Hello,

After finally finishing my new kitchen circuit I would like to check if the
continuity of live, neutral and earth to determine if they do indeed
complete a ring.

Searching on Google I have discovered continuity testing but with this it
seems you need to test each stage separately.

What I would like to do is to simply remove one socket cover, disconnect the
wires and test that each wire completes a ring.

Is this possible, if so what type of kit do I need to perform this. A
Screwfix link would be excellent!

Thanks,

John

"John Greenwood" wrote in message
...
Hello,

After finally finishing my new kitchen circuit I would like to check if
the
continuity of live, neutral and earth to determine if they do indeed
complete a ring.

Searching on Google I have discovered continuity testing but with this it
seems you need to test each stage separately.

What I would like to do is to simply remove one socket cover, disconnect
the
wires and test that each wire completes a ring.

Is this possible, if so what type of kit do I need to perform this. A
Screwfix link would be excellent!

Thanks,

John



Go to your Consumer Unit (main fuse box) and switch it off. Remove the two
red insulated cables from the breaker and connect your meter over them. Set
the meter to read the Ohms ranges and it you should have a reading of
between 3 and 10 Ohms depending on the length of the cables in the ring.
Repeat this for the black insulated cables and the earth connecting centres
and you should find out if all sockets are connected together.

If you don't get a drop in the Ohms range on any of these test, then you
have a break somewhere in the circuit and you'll need to test from each
socket to the next to find the break.

Hope this helps a bit.


---
www.basecuritysystems.no-ip.com
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.505 / Virus Database: 302 - Release Date: 30/07/03

"John Greenwood" wrote in message
...
Yes thanks this helps a lot, now I just need to know which type of meter
to
buy, is this one suitable:

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...00153&id=14469

Thanks

John


Yes, this one is fine to do the tests you need to do. Remember to switch
OFF at the main switch before removing any of the cables from the fuses /
breakers, and remember that the big thick grey cables coming from the
electric meter are always live in the fuse box, so DON'T let anything touch
them.


"BigWallop" wrote in message
...

"John Greenwood" wrote in message
...
Hello,

After finally finishing my new kitchen circuit I would like to check
if
the
continuity of live, neutral and earth to determine if they do indeed
complete a ring.

Searching on Google I have discovered continuity testing but with this
it
seems you need to test each stage separately.

What I would like to do is to simply remove one socket cover,
disconnect
the
wires and test that each wire completes a ring.

Is this possible, if so what type of kit do I need to perform this. A
Screwfix link would be excellent!

Thanks,

John



Go to your Consumer Unit (main fuse box) and switch it off. Remove the
two
red insulated cables from the breaker and connect your meter over them.
Set
the meter to read the Ohms ranges and it you should have a reading of
between 3 and 10 Ohms depending on the length of the cables in the ring.
Repeat this for the black insulated cables and the earth connecting
centres
and you should find out if all sockets are connected together.

If you don't get a drop in the Ohms range on any of these test, then you
have a break somewhere in the circuit and you'll need to test from each
socket to the next to find the break.

Hope this helps a bit.


---
www.basecuritysystems.no-ip.com
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.505 / Virus Database: 302 - Release Date: 30/07/03






---
www.basecuritysystems.no-ip.com
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.505 / Virus Database: 302 - Release Date: 30/07/03

In article ,
John Greenwood wrote:
Yes thanks this helps a lot, now I just need to know which type of meter
to buy, is this one suitable:

It would, although is quite expensive if all you need is a basic DVM.
Maplin sell ones which will do this job for only a few pounds.

Also, if you go to eBay 'Test Equipment' you'll find a new DVM on offer
that also does temperature, which is very useful for balancing central
heating or checking ovens etc. They sell for about 15 quid, and IMHO are
good value.

--
*The more people I meet, the more I like my dog.

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Thanks Big Wallop

"BigWallop" wrote in message
...

"John Greenwood" wrote in message
...
Yes thanks this helps a lot, now I just need to know which type of meter
to
buy, is this one suitable:

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...00153&id=14469

Thanks

John


Yes, this one is fine to do the tests you need to do. Remember to switch
OFF at the main switch before removing any of the cables from the fuses /
breakers, and remember that the big thick grey cables coming from the
electric meter are always live in the fuse box, so DON'T let anything
touch
them.


"BigWallop" wrote in message
...

"John Greenwood" wrote in message
...
Hello,

After finally finishing my new kitchen circuit I would like to check
if
the
continuity of live, neutral and earth to determine if they do indeed
complete a ring.

Searching on Google I have discovered continuity testing but with
this
it
seems you need to test each stage separately.

What I would like to do is to simply remove one socket cover,
disconnect
the
wires and test that each wire completes a ring.

Is this possible, if so what type of kit do I need to perform this.
A
Screwfix link would be excellent!

Thanks,

John



Go to your Consumer Unit (main fuse box) and switch it off. Remove
the
two
red insulated cables from the breaker and connect your meter over
them.
Set
the meter to read the Ohms ranges and it you should have a reading of

between 3 and 10 Ohms depending on the length of the cables in the
ring.
Repeat this for the black insulated cables and the earth connecting
centres
and you should find out if all sockets are connected together.

If you don't get a drop in the Ohms range on any of these test, then
you
have a break somewhere in the circuit and you'll need to test from
each
socket to the next to find the break.

Hope this helps a bit.


---
www.basecuritysystems.no-ip.com
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.505 / Virus Database: 302 - Release Date: 30/07/03






---
www.basecuritysystems.no-ip.com
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.505 / Virus Database: 302 - Release Date: 30/07/03

Yes thanks this helps a lot, now I just need to know which type of
meter to buy, is this one suitable:

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...00153&id=14469

Although this will give you an indication of the connection, it isn't
actually good enough for the regs. You'd need something more like:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/TM9054.html

These meters will apply up to 200mA to give a much more reliable indication
of resistance and will give 2 decimal places of ohms. Obviously, this isn't
the sort of price range you're looking for to test one circuit. To fully
test a circuit, you need one of these (which also does high voltage leakage
testing) an earth loop impedence tester and an RCD tester.

I wouldn't be surprised if you can hire from HSS, or you can just use a
multimeter and hope, but you won't have complied with the regulations. Last
I looked, the going rate on eBay was 50-100 for each digital meter.

Christian.

"John Greenwood" wrote
| After finally finishing my new kitchen circuit I would like to check if
the
| continuity of live, neutral and earth to determine if they do indeed
| complete a ring.
| Searching on Google I have discovered continuity testing but with this it
| seems you need to test each stage separately.
| What I would like to do is to simply remove one socket cover, disconnect
the
| wires and test that each wire completes a ring.

As well as testing for ring continuity you have to check for inadvertent
bridging of the ring.

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Book/8.4.2.htm

describes a procedure

Owain