On Mon, 02 Oct 2006 19:38:06 GMT, "ARWadsworth"
wrote:


"Matt" wrote in message
.. .

Which is fine right until the point the oven element fails and the
break in the earth conductor in the consumer unit that has gone
un-noticed for months/years/forever means the fuse doesn't blow and
the oven casing rises to mains potential.

A fatal shock is about the 6 inches of reach between the oven and the
nicely bonded "split level" gas hob sat right above it.

Apart from the last bit which was narrowly avoided by the owner
switching off the cooker at the wall switch the above is actually what
happened on an installation a few weeks ago. The earth had failed
right in the middle of a sleeved run in the consumer unit. A simple
visual examination wouldn't have picked it up.

Put the cooker on the RCD!

A simple installation test or PIR would have picked that up.

errm what do you think I was doing to even pick up the fault in the
first place! I'm not in the habit of walking round kitchens, turning
on an obviously faulty oven, finding a bit of well earthed metal and
then simultaneously dabbing a hand on each to check for any wiring
defects

How often do people really have their installations checked? I'd bet
some have never been touched in 20 years, maybe more.


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