Electrics

[Jack Peterson]

Just now, jimeve said:

The transformer is hung on a pole that Noreco service drop is connected. Then the line comes into our garden.

 Yes mate, above the Transformer is an Open Fuse ( a Big one) and there I think is your problem of Electric starvation the heavy rain has maybe caused it to close its circuits to protect it

[jimeve]

Just now, Jack Peterson said:

 Yes mate, above the Transformer is an Open Fuse ( a Big one) and there I think is your problem of Electric starvation the heavy rain has maybe caused it to close its circuits to protect it

I will phone Noreco 11 up. Don't know why the guest house was not affected, it has the some power from the transformer.

[Snowy79]

Sounds to me like you have had a friday afternoon wiring job on your house.  The Philippines is notorious for bad electrical fittings and I've had a couple of small shocks in a previous home by poorly wired fittings.  Regardless of cost I'd recommend you get a proper electrician with the tools to check the installation. It's not right for some water ingress to just cut the power to upstairs lighting without triping a breaker.

The water ingress and poorly installed wiring could lead to areas of your house becoming live which can kill you.  An electrician worth his salt will have something like a Metrel tester that he connects to a socket and this will let him know if the wiring insulation is up to the necessary standard or extremely dangerous.  A lot of wiring here comes from China and the insulation covering is very poor quality.  It looks good on the surface but over time the current can leak out of it and if tied to anything metal or immersed in water could make the whole area live, even the wall.

[jimeve]

6 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

Sounds to me like you have had a friday afternoon wiring job on your house.  The Philippines is notorious for bad electrical fittings and I've had a couple of small shocks in a previous home by poorly wired fittings.  Regardless of cost I'd recommend you get a proper electrician with the tools to check the installation. It's not right for some water ingress to just cut the power to upstairs lighting without triping a breaker.

The water ingress and poorly installed wiring could lead to areas of your house becoming live which can kill you.  An electrician worth his salt will have something like a Metrel tester that he connects to a socket and this will let him know if the wiring insulation is up to the necessary standard or extremely dangerous.  A lot of wiring here comes from China and the insulation covering is very poor quality.  It looks good on the surface but over time the current can leak out of it and if tied to anything metal or immersed in water could make the whole area live, even the wall.

Had the electrician in again. He can't locate the short circuit, so he's gone now, looking to find a real 'qualified electrician'

All the lights are pen-lights on the ceiling. Without taking down the ceilings is there a device to locate a short-circuit? There's 3 bedroom and a landing all affected. He's checked all the pen lights and switches also the breaker, with a meter, he thinks it's the circuit wiring grounded somewhere.

[Snowy79]

2 hours ago, jimeve said:

Had the electrician in again. He can't locate the short circuit, so he's gone now, looking to find a real 'qualified electrician'

All the lights are pen-lights on the ceiling. Without taking down the ceilings is there a device to locate a short-circuit? There's 3 bedroom and a landing all affected. He's checked all the pen lights and switches also the breaker, with a meter, he thinks it's the circuit wiring grounded somewhere.

This is one tool but there are multiple tools that do the same thing. It detects wires buried behind walls, in floors etc.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJGqh-XJVpk

 

[Clermont]

The step son just bought a new house and the wiring is berried into the wall, no junction boxes. Nothing abnormal about that the contractor told him. I've taken pictures of how junction boxes and a bank of fuses work and he is chasing up an Elec to fix the house up safely. All wiring will be in conduits and each with separate safety fusses, eg: lights 1 fuse, power points another fuse, exe. I wouldn't even muk around chasing down a short if the wiring isn't properly protected and you can't have good access to the wiring, remember, no second chances with that stuff.  

[jimeve]

5 hours ago, Clermont said:

The step son just bought a new house and the wiring is berried into the wall, no junction boxes. Nothing abnormal about that the contractor told him. I've taken pictures of how junction boxes and a bank of fuses work and he is chasing up an Elec to fix the house up safely. All wiring will be in conduits and each with separate safety fusses, eg: lights 1 fuse, power points another fuse, exe. I wouldn't even muk around chasing down a short if the wiring isn't properly protected and you can't have good access to the wiring, remember, no second chances with that stuff.  

It is properly protected. Each circuit has it's own fuse (Breaker) The only alternative is have the lighting circuit rewired, that means ripping down the ceilings and hacking the cement walls.

Must be an easier way?

[jimeve]

13 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

This is one tool but there are multiple tools that do the same thing. It detects wires buried behind walls, in floors etc.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJGqh-XJVpk

 

Thanks Snowy, yeah I have seen those before I thought that one could locate a short circuit. I already know where the wires are.

[Snowy79]

38 minutes ago, jimeve said:

Thanks Snowy, yeah I have seen those before I thought that one could locate a short circuit. I already know where the wires are.

It might actually work out cheaper and safer in the long run to have an electrician disconnect the wiring at the breakers for the lighting and just run a new decent quality ring mains for the lighting.  It's not been unheard of for them just to take a feed from a plug point to feed the lighting here instead of having it's own dedicated circuit. My rental in Puerto Galera being a prime example.  I offered to update the lighting for my landlord as his was from the 60s.  I tripped the breaker for the lighting and fortunately tested for power at the light to ensure I had the correct breaker and it was still live.  I tripped all the breakers marked for the whole house lights and again it was still live. The so called electrician had just taken a feed from a plug socket to save him running wires. 

I would put money on it your circuit isn't grounded which will be why the circuit breakers aren't tripping.  You won't even know it isn't grounded until the insulation breaks down an an item becomes live and you become dead.

[jimeve]

1 hour ago, Snowy79 said:

I would put money on it your circuit isn't grounded which will be why the circuit breakers aren't tripping.  You won't even know it isn't grounded until the insulation breaks down an an item becomes live and you become dead.

Yes its grounded, all of them. There's a grounding rod outside the house. I made sure it was grounded I watched what they were doing.

And the breaker did trip btw

 

Edited February 25, 2021 by jimeve
added info.