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Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items For discussions about other vintage (over 25 years old) electrical and electromechanical household items. See the sticky thread for details.

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Old 12th Feb 2019, 1:52 pm   #21
PsychMan
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Default Re: 1960s Bakelite Wired in Cooker Switch has sheared off in 'On'!

While you may like your old cooker, if you don't know how to repair it then retaining it is not really practical.

Most of us who run old equipment maintain our own, and it wouldn't be practical to do so if we had to find and pay someone to do it. Im not sure it would be good advice to learn how to repair the cooker, using said cooker as a practice piece.

As has been said, have someone replace the switch unit with a modern equivalent and get someone out (if you can find someone!) to assess and potentially repair your cooker. You cannot simply run it as it with internal arcing and some functions not working. Sounds like you have old wiring and therefore may not be protected by RCDs. If it cant be repaired then get rid of that too or offer it on here

Old wiring is an interesting one. I live in a 50s ex council house that had a rewire sometime in the 90s I believe. Much of the old rubber wiring was left behind but cut. Every bit I have inspected has been in very good order, surprisingly, rubber still supple, no cracks etc. I understand it is possible to add RCDs and other improvements to existing wiring, maybe not a new consumer though but Im no expert on regs. Perhaps you could find a sympathetic electrician willing to help you out with some safety improvements without it being a full rewire
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Old 12th Feb 2019, 2:21 pm   #22
Techman
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Default Re: 1960s Bakelite Wired in Cooker Switch has sheared off in 'On'!

When I went through a stage of being involved with rewiring houses back in the 70s, I used to find two extremes of either old rubber in perfect condition or absolutely rotten. I remember we levered up a long floorboard on someones landing while doing a rewire and the entire top half of the insulation of a long multi cable run was left stuck to the floor board, leaving the bottom half with all the shiny conductors exposed but perfectly in place in the bottom half of the insulation.

I'm not shocked by anything, as I've pretty much seen it all before, including such things as rotten rubber cable with junction boxes made from old square tobacco tins with just twisted connections inside, found in the loft when asked to repair a non working light fitting in the bedroom of an old farm house - now long knocked down!
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Old 12th Feb 2019, 2:29 pm   #23
John M0GLN
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Default Re: 1960s Bakelite Wired in Cooker Switch has sheared off in 'On'!

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Originally Posted by AC/HL View Post
Your first post suggests that you have had one or more Electricians to look at this, and presumably they wouldn't do the required remedial work without a full rewire. Professionals have a lot to lose if a bodge turns into a disaster.
I don't know much about this so I may be wrong, but don't professionals have a duty to test installations even if they aren't anything to do with the particular problem they were called out to? We had a built in microwave with a mechanical door problem and the companies serviceman besides fixing it under guarantee also tested the house earths, likewise a plumber who came to service my mothers gas boiler also checked the house and stuck a warning lable on a fire which he said had a ventilation problem.

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Old 12th Feb 2019, 3:52 pm   #24
Lucien Nunes
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Default Re: 1960s Bakelite Wired in Cooker Switch has sheared off in 'On'!

No, there is no obligation to do so, and testing a house installation takes many hours at minimum. However if a competent person spots something that could give rise to immediate danger, they might use their professional judgement to decide to isolate it. It would then be up to the owner to decide whether to leave isolated or re-energise.

Certain aspects of an installation are common to the whole. If a final circuit is being worked on, the adequacy of main equipotential bonding etc. will need to be checked even though this applies to more that just the circuit under test. Altering the characteristics of one circuit may require that circuit to be upgraded to comply with current regulations. If that involves adding earth-leakage protection etc, economics might dictate that the way forward is a CU upgrade, hence involving other circuits.

Replacement of a broken accessory like-for-like does not require detailed investigation, nor altering the circuit to comply with current regulations, provided certain essentials are complied with. If the cable, protection and main earthing are satisfactory, the most that is likely to be required here is a minor works certificate, which is less comprehensive than an electrical installation certificate.

FWIW gas regs are different both technically and legally, and one cannot extrapolate from gas practices to electrical. The microwave repair man would have tested that the earth was present in order to satisfy their own company safety policy and recognised safe practice, so that they do not leave customers unknowingly with lethal appliances even though they have no remit to interfere with the fixed wiring of the building. Some firms also look for minor non-compliances or legacy setups under the pretence of improving customer safety, when in fact they are looking for opportunities to quote for additional work.

Last edited by Lucien Nunes; 12th Feb 2019 at 4:01 pm.
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Old 12th Feb 2019, 10:00 pm   #25
AC/HL
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Default Re: 1960s Bakelite Wired in Cooker Switch has sheared off in 'On'!

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Originally Posted by Techman View Post
I think it's very unlikely that the starter of this thread will ever return to the forum as it seems that a forum member frustrated with the safety aspects of the situation being discussed, unfortunately made a very unpleasant and rude comment directly to the poster in the early hours of the the other morning in a post that has now thankfully been deleted by moderators.
He last visited around post 3 (in a different thread), so won't have seen that post fortunately. Others have though and any repetition will be dealt with as most members would wish.

He is unlikely to re-visit this thread, though, for obvious reasons, and as nothing useful can now be gained it will be closed. It can, as all threads can, be reopened if pertinent information comes to light.
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