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When it comes to doing your own electrical work. . . Are Aussies DUMBER than Kiwis? By Ross Tester Did you know that it if you want to paint a wall and need to unscrew a power outlet or light switch, you cannot do it legally in any Australian state? Nor can you replace a light switch or power outlet, install a dimmer or ceiling fan. Nor anything else which involves any form of electrical installation, repair or modification. But you can in New Zealand! I n fact, in NSW (and probably other states), at the very moment there are radio commercials saying how dangerous it is to attempt your own electrical repairs. It was these commercials which in part prompted this feature. The same commercials, incidentally, state that one in five “handymen” do exactly that. Naughty, naughty. Like all other states, Queensland law says that you have to call a licenced electrical contractor to do any electrical 12  Silicon Chip work involving fixed wiring. Unlike most other states, in Queensland you cannot even repair plug-in appliances (such as jug elements, etc). But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Now let’s suppose that a handyman, unlicensed, does some electrical work. It may be absolutely exemplary but by definition (and law!) such work is declared “dangerous” and cannot even be tested and certified after the event by siliconchip.com.au Non-contact mains voltage detectors: an essential item in every toolbox! an electrical contractor! There have been prosecutions, for example in the Northern Territory where a contractor did certify work done by an unlicensed person. The contractor was fined and lost his own licence. It doesn’t matter that work may have been done to a higher standard than the electrical contractor would have done it. At the risk of earning the wrath of every sparkie in the land, they are normally working at the maximum speed to the minimum acceptable standards, simply so they can earn a buck. But even the very best quality unlicenced work can never be “legal”. Now, if you were across the pond in New Zealand, such actions are quite legal. In fact, in New Zealand you can not only change a power outlet or light fitting, you can add additional power outlets, even rewire your entire home if you want to right back to (but not including) the switchboard. The NZ power authorities actually publish information to help the do-it-yourselfer do it him (or her) self. If you don’t believe us, have a look at www.consum- eraffairs.govt.nz/mediacentre/wordofadvice/2004/ ECP5051.html or www.energysafety.govt.nz/templates/ Page____17682.aspx They’re just a couple from a number of sites setting out what is completely legal. But the Kiwis go even further than that – they actually publish instructions to show home owners how to do it – safely! Again, have a look at www.energysafety.govt.nz/upload/33458/ecp51v18.pdf and www.energysafety.govt.nz/upload/33456/ECP50v18. pdf Why the difference? Maybe the Kiwis have different equipment to that in siliconchip.com.au Unlike neon test screwdrivers, non-contact tester s, as their name implies, do not require any contact with live circuits. This is very important for safety – it’s easy to see if the circuit is dangerous simply by bringing the tester tip close to it (ie, within a centimetre or so). If you are doing any sort of electrical work, one of these devices is absolutely essential. They’re rated to detect AC voltages from 110 to 1000V. Two models are shown above: at top is a Digite ch QP-2271 “Voltfinder” from Jaycar Electronics. It not only glows bright red when it senses a live circuit but also has a relatively loud beeper to warn you. In addition, there is a handy bright LED torch built in. It retails for $17.95 at all Jaycar Electronics stores and webstore. The lower model is a Fluke VoltAlert 1AC-II. It is small er than the Digitech and also appears to be slightly more sensi tive. It too features a warning beeper but no torch and retails for $48.00 from electrical wholesalers and some hardware stores . Both of these will easily identify a live power outlet from the front (ie, while it’s still in the wall); they’ll also detec t live wiring from outside its plastic outer sheath. In fact, they’l l also yell their heads off if they’re next to your mobile phone when it rings! Australia, perhaps easier to use and understand? No, it’s absolutely identical. Same voltage, same fittings, same hardware. . . same! Do the Kiwis operate to a different set of electrical standards? No, in fact the standard is called AS/NZS:3000 – that’s Australian Standard/New Zealand Standard number 3000. (It used to be called SAA Wiring Rules). Why then are the regulations in the two countries so different? June 2008  13 Are Aussies that much dumber than Kiwis? Absolutely, if we are talking about the bureaucrats and politicians. And quite possibly the general public as well, because we have allowed the bureaucrats and politicians to force their demonstrably false regulation on us. What the Kiwis obviously have is a much more enlightened, sensible and informed Government and bureaucracy (well, certainly in this regard!). It’s all about safety No it’s not. That’s the line that Australian electricity authorities trot out whenever the subject is raised – and they are supported by electrical unions, by electrical contractors, etc, who want to ensure that they keep the work to themselves. And they are supported by mainstream media and tabloid TV shows who are convinced (conned?) that having handymen doing their own wiring will cause corns and callouses, rot wooden legs and bring plague and pestilence to the land. We mentioned New Zealand a moment ago. Compare the statistics between Australia and New Zealand: they ably demonstrate that electrocutions are at least as rare in New Zealand as they are in Australia. Table 1 shows the comparison between the Australian states and NZ for the years 2005-2006 (the last year currently available). Notice something? With the exception of the Northern Territory (whose figures are skewed by the low population), most Australian states and New Zealand have pretty similar electrical 14  Silicon Chip STATE NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT Population (millions)# 6.8 5.1 4.1 2.0 1.6 .49 .34 .2 NZ 4.1 # Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006 Electrical Fatalities* 6 6 3 3 0 0 0 3 Fatalities per Million Population 0.88 1.17 0.8 1.5 15 3 0.7 * Electrical Incident Data 2005-2006, ERAC Table 1: wouldn’t you expect New Zealand to have significantly higher electrical fatalities than all Australian states, if doing your own electrical work is so dangerous? It is clearly not so! fatality figures (note that we are not breaking these down into types nor locations, though if you are interested, those breakdowns can be found on the Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council website: www.erac.gov.au). And there is certainly no suggestion that these fatalities occurred due to unlicensed people doing their own electrical work. It would appear from our reading that the majority are either workers in the electrical industry (complacency, perhaps?) or, far too often, accidents such as allowing crane siliconchip.com.au jibs or boat masts to contact high-voltage overhead lines. Leaving the Northern Territory and the three states which had no fatalities at all in the 2005-6 year out of the equation, Australian states experienced between 0.8 and 1.6 deaths per million people. But the one thing that stands out, more than anything else, is New Zealand, with little in the way of restrictions, has less fatalities than any Australian states which had them. Now if the Australian authorities are correct – that it is dangerous to do your own electrical work – wouldn’t you expect that to show up in the stats? Wouldn’t you expect New Zealand to have significantly higher fatalities, because doing your own electrical work is so dangerous? As the song says, “it ain’t necessarily so”! Let’s look at another set of statistics – the United Nations Fire Statistics Study (www.genevaassociation. org/FIRE%20N%C2%B0%2014%20-%20September%20 1998%20.pdf) Certainly, these statistics are for more than house fires. And no-one is saying that all fires are electrical in origin (although just about every time you hear about a house fire on the news, an “electrical fault” is blamed). If it was so dangerous to do your own electrical work it’s not too long a bow to stretch to assume that more fires would be caused by that electrical work being done by unlicenced people. Woops. New Zealand has a lower cost of fires per population than Australia. Scratch that theory! Again we have to ask, are Aussies that much dumber than Kiwis? In this regard, the authorities seem to answer YES! siliconchip.com.au What is the Australian Supply Voltage? Ask most Australians what the supply voltage is and (if they know!) they’ll say 240. Indeed, most electrical equip ment made in Australia is labelled 240V, 50Hz. But they’d be wrong! That’s what it used to be . . . In 1983, the International Electrotechnical Comm ission initiated a program to standardise the 50Hz internationa l voltage at 230/400V. On 23rd February 2000, a new Australian Standard, AS600382000 came into force which replaced the original standard. In a nutshell, it stated that in normal circumstances, the nominal supply voltage should be 230/400V, +10%, -6%. Another Australian standard, AS/NZS3000, states that the voltage drop (caused by load) at the customer’s prem ises should not vary by more than 5%. Therefore, the supply voltage must be 230/400V +10, -11%, or between 205-253V/3 56-440V. Supply authorities recognise that a lot of electrical equipment would struggle with the lower figure so endeavour to keep the single phase supply at 230V, +10, -2% (225-253V ). Perhaps not quite coincidentally, this range confo rms to the previous 240V standard! Reproduced below is the New Zealand government’s “Guide to Doing your own Electrical Work safely and legally” – what you can and cannot do. This enlightened approach has not resulted in more electrical accident fatalities, pro-rata, over the Tasman. The guide is a little small here to read the fine print – but you can download a copy yourself on www. energysafety.govt.nz/upload/31994/brochure.pdf June 2008  15 In this regard, the authorities seem to answer YES! Not only are New Zealanders allowed to do their own electrical work, the NZ government publishes a number of guides to tell them exactly how to do it, with safety paramount. They are savvy enough to realise that people ARE going to attempt their own electrical repairs and installations, so go out of their way to make sure that those people are given the information they need to do those repairs and installations responsibly and, most importantly, safely. No amount of radio advertising is going to stop people in Australia doing the same thing. It’s simply a fact of life. And prosecutions for doing so are so rare that we couldn’t find very much data at all. There were related prosecutions – and we’re sure there would be some prosecutions out there. But not that we could track down. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing . . . So the proverb goes. But no knowledge is much worse. The following example is not exactly doing your own “electrical work” but it’s close enough – and it serves to illustrate the point. I once had a next-door neighbour who owned an electric Flymo. One day, the inevitable happened and she ran over the power lead, cutting it. So she went down to the local hardware store and bought a 240V cord-top plug and socket. So far, so good. There were pretty pictures on the back of the packs showing which wires connected to which pins, how long to cut and strip each wire, etc, which she managed to achieve without drama. The only problem was that she fitted the female socket to the lead attached to the mower and the male plug to the lead from the power outlet – that is, male at both ends of the power lead – so that when it was plugged in she had live, exposed pins ready to do their worst. I was aghast – but at first she couldn’t understand the problem. It took a while, then she said “why didn’t they explain that to me?” The reason, quite simply, is that authorities here are not explaining anything – for safety reasons, of course. But withholding the information is not going to stop people, like my next door neighbour (who by her own admission knew nothing!) – they’re going to do it anyway and make the mistakes that kill people. This is one of the “modern” style outlets (switches are the same) with a removable face plate so that (theoretically!) it doesn’t get painted. However, it has been painted over – but even more importantly, it has a faulty switch mechanism (left side) so the whole outlet will need to be replaced. 16  Silicon Chip Closer to home, (literally!) when I moved into my home many years ago, there was a bare 240V globe in a socket hanging off a branch in a tree near the entrance. A length of perished figure-8 cable ran back through various tree branches until it disappeared through a ventilation grate under the house. I asked the previous owners about it and they told me that it was there when they bought the house but it had never worked. Talk about Jerry-built! I decided to remove this forthwith – only to find the circuit was live (the globe was blown!); it was wired in parallel to the oyster light at the front door. So it was live whenever the front door light was on! Of course the authorities would point to this example and say “See, we told you so. People should not be allowed to do their own wiring.” We say that if whoever (Jerry!) had put this flawed light circuit in had the correct information given them, they would have put in a proper light circuit using the correct cable, conduit, switching and so on. It’s precisely because they didn’t know how to do it properly that they did it incorrectly – and fraught with danger. In New Zealand, this information is supplied by the government in order to prevent those very mistakes. They make the rather strange assumption that it’s better to have live people with appropriate knowledge than dead people with none. Repairing appliances Again in New Zealand, D-I-Yers are allowed to repair their own electrical appliances, such as jugs, heaters, toasters, etc – especially those with such things as elements and the like which can and do fail. Already in some states of Australia, such is forbidden by law, despite the fact that you can buy replacement jug and heater elements (and other parts) over the counter. From the mumblings we’ve heard, it probably won’t be too long before all states follow suit. Could this account for the number of electric heaters etc put out in council cleanups and taken to landfill tips? It’s too expensive to call an electrician to replace a heater element but it’s so easy to yourself – if you were allowed. Even if you’ve been doing it for a lifetime, even if you have a PhD in electrical engineering, unless you have an Woops! We said theoretically . . . the sloppy painters missed the wall – but got the switch plate! It is precisely situations like this which call for the switch to be replaced if the owner is at all house-proud. But it would probably cost you at least $100 (or more!) to get an electrician to do the job! siliconchip.com.au electrician’s ticket, you can’t touch anything powered by mains. In fact, it gets worse. You won’t be allowed to build any mains-operated device if you follow the letter of the law. No more amplifiers, radios, lighting displays – in fact, no thing powered by more than a battery or a plug-pack! Needless to say, most hobbyists will continue to treat this with the contempt it deserves. Wasn’t it Thomas Jefferson who once said (and we paraphrase somewhat) if a law is stupid it is every citizen’s right to ignore or disobey that law? And the reason the bureaucrats and politicians give for this stupidity? Why, safety, of course! Of course, that’s utter rubbish. One wonders how all the brilliant electrical inventions over the years would have come about if this craziness had been on the statute books since, say, Marconi’s time. And what of all the trades people, technicians and professionals who cut their teeth on simple projects, moving up to (perish the thought!) mains-powered devices before embarking on their careers in the industry? Where would they be today? Where would we be today? Buying the bits OK, so we’re going to assume that someone (no, not you, of course!) is going to want to, say, change a power outlet from a single to a double. Maybe put in a dimmer or electric fan. Or even replace that old ceiling rose that’s so old it’s dangerous. Where do you (oops, sorry, they!) get