ELECTRICIANS can usually tell within a few seconds of a call out whether they’re facing a major or minor issue.
Sometimes they can pinpoint a big issue immediately after picking up the phone and without even seeing the problem in person.
Always hire a professional when it comes to electricity.[/caption]
Electricians are often shocked at some of the jobs they’re sent to.[/caption]
It’s very easy to become a cautionary tale when you don’t know the danger signs to look out for.
But thankfully the SELECT podcast has shared some sparky horror stories to raise awareness of the simple things people overlook.
Chris Micheau, who works for S&C Electrical & Plumbing Ltd, in Kirkcaldy, Paul Erasmuson of SELECT member firm Techni-Call Electrics in Gorebridge, Midlothian and Graeme Anderson of SELECT member firm Powertec Electrotechnical Services Ltd in Hawick, all chipped in with advice.
Here’s FIVE of the warnings they issued to folk.
SOCKET STUPIDITY
Chris Micheau said: “I’ve come across quite a few – things like Sellotaped wires above light fittings, sockets glued to the wall rather than properly fixed.
“People take shortcuts and don’t want to spend the money of a qualified tradesperson doing the work properly.
“Electrical safety isn’t something that many people really think about.”
SOMETHING FISHY
Paul Erasmuson said: “Going to fix other people’s mistakes is part of my job now. Just because something is working doesn’t mean that it’s electrically safe.
“I’ve seen showers running and smoke coming from the fuse board and when I put my hand on the cable it’s red hot.
“When someone says to me on the phone, ‘I can smell burning fish’ I know right away that it’s a bad connection and that plastic is melting somewhere. I then get there, take a melted circuit breaker out of the board and show it to them and it’s absolutely stinking.”
DON’T GO CHEAP
Paul said: “On fuseboards which have been badly installed by a DIY-er, you can put a thermal imaging camera on them and see the terminals heating up red hot. When I show customers they’re absolutely horrified.
“Ninety nine times out of a hundred people will say ‘It was a guy I knew’ or ‘The joiner thought he could wire it up’. When people hear these stories, they’re shocked, but it’s become the norm to me.”
ENGINEERS MAKE MISTAKES TOO
Graeme Anderson said: “I do get sent to a lot of problem jobs. On a massive project last year, the electrical engineers had simply designed it wrongly.
“Two systems were being consolidated inside one plant room and the electricians, working to the engineers’ design, had also got it wrong.
“Once it was finished, it was clear something was not right and it had to be shut down. It was very satisfying to go in, stop everything and break it all down into each individual component part and disconnect almost everything to see what the parts were.
“We had to test each part, get a result for them and then submit a report with an alternative design to upgrade. We had to have bespoke instruments made to put on to the existing system. It was a lot harder than starting from fresh, but there was a lot of job satisfaction in it.”
FESTIVE FAILS
Chris said: “Christmas can be difficult, with lights and Christmas trees and so on.”
Paul added: “The worst time is around Christmas when people have their oven on, their heating on and all their appliances on and that’s the time that things start to go wrong, especially if it’s been part of a bad installation in the first place.
“I was called out to one house when all the lights were out and the fuse board was literally hanging from the wall – the cables were holding the fuse board up. As soon as I took the cover off, all the connections inside were loose, cables were arcing together and they were burnt black. You really don’t want to get it to that stage.”
