Discuss Unable to separate wires on ring circuit in the DIY Electrical Advice area at ElectriciansForums.net

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Ok, well, assuming that I cut off some of the excess conduit so that I can put it in and make sure it touches the backbox, perhaps by welding, what should I do next?
What you should do next is use the services of an electrician one who is skilled enough to reinstate the conduit.
 
The conduit is not the earth for the circuit but it still needs to be earthed.
 
Ok, but I don't understand how the conduit is the earth as well as having the 2 earth cables inside the conduit?

My dad used a pipe cutter and a hacksaw, carefully!
That is where all your problems started cutting that conduit off, bad move.
 
Ok, but I am absolutely certain that there were no cables joining the existing backbox to the earth of the circuit, so what is the difference between not having anything joined to socket and not having anything joined to the conduit on it's own?
 
The back box and conduit are earthed by way of connection and the socket outlet fixing screws.
You need an electrician to sort your predicament.
 
The back box and conduit are earthed by way of connection and the socket outlet fixing screws.
You need an electrician to sort your predicament.
The back box and conduit are earthed by way of connection and the socket outlet fixing screws.
You need an electrician to sort your predicament.
 
Alternatively you could disconnect the conduit at the last connection point and run the correct length conduit if you had any spare metal conduit around.
 
Assuming the OP knows how to reconnect the conduit to the correct standard, the original question about how to find the correct three single cables needed to connect up the RFC, begs to ask the question, does he have the knowledge to test and ensure the RFC is actually an RFC and not a Radial.
Who will be testing and certifying the install? I'll stand by my original advice and tell him to get a Spark in to do the work for him, offering advice could prove to be a dangerous activity.
 
Whats the set up of your fuseboard OP?
 
Ok, but I am absolutely certain that there were no cables joining the existing backbox to the earth of the circuit, so what is the difference between not having anything joined to socket and not having anything joined to the conduit on it's own?

There would have been the two screws holding the socket onto the back box for a start.
The difference is that you are carrying out this work now and must comply with current regulations.
 
Ok, but I don't understand how the conduit is the earth as well as having the 2 earth cables inside the conduit?

My dad used a pipe cutter and a hacksaw, carefully!

Well now you need to get the conduit out of the wall to cut a thread on the end of it to join a new piece of conduit to it. But it is likely to be imperial conduit so you'll probably need to replace that piece of conduit using an imperial to metric adapter wherever it starts from
 
But it is likely to be imperial conduit so you'll probably need to replace that piece of conduit using an imperial to metric adapter wherever it starts from
and a wielder.;)or one
Unable to separate wires on ring circuit {filename} | ElectriciansForums.net
of those .
 
There would have been the two screws holding the socket onto the back box for a start.
Actually, when I started taking this apart, there was no socket on the original backbox, it had just had some twin and earth run directly from that backbox at a diagonal angle directly in the plaster with nothing covering it, then they plastered straight over the backbox, no faceplate or anything, just some gaffa tape covering the cables! So it certainly hadn't had any earth in it for a long time. (that was not my doing, for the record)

Well now you need to get the conduit out of the wall to cut a thread on the end of it to join a new piece of conduit to it.

Yes, I worked out that I can actually use the coupler and bush from the old backbox, I just need to somehow thread the existing conduit on the wall...

I have now actually traced the wires back to the fusebox, by turning off the power completely, removing 1 wire at a time from both the socket circuit MCB and the 1 existing socket, thus now knowing which wires go where. Now just got to get the conduit sorted!

Don't worry, I'm not actually going to do the wiring until the conduit is sorted, and yes, I am going to get someone to sign off on the installation once it's done.
 
@Andy Gardner I'm curious. How did you actually achieve this. You have a new back box inserted into the middle of a conduit run. You have said that your father has cut the conduit with a pipe cutter and pipe slice. (I'm impressed he did that with the singles still in place without damaging the conductors.

Having done the cuts, how did you remove the piece of conduit and get the singles through the holes in the back box?
Is there another box above or below the new box that you have access to?
 
If it's 20mm, how about a Conlok coupler to connect the existing run to a barrel nipple, coupler and bush to get into the new box. Are Conlok joints designed to be buried in plaster? OTOH if this is 3/4", which presumably 20mm Conlok isn't designed to grip, and you won't readily be able to thread, cutting off the bottom threaded end has left you a bit stuck.
 

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