[nellyt]

Is it just us or are NZ domestic light switches a bit poor .
In the house we've moved into they frequently arc (briefly buzz) when switched on and the lights quite often flicker for a fraction of a second. Sometimes the main fuse will trip(once a month), other times the lights will just oscillate up and down.
We have gone through a lot (probably 5+) lightl bulbs in about 3 months in the two main rooms that get used.
In the UK it would of taken probably 2 years to have had 5 bulbs blow.

Are the light switches here just poor or has someone fitted some cheap rubbish in the house?

[kanatakiwi]

Is it just us or are NZ domestic light switches a bit poor .
In the house we've moved into they frequently arc (briefly buzz) when switched on and the lights quite often flicker for a fraction of a second. Sometimes the main fuse will trip(once a month), other times the lights will just oscillate up and down.
We have gone through a lot (probably 5+) lightl bulbs in about 3 months in the two main rooms that get used.
In the UK it would of taken probably 2 years to have had 5 bulbs blow.

Are the light switches here just poor or has someone fitted some cheap rubbish in the house?

No Nelly that doesn't sound good and I think you should get someone in to check on it asap. Are you renting or are you the owner? If you rent you should bring it to the owner's attention quickly. The arcing could be because of bad wiring somewhere which could cause a fire. (I'm no electrician but it happened to us once in a house we rented, and eventually we had a fire in the walls).

[Tia Maria]

Sounds a bit like our villa, there was a lot of DIY electrics going on in the past which has lead to all sorts of quirky goings on! If I get moment I'll post a photo of our fuse box and you'll see what I mean.

Another issue is that people have a lot more small appliances, PCs, TVs etc than they use to and if your electrics are outdated they won't be able to cope. In the winter we visit our fuse box on a weekly basis because we have heaters plugged in and every time they come on they can trip the fuse.

In Auckland the lights flicker a lot because the power supply just isn't that consistent, we've had several power cuts in the 2 years we've been here. The mini ones are annoying as they stop the internet working and we have to turn our router on and off again.

But do get it checked out, something could be going wrong or something could be nibbling something it shouldn't! :uhoh

Cheers

Tia

[Tia Maria]

Oh yes forgot to say we just got a good deal on some bulbs on:

www.thedeal.com

My new favourite site!

Cheers

Tia

[Familyofmonkeys]

Another issue is that people have a lot more small appliances, PCs, TVs etc than they use to and if your electrics are outdated they won't be able to cope. In the winter we visit our fuse box on a weekly basis because we have heaters plugged in and every time they come on they can trip the fuse.



We have that problem in our rental. You can't have the hoover on at the same time as a heater or washing machine/tumble dryer or the trip goes. There are two circuits in the house as well, and each one will only run one heater.....one heater for 3 cold bedrooms was not fun over winter :(

[Tia Maria]

:o whoops that should have been:

www.thedeal.co.nz

Which is about grabbing a bargain and not about shares and aquisitions!

Cheers

Tia

[Tia Maria]

familyofmonkeys, we found that having the heater on half (1 switch) seemed to help - not sure why, but half is better than nothing!

Cheers

Tia

[IanW99]

familyofmonkeys, we found that having the heater on half (1 switch) seemed to help - not sure why, but half is better than nothing!

Cheers

Tia

Just in case, those of you with problems with electric heaters, you didn't bring them from the UK did you? If you did, you need to be careful NZ mains are rated at 10A whilst in the UK they are rated at 13A so the heaters sold in the UK can take more power.

This means that it is only recommended that you run up to 2400W heaters (or at least don't put them on a higher setting), any higher is not safe.

Ian

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

I've noticed a few oddities, on occasion, with our rental too, and it's only 18 months old.

Nothing as bad as you're describing, but plugs often arc when inserting/extracting from a socket and light bulbs go with a reasonable degree of regularity.

I wouldn't say it was enough to worry me though and we don't have problems with running muliple devices.