the bits to do it? Not so long ago, you could buy power outlets, light switches, dimmers and a host of other electrical hardware at virtually any supermarket. Not any more: today you have to buy from either an electrical “wholesaler” or, more likely, from a large hardware store. You’ll almost certainly save money buying retail from a hardware store than buying wholesale because unless you have an account with one of the wholesalers, the prices they will ask are often ridiculous. Most wholesalers work on the system of charging a certain price on the “invoice” or sales docket (the one the electrical contractor gives the customer to claim back purchases) but when the wholesaler’s account is sent out to the contractor, there is an often-quite-substantial discount applied. That way, it “appears” that the contractor is supplying the goods to the customer “at cost”, where in fact he ends up making a substantial profit. We’re not saying that is wrong or right – it’s another fact of life. Or you could go to electronics retailers such as Jaycar and Altronics, both of whom stock a range of common D-I-Y equipment such as power outlets, light switches and mains cables – at very good prices. However, for such things as conduit and the myriad of electrical fittings, the hardware store is still the best bet. Keeping it up-to-scratch As we said before, it is (legally) impossible for an unlicensed person to do any electrical work and get it signed off by an electrical contractor. But if you are doing any work, you might as well do it “by the book”, if for no other reason than, you guessed it, safety. Here we have no argument with the regulations which all electrical contractors have to abide by. For the most part, they make perfect sense siliconchip.com.au Press Release Electrical contractors and electricians will effectively be banned from working on equipment operating at normal mains voltage under a new guideline Code of Practice issued by EnergySafety. The Code applies to electrical contractors and all electricians working in general industry. It also places obligations on contractors’ clients and all employers of electricians who request that live work be performed,” Director of Energy Safety Albert Koenig has said. “Working on live electrical circuits and equipment or in very close proximity to live parts is potentially dangerous and mostly places the lives of electricians at risk needlessly,” Koenig said. Loss of production, increased costs and operational inconvenience will not be regarded as justifying live work. Under the Code, live work will be justified only if there is a greater risk of danger to lives of people using, or affected by, an electrical installation, compared with risks incurred by electrical workers asked to perform live work. In such circumstances, a live work justification case, backed by a formal risk assessment under the Code, must be made out by the licensed electrical contractor’s client, requesting that live work be carried out. In respect of residential type installations, the Code never allows live work. If the electrical employer is satisfied that live work is justified and it can be carried out safely, a strict safety plan must be followed, comprising: • The contractor must prepare a detailed work plan and set of procedures, complying with the Code, to cover the work; • All electrical workers involved in performing the work must agree it can be done safely; • A competent and independent safety assessor must approve plans and procedures if the prospective fault current exceeds 10,000 amperes at the site in question; • An experienced safety observer must be present at all times while the live work is under way and must have no other duties while carrying out the observer role. Koenig said the Code provided for routine activities which generally need to be conducted while circuits are live, including testing, commissioning and location of faults. “With this Code, we are addressing a large number and variety of situations where electrical contractors and electricians are placed under commercial pressure by their clients to perform risky live work, merely to hold costs down, keep production going and avoid inconvenience,” he said. He also noted that the guideline Code does not apply to the electricity transmission and distribution related activities within the electricity supply industry, as this sector has its own guidelines for safe work practices. EnergySafety is currently conducting a series of industry presentations around the State at regional centres, to outline recent electrical industry legislation and technical standards changes, and this new Code. June 2008  17 This old-style fuse box, circa 1950, has most of its plug-in fuses replaced with circuit breakers. The main switch (highlighted) clearly shows whether it is in the on or off position. Contrast this with the modern DIN rail box below: its “master isolator” (top left) switches two phases. This box has combined RCDs and circuit breakers. or plasterboard, creating an unsightly mess. It’s simple to avoid this if you know how. We said this is in a grey area because you aren’t actually doing any wiring installation or modifications. But we have seen, time and again, warnings from electricity authorities that you must not do this because, they say, it is (a) dangerous and (b) illegal. To (a) we say, with proper guidance , poppycock. To (b) we will agree to disagree. Anyway, temporarily loosening the switch or outlet is less dangerous than replacing a light globe (they have exposed mains pins, the bulbs break etc etc) – just as long as you follow