The Christmas Light Conundrum

[Turbo]

We had a set of icicle type Christmas lights on the porch & they were a torture. Every year I'd spend ages working out which one of the 200 bulbs was blown, robbing bulbs from an old set of lights, swapping the bulb bases over coz they didn't fit and eventually getting them working only for another bulb to go a few days later.

Over the past couple of years I've replaced most of the Christmas lights at home with the LED type which are so much more reliable. I thought my days of torture were over but Mum found a set of old lights & decided they would look nice on the banisters. Unfortunately half the bulbs were not working and who do you think got the job of fixing them?

They'll be going in the scrap copper bin in January & I'll be getting another set of LED ones!

 

[optima21]

I was thinking about this the other day, the LED has alot to answer for, without them we wouldn't have neighbours trying to outdo one another with having the whole of their property illuminated, rather than just a sting of old stle lights around the inside of a window frame

 

[awemawson]

With the ones that are a long chain of low voltages bulbs across the mains, one of those non contact live wire detectors works splendidly to find the blown bulb. Follow the cable until the detector stops bleeping, I had to do it yesterday no spare bulb, so a bit of kitchen foil in the socket got them working (very marginally brighter I suppose)

 

[eSCHEn]

It would be terrible if you accidentally stood back on them whilst de-tangling and broke every.single.bulb, thereby necessitating its decommission.

Just awful if that happened.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

House down the road had a conundrum.

What sparky firm to call out.

20 new light sets to go on the house, in the house, in the garden, up the tree an on a spar car.

But they blew the main house fuse.
Daft beggars.

 

[Robotstar5]

House down the road had a conundrum.

What sparky firm to call out.

20 new light sets to go on the house, in the house, in the garden, up the tree an on a spar car.

But they blew the main house fuse.
Daft beggars.

Would have to be the DNO if they took the service fuse although not sure how they managed it unless they were putting up strings of 500W halogens?

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

@Robotstar5
I have no idea how it blew the DNO fuse, I am staying away.
It is not the first time they have had electricity issues down there. He thinks he is an engineer who can do everything.
The SEC are there now. current time 1030am.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

@Robotstar5

I found out why the DNO fuse blew. The owner had fitted a new fuse board, the socket breaker would tip.
So he by-passed it. The shower circuit had a fault on it.
So when he plugged his wonderful new lights it over loaded the fuse. The SEC refused to fix the fault and they had to go and stay with his mothers.
His neighbour is friend of mine with a TIG and we shared a quicky beer this evening.

 

[brightspark]

all sounds a bit iffy to me

 

[Westfield-builder]

all sounds a bit iffy to me

Yes, something doesn't sound right there.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Just ben sharing a nice cup of Threakson Old Peculiar. I asked about the neighbours lights and electrical issue.

All he knows was the neighbour had run 4 x 4 gang extension leads and was running the leads for the lights. Two lights into one plug. It was still at the bottom of the tree. But with his conversations with the SEC men, his wife was making them coffee. The electric in the house are is a terrible botch way.
I was told the SEC refused to replace the fuse and have placed a sealed blank in it's place and tamper tape on the box.

I think there is more things wrong in the house, what I don't know.
But are the SEC allowed to do what they did?

 

[Omniata]

They're probably rendering the supply safe.
Everything after the meter/main switch is the owner's responsibility, AFAIK, and needs to be verified by a qualified spark and signed off.
As SEC don't appear to be able to establish that the house's wiring is safe/certified it would appear they have no choice but to cut off the supply.

 

[zx9]

House down the road had a conundrum.

What sparky firm to call out.

20 new light sets to go on the house, in the house, in the garden, up the tree an on a spar car.

But they blew the main house fuse.
Daft beggars.

If, as most are today, they were LED sets I don't see how it can be possible to blow even a 13A fuse using 20 sets of lights. The ones we have are between 4 and 5W per string so 20 of them would pull less than a 100W lamp.

 

[Omniata]

Probably, I hate that word now, a lot of small problems added together, I see a complete re-wire coming on in the new year...

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

The lights in the tree are not LED. No are the rest. As to the air pump for blow up Santa.

I game into the fun after the drama, so I can only go on with what's left and my Mike told me.

 

[zx9]

The lights in the tree are not LED. No are the rest. As to the air pump for blow up Santa.

I game into the fun after the drama, so I can only go on with what's left and my Mike told me.

My bad, jumping to conclustions.

 

[brightspark]

difficult to say what happened without seeing it if u wonder why the mains fuse can blow and not just the lower ones in the fuse board the answer is easy . 80 amp main fuse . shower working poss 40 amp 30 amp on ring main in use lights 10 amp that adds up to 80 amp /. add to it an earth fault possibly 3 times the breaker rating in db and theres no capacity to take it hence the main fuse blowing and not the individual ones your 80 amp[ becomes no amps

 

[dannyp]

usally its eath leakage that keeps throwing breakers out with lights especaly outside. i cant get my head round the main fuse blowing especialy not with cristmas lights. i've never managed to pop the main fuse have however made everyones lights flicker and upset the transformer on the pole

our supply is usally 242v and the fuse is 100A so 24kw i know i've pulled more than that