To be fair though, we had the same problem with our new build in Scotland and my hair hasn't fallen out yet.......erm......anyway.......

Cr*ppy modern day electricians, I reckon (queue Lee Bennett comment:D )

Not quite sure what point I'm trying to make here, so I'll just shut up now (don't all cheer at once)...

[Leccy-Lee]

Sounds like you may have either a cheap brand switch or they have got worn out. Sadly i am too far away to take a look for you..

If you buy new switches or sockets there are really 2 major brands of decent switches, the first (and most common choice by us Pros) is called "PDL" and the other major player is "Clipsal". If your outlets are either of these two makes and fairly new then you are unlikley to have any problems unless poorly installed of course! :o

Cr*ppy modern day electricians, I reckon (queue Lee Bennett comment)

Urrghh? :wah Hey mate dont blame the tradesmen! The biggest problem with lights blowing (both here and UK) is the quality of the lamps, i used to get many calls in one town back in UK, with people saying there lamps blow each week etc etc, when i discovered they were "Tesco" lamps i laughed inside! If you want lamps that should work fine for months/years etc then i would stick to the main players ie: Phillips / Osram or Silvania. Honestly a lamp is not the same from wherever its made..

And fair point on some of sparkies i have seen here! But never fear i here to sort em out! LOL

Ian is also correct on the hater thing, 10A is the max safe load on an appliance here (there are 15a outlets too, but not usual in houses).

[speckythecky]

I have also noticed arcing when unplugging and also the poor quality of light switches, not enough to do anything about it

[nellyt]

Sounds like we've got cheap/worn out switches (its the most frequently used ones that are playing up).
I've certainly not been impressed by the quality of the HPM(?) stuff that seems to monopolise DickSmith/Mitre10 etc.
Recently found a decend electrical wholesaler though.

The rules on house wiring modifications recently changed in the UK. What are the rules here? (going off topic a bit, but related) Sounds like Lee will know the answer.
Ignoring the "do you understand electricity/know what you are doing aspect"...am I allowed to :

Change a light switch
Change a single outlet to a double outlet
Add an extension spur to the house wiring to gain an extra socket

At what point must it be inspected/approved/have a certificate of some sort? if at all!

[Leccy-Lee]

Still getting to grips with most the Kiwi rules myself, but from what I understand the law at the moment is that a homeowner can do work on his own home, but no one elses. And must not go inside the switch board or fuseboard at all. And any work done needs checking by a registered inspector (officially). Even as licensed electricians we are not allowed to issue a compliance certificate for that sort of work, only our own work.

Also if you are working for an employer who wants you to do electrical work, that is not allowed, as it's against the law to get paid for electrical work on someone elses property, unless you're licensed of course such as us Sparkies. :)

Quote from my regs coursework:
Homeowners are permitted to undertake wiring in strict accordance with ECP 51. However, this should not be attempted unless the homeowner is confident that he or she has the knowledge, tools, and skills necessary for the task. (Note: An inferior job can be considerably more expensive, in time and money, than paying a properly licensed electrician to do perform the work in the first instance.)

Failure to follow the requirement of ECP 51 could cause an unsafe situation and lead to electric shock or fire.

And should you be sad enough! LOL (some of have to study this though) Here is a link to Law ECP 51 http://www.energysafety.govt.nz/upload/33458/ecp51v18.pdf

Oh an yes stay away from HPM junk :laugh If you can find a Electrical Wholesalers near you , get either "PDL" or "Clipsal" gear..

[bob_the_engineer]

That really shouldn’t be happening.

When you first turn on a light a very high current flows for a short amount of time.

A loose connection (bulb to socket) or across the switch causes surge currents to flow in lighting circuits. That’s why you keep blowing bulbs.

Replacing both the bulb socket and switch is cheap enough, but if you don’t know how get it done, sooner rather than later. Shouldn’t take a sparkey more than an hour and the parts should be less than about $30.

Bob

PS I haven’t noticed any quality issues with kiwi electrical fittings, other than old worn ones.:uhoh