in danger , but it is a natural reaction to wave your arms about and try and swat them.
They hunt for food all the time , it is their job , if you have a sugary drink etc , well they want some...

 

[KEV 1 N]

I remember I went into a loft to check something, there was an electric light there, so I put it on, a few minutes later I heard this weird tapping noise, I looked at the light and several wasps were bouncing off it! I looked in the corner and a 2 foot tall nest was there! I slowly descended the ladder and put cover back!

 

[KEV 1 N]

Another wasp story, I was doing an EICR at an empty student accommodation block, walked into one room and was full of wasps, 1000s of them covering the window! Told the manager, he said "oh yes we know about them", could have told me, instead of walking in and nearly been stung to death!

 

[Rpa07]

I was working with a mate doing a security install at a school and we drilled a floor of a terrapin to run a cable, pushed it through and had a look at where it was coming out under the crawl space - we could see it but it was next to a wasps nest. It amazing what an 8 year old will do for £1
I still remind my mate to this day! That was 30 years ago, I’ll bet the kid has an apiary or two, fearless he was!

 

[Rpa07]

@KEV 1 N have you changed your username because your avatar is familiar to another member .

 

[PEG]

Got a lovely,Saturday evening wasp story...
A pal of mine,had a 3 storey Victorian gaff,cellars,attic,etc and in the mentioned attic,was the biggest,oldest wasp nest,i have ever seen...nearly a meter long,and 400mm diameter,in it's middle

It looked full,and i said the best way to deal with it,was to wait until night time,and sneak up to it,with a doubled up bin bag,cover-remove-seal...that fast...

I left him to it,and the next morning,he rang early,to tell me of the terrible commotion,outside his house,in the early hours.
Apparently,the removal went swimmingly,and he wanted to stick it far enough away from his house,so,he stuck it in a skip,across the road,and went to bed.

At kicking out time,a hearty bunch of revellers,decided to "borrow" a swivel chair from the same skip,and must have ripped the WMD open,thus allowing their retribution to unfold

 

[KEV 1 N]

@KEV 1 N have you changed your username because your avatar is familiar to another member .

Not sure what you mean?

 

[HandySparks]

@KEV 1 N have you changed your username because your avatar is familiar to another member .

Not sure what you mean?

Jay Sparks - https://www.electriciansforums.co.uk/members/jay-sparks.18592/