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Braided light flexes


Keni
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Hello, can anyone tell me whether out lighting system is just old or really old? It's an old property with electricity working great. We have both 2 and separate 3 phase systems in the property (for workshop), however the lights in the centre of the room have what we in the UK would regard as old braided fabric flexes. All the wiring is surface mounted in piping and seems fine, it's just the lights that seem to have the old type of wiring - is it safe? The fuse boxes are old and black but trip well when tested

Keni (female)

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I've just stripped cable of a similar age out of one of our barns. the metal conduit is lined with some sort of bitumen-type stuff, and peels and flakes very easily, so I wouldn't recommending moving it/bending it at all. As I dissembled the old stuff I discovered that most of the places where the cable went round corners the rubber insulation below the woven cotton outer had perished, cracked and - in some cases - flaked away from the conductors.

The first time I saw cable like this was when I helped my father to 3-phase wire his chair-making factory back in 1956. I was 6 at the time, so my 'help' was restricted to pulling cables through conduits. I don't suppose I thought 50 years later I'd be pulling it again!)

Yes, your EDF trip switch works well (thank God!) but are all the circuits earthed? The regulations were much more lax 50 years ago and therefore the installers somewhat more - erm - cavalier ?

At least get it checked over; at best get it changed.

 

paul

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Could you describe a bit what you've got at the meter end? From what you say I would expect the EDF meter, a mystery box close to it (which is the EDF fuse upstream of the meter ) and also the EDF disjoncteur (trip switch) with the on/off buttons.

You've probably then got a set of plug-in fuses, ceramic holders on a wooden backing board ? This would be about the same era as the metal / bitumen sort of conduit.

If this is the set-up, you probably do need to change it, which is another very lengthy story. Suffice to say, if you do have an existing connected supply, you can refurbish extensively (mise en securite) without invoking the full majesty of a CONSUEL inspection.

Jim

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Jim you been in my house???  What you describe is exactly what we have in my lounge except we also have a little plate on the wall behind which is a spaghetti of wires and jointing blocks.  Fortunately much of the wiring is newish but we do  have some braided cable to the lights in one room which is coming out as soon as, problem is the whole of the upstairs loft conversion lighting has been piggybacked on this cable and we cannot isolate it at the moment.  What happened to the IEE 15th edition eh?????? 
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Except our French chums don't work to IEE. They work to NF C 15-100, which you can buy but you will need a second or even third mortgage.

For a good kiddies guide to French electrics, try Promotelec "Locaux d'Habitation: Installation Electrique" which can be ordered online from www.promotelec.com for about 10 urinals.

One of the problems I have always had is the French way of wiring using single conductors rather than cable, usually using a colour coding system that was private to the original installer....

Jim

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Yes it can be great fun figuring out what exactly the purple, the orange, the brown and the black are being used for in this room! 

At least we know what the Blue and the yellow/green are for (mostly!).

paul

ps. Is there a trick with the little 3, 4 or 5-way bornes (the ones where you push a solid conductor into a hole in a little plastic block)? Sometimes they go in easy as pie, at others it puts up so much resistance the wire just bends.

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[quote]Yes it can be great fun figuring out what exactly the purple, the orange, the brown and the black are being used for in this room! At least we know what the Blue and the yellow/green are for (mostly...[/quote]

Only solid copper wires can be pushed into these connectors and not flexes. You must make sure the stripped back section of the wire is completely straight with no kinks. a common mistake is that not enough insulation is stripped back and by forcing the wire into thge block, the insulation stops it going in and thus bends the wire. Many French light switches now have push in connectors and I have seen many a charred contact due to the latter problem. Typically around 13mm should be stripped back.

Paul

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