D.I.Y

[Frank_The_Tank]

Couldn't find a thread for DIY Questions but had a question for any sparks out there.  My Dog has chewed through an external wire going to outdoor lights along the fence - only noticed when I switched on the lights from the garage light switch and then flicked on before all blowing.  However, it has also meant all the plug in the garage - the electric garage door and the internal garage light are all now not working.

There is no fusebox in the garage that I can see - from the house there is a fusebox with a fuse slot labelled Garage supply.  It had a 30A fuse which I replaced.  This had no effect on fixing the power to the garage - I then noticed beside a plug in the garage a spur fuse box which had a 13A fuse - I then replaced it but it still had no effect in fixing the problem.

Is there something else I should be checking?  Probably best just to get an electrician out but thought it should be something straightforward

[laoislad]

First off anything to do with electricity should never be in a DIY thread...!

Are you sure the cable your dog chewed is supplying the lights and it's not the main power to the shed?
When you say you replaced the fuse in the board does that mean you still have the old type fuses? Are you sure this fuse is good?
Have you anyway of checking if there is power on the outgoing side of the fuse?

[Owen Brannigan]

Stock answer is get an electrician.

I hope the dog is not affected and you have isolated the damaged wore before changing the fuses.

You may also have a MCB or trip on your system which is continuing to block the electrical flow as it may be leaking to earth or was not reset after the incident.

[Owen Brannigan]

If the damaged wires are still present and shorting the circuit then it will continue to blow fuse on plugs and lights circuit.

Do you have a board with breakers and fuses or just old style fuses?

Check if you have a smaller version of this in the garage by tracing the cable from the mains fuse board to the garage.

It would be great if you could get or borrow a detector like:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DIGIFLEX-Voltage-Detector-90V-1000V-Tester/dp/B004B9C7N4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1495461257&sr=8-2&keywords=mains+electric+detector

You could use it to check where the cables are live.

[Frank_The_Tank]

If the damaged wires are still present and shorting the circuit then it will continue to blow fuse on plugs and lights circuit.

Do you have a board with breakers and fuses or just old style fuses?

Check if you have a smaller version of this in the garage by tracing the cable from the mains fuse board to the garage.

It would be great if you could get or borrow a detector like:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DIGIFLEX-Voltage-Detector-90V-1000V-Tester/dp/B004B9C7N4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1495461257&sr=8-2&keywords=mains+electric+detector

You could use it to check where the cables are live.

Yeah dog is fine - there was no power going to the outdoor lights at the time.  You could be right on the wire where it was chewed being the issue and it is just shorting any new fuse.  I think getting an electrician is the best bet - it's not really something I want to DIY which probably wasn't the greatest thread title - if it was just replacing fuses I could do that - anything more than that would get a professional

[laoislad]

If the damaged wires are still present and shorting the circuit then it will continue to blow fuse on plugs and lights circuit.

Do you have a board with breakers and fuses or just old style fuses?

Check if you have a smaller version of this in the garage by tracing the cable from the mains fuse board to the garage.

It would be great if you could get or borrow a detector like:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DIGIFLEX-Voltage-Detector-90V-1000V-Tester/dp/B004B9C7N4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1495461257&sr=8-2&keywords=mains+electric+detector

You could use it to check where the cables are live.

Never ever trust one of those yokes. Absolutely terrible device that no one should ever use especially one that costs £4.99.
I have one that costs €50 and I still wouldn't trust it 100%
I've see them before tell me a circuit is dead only for the circuit to be still energised.

[laoislad]

Yeah dog is fine - there was no power going to the outdoor lights at the time.  You could be right on the wire where it was chewed being the issue and it is just shorting any new fuse.  I think getting an electrician is the best bet - it's not really something I want to DIY which probably wasn't the greatest thread title - if it was just replacing fuses I could do that - anything more than that would get a professional

You should really have more adequate protection on your shed than a 30 amp fuse. You should have your Electrician install a sub board in the shed and install RCD protection on the socket circuits and separate the lighting circuits from the others.

[Frank_The_Tank]

Yeah dog is fine - there was no power going to the outdoor lights at the time.  You could be right on the wire where it was chewed being the issue and it is just shorting any new fuse.  I think getting an electrician is the best bet - it's not really something I want to DIY which probably wasn't the greatest thread title - if it was just replacing fuses I could do that - anything more than that would get a professional

You should really have more adequate protection on your shed than a 30 amp fuse. You should have your Electrician install a sub board in the shed and install RCD protection on the socket circuits and separate the lighting circuits from the others.

Cheers for tha advice - will mention that to the spark

[laoislad]

And while your at it I'd get him to upgrade the fuse box in the house. No one should have old type fuses in this day and age.
Where you based?
I get asked alot from insurance companies and county councils to do Electrical surveys on houses that are up for sale or rent. If I see an old type fuse board I'll fail it straight away,though you don't really see them much anymore.

[Frank_The_Tank]

And while your at it I'd get him to upgrade the fuse box in the house. No one should have old type fuses in this day and age.
Where you based?
I get asked alot from insurance companies and county councils to do Electrical surveys on houses that are up for sale or rent. If I see an old type fuse board I'll fail it straight away,though you don't really see them much anymore.

Based in county tyrone - the fusebox I have is very similar to the one in this link - https://www.diynot.com/diy/media/fuse-box.54243/

Cant work out how to attach an image of my own on this forum - clicking insert image is just adding the img tag - rather than giving me a pop up to select a file.  The house was built circa 2000.  Is this the type of fuse box that you recommend replacing completely?  There is a slot on mine labelled supply to garage which had a 30Amp fuse which is what I replaced

[laoislad]

And while your at it I'd get him to upgrade the fuse box in the house. No one should have old type fuses in this day and age.
Where you based?
I get asked alot from insurance companies and county councils to do Electrical surveys on houses that are up for sale or rent. If I see an old type fuse board I'll fail it straight away,though you don't really see them much anymore.

Based in county tyrone - the fusebox I have is very similar to the one in this link - https://www.diynot.com/diy/media/fuse-box.54243/

Cant work out how to attach an image of my own on this forum - clicking insert image is just adding the img tag - rather than giving me a pop up to select a file.  The house was built circa 2000.  Is this the type of fuse box that you recommend replacing completely?  There is a slot on mine labelled supply to garage which had a 30Amp fuse which is what I replaced

It's a modern version of an old board. I was more thinking of the old screw in neozed type fuseboards that were common here, like this

To be honest and this is in no way a dig at the North but the British electrical standards are way behind Irish standards imo. I've tested a hotel that a Northern Irish company wired in Dublin and I spent 2 months​ there afterwards bringing it up to Irish standards. The hotel was only built in 2006.
A board like that would never be installed in a domestic property down here. There really is no need for fuses when you have modern MCBs. They only place you would install a fuse is on the Main breaