With little new information to share we have neglected to add updates to the site but here is a brief catch up. Work has slowed immensely while we continue to wait for the shop to tell us the materials have arrived.
There is still plenty to do in the gardens but with the Summer heat it is only possible to work for a few hours in the mornings.
It was cooler yesterday, only 32ºC but the forecast is for 35º to 39º for the rest of the week.
Having moved many boxes from the workshop into the house I now have more room to work with and tidying up the electrical system seems a great idea.
There is a mix of single and three phase wiring (even though the main supply is now only single phase) and the alarming number of apparently disconnected but still live cables is a recipe for disaster. A number of the junction boxes were already open, probably because someone tried to make it 'safe' sometime ago.
The second box I opened was proof that some attention was definitely needed. At least 3 problems can bee seen.
Problem 1: The connector block has melted on the neutral, I could not determine if that was due to a poor connection or a genuine overload, the melted plastic was hiding the crime.
Problem 2: A cable with a section of insulation stripped away exposing the core to be touched accidentally.
Problem 3: A cable simply wrapped once round the core of a yellow/green cable.
In reality, there is no earthing arrangement in this system.
And the first box was almost as disturbing.
The lack of a connector block is no excuse to simply twist the wires together, even if the earth connection doesn't exist.
At least I will have a good collection of scrap copper for my retirement fund.