Recent content by Guineafowl

Yes, I bet. But would that give them a get-out clause in the event of an accident, ie not assembled to manufacturer’s specs? Or does the manual have a weasel clause, such as ‘only to be installed by a competent/suitably qualified person?’ Ie, if you got a shock, you weren’t competent?

Are there manufacturer’s instructions telling you to assemble it like that? If so, the live conductors are only accessible with a tool, when the fitting is assembled to spec. That may be how they got it through certification. Of course, I agree they shouldn’t be supplying suicide plugs! It...

Ah, I did miss something out there. How about, for the last line: Because the power loss from heating in the lines ##P=I^2{R}## , you’re much better off with low ##I##. We did this quite early on in physics, perhaps age 12, hence the assumption of the OP’s prior knowledge level. I don’t think...

Cogent, yes, but overcomplicated for a beginner. Beware the curse of knowledge.

I think your problem is in red. Although true, it doesn’t apply to the power grid. What you need to make things happen is a certain amount of power, so, for a given (constant) amount of power: $$P=VI$$ You can either have high ##V## and low ##I##, or vice versa. Because of ##P={I^2}R## you’re...

Not as far as I know. In an industrial setup over here, you’ll see round ‘Ceeform’ plugs for 16 or 32 A outlets, or three phase: They don’t have to be switched - unplugging is seen as a suitable isolation method - but can be very stiff to pull out. This sounds unlikely - they’re rocker...

^ That might do it. Only concern is long-term wear of the plastic insulation rings being rubbed against metal pins. The problems of child safety, order of contact and DC arcs could be solved by fitting the socket with an interlocked switch - only closable when a plug is inserted, and locks the...

Would it be big enough for 15A conductors? Again, thinking through the sequential connection, when inserting the jack you would briefly connect N and ground. This could trip an RCD (GFCI) and rule out the design in the UK and EU.

Would the jack for it be big enough to admit the finger of a toddler? I see ground would be outermost, but that could still result in a nasty injury. It also looks like something conductive inserted in there could short several circuits together. As you insert the connector, different circuits...

I’d say 73V is an unlikely choice, assuming the aliens have a similar biological make-up and tolerance to electrical current. Here on Earth, 50V is considered to be a safe threshold. For example, it’s the maximum touch voltage for earthed metalwork during a fault. However, we’ve decided to use...

Yes, I think we’re into ‘tomahto/tomayto” territory here. What you have is TN-C-S with extra earth rods at the installation end. You may not have N-E bonding along the power poles, but all those houses with rods would make it effectively a PME system. Sometimes, TN-C-S supplies have “belt ‘n’...

Various reasons: - A TN-C-S earth is almost always PME (protective multiple earthing), meaning the neutral must be earthed at multiple points along the final distribution path, establishing a decent equipotential zone. So, it’s a network thing, not simple link in the home thing. - You’d be...

There are pros and cons to every earthing system.

That’s right, a TT earth is the customer’s responsibility, and perfectly acceptable if in spec. The OP requested an engineer visit to assess for TN-S connection to avoid the drawbacks of TT. The visit revealed something separate - that the ancient incoming service cable, belonging to the power...

I’ve just read this bit again - am I missing something, or did those engineers just walk away from a fault? At least part of your cable sheath is floating. What you need is not so much an upgrade, as an urgent repair. If there were a phase-sheath/earth short after the break, would there not be...