On 07 Jul 2005 00:24:17 GMT,it is alleged that andrew@a17 (Andrew
Gabriel) spake thusly in uk.d-i-y:


You are correct, I don't see any circumstances where a reduced earth
conductor could be better than or even equal to a full size one.

OK then, please think of some likely scenario in which it is undersized.

I just don't like the concept of the protective conductor being a
smaller size than the line conductors potentially feeding fault
current into it.

[snip]

So because someone else says they're old fashioned, the public should
be inconvenienced?

Well, when I replace a CU, I don't use a B6 breaker on the lights.
That's largely a question of how competent a designer your electrician
is.

Sadly most are not 'designers' at all, they install a B6 because
everyone uses 6amp for lighting, and if they just ask for a 6 amp
breaker, a type 'B' is what they get.


In my own home, I don't have any mains filament lamps indoors that
I can think of at the moment, at least, none on the lighting circuit.
I do have a couple of halogen ones outdoors, but they are on their
own breaker.

To be fair we have mostly compact fluorescents. It's just the
chandelier fitting in the living room which looks awful with anything
but 25w candle bulbs, and the GU10 Halogens in the conservatory. I am
intending to switch the GU10's to an FCU off the ring, but it's the
candle bulbs that do the breaker tripping (possibly due to smaller
lead spacing inside the lamps causing the plasma effect suggested
elsewhere).

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