On 4 Nov 2004 "Lobster" wrote:

"Owain" wrote:
"Lobster" wrote
| ... I've found two old green 6mm(?) earth lead which emerge from
| the plaster adjacent to the (ancient) fusebox and connect to a
| terminal block,

Those might disappear off to water and gas pipes somewhere.

Indeed; one such lead is in fact attached to CW piping below the
kitchen sink (which is close to the water main, located at the
opposite end of the house) but I haven't confirmed continuity to one
of those near the fusebox yet.

It is also possible that there's an earth (ie bonding) from a socket
in the kitchen to the cold water main, and that, brought back through
the circuit protective conductor to the fusebox, was considered
sufficient to earth the whole installation.

Yes that does fit the evidence! If so, I suppose the place is marginally
less of a death trap than I thought, but either way, it will be sorted.

It used to be common practice to bond the house earth to the rising
water main. However with water companies increasingly using plastic
piping this is no longer reliable. It's now necessary to bond the
house's water system to an independent earth.

--
Richard Porter
Mail to username ricp at domain minijem.plus.com
"You can't have Windows without pains."