a few simple steps. Here are those steps: specifying the number of outlets on a circuit means less chance of an overload and fire, for example. So if you plan to do some electrical work, get yourself a copy of the SAA Wiring rules which explain in detail what you can and cannot do. You’re more likely to find them described as “AS/NZS3000” You can get an on-line (PDF) version for just under a hundred dollars – expensive, yes; but at least you’ll know what is required (see www. SaiGlobal.com/wiringrules). You may also be able to find a copy at a major library. (1) Turn the power off at the main switch (or, if you can positively identify which circuit the outlet/switch is on, by flipping the circuit breaker or removing the fuse). (2) Test that you have indeed turned the power off using a non-contact voltage indicator. One of these devices should be in every handyman’s toolbox. They’re not expensive and are much better than the old neon test screwdriver, which does require contact with the live circuit (see panel on P13). Only if you are absolutely sure that the power is cut off, proceed to step 3. (3) Many modern outlets and full-size switches (such as HPM’s “Excel” range and Clipsal’s “2000” series) have a clip-on cover plate over the actual outlet/switch. This is very easily removed by sliding a sharp knife under the edge and prising the cover plate off. Older power points and switches simply have two screws Let’s get down to it In this first instalment, we’re going to describe how to do something that, legally, is arguably in a “grey” area: temporarily pulling a light switch or power outlet out from the wall or architrave so that you can paint behind it. “Too easy”, you say. Oh yeah? How then do you account for the millions of light switches and power outlets in homes and offices with paint around the edges! And, just as importantly, the number of damaged walls around outlets (or switches/architraves) where the offending device has pulled away paint or even the outer layer (skin) of Gyprock 18  Silicon Chip It’s an all-too common sight: someone has removed the light switch and taken a chunk of paint with it. It’s easy to avoid this problem . . . but is it legal? Incidentally, whoever removed this light switch obviously didn’t bother to insert the plastic “pips” to cover the screws. siliconchip.com.au This light switch is certainly not “dead” – the non-contact tester is glowing red and singing its head off! As you can see, these devices work quite happily from the front of the outlet/switch so you can test them before you do anything! Having turned off the main switch, turned off the appropriate circuit breaker (or removed the fuse) and then checked again that it is dead, cut a thin line right around the outlet/switch to make sure you don’t remove any paint. holding them in, usually covered by two small flushmounting plastic “pips” which have to be removed before you can access the screws. It is possible to lever them out without damage, so they can be re-used, by using a sharp knife or tiny screwdriver. However, they are replaceable (hardware stores usually have them) so most times they are simply dug out with a screwdriver and discarded. (4) Whether you have an outlet/switch with a cover plate or without, before you undo any screws, use a very sharp knife (a craft knife is best, a box-cutter will do at a pinch) to score around the outlet or switch, using the outlet or switch as a template. The idea is to cut a very thin line through the paintwork underneath so that when you do remove the outlet/switch, it doesn’t adhere to the paint and pull some away. (5) Undo the screws holding the switch/outlet in place moving back and forth between the screws, a little at a time. You should find that if your cut (in 1 above) is deep enough, the outlet will be able to be prised off the paintwork without damaging it. It’s quite possible, indeed likely, that the paintwork underneath the switch/outlet will be damaged but if you replace the switch/outlet in exactly the same position, you won’t see it. You may not even need to remove the outlet/switch completely – just as far as necessary to reach behind it to paint. If you do remove the screws completely, don’t pull it out any further than you need to and don’t place any strain on the cabling (especially if it is old!). (6) With the outlet/switch out of the wall/architrave, temporarily run a couple of layers of electrical insulation tape (or Gaffer tape, which sticks better to dusty surfaces) around ALL of the back of the outlet/switch, making sure that you cover any connection points and screws and the wires going into them. Having said that, try to avoid moving the outlet/switch any more than you have to. Wiring, particularly old wiring, is often brittle. (7) With the tape in place, you can restore power if necessary and start painting. Remember that water-based (acrylic) paint is conductive so avoid getting too close to the switch parts, even if the power is turned off and even if you have covered it in tape. Replacement is simply the reverse of these steps, with restoring power the very last thing! SC This step – wrapping the back of the switch or outlet in insulation tape of masking tape – really is a “belt and braces” approach but is one which ensures your safety. Wet paint is conductive, so you want to be sure, to be sure! Finally, screw the switch/outlet back in just far enough to ensure that you can paint behind it without getting paint on the plate (as numerous painters have obviously done here!) When touch dry, screw it all the way back in. siliconchip.com.au June 2008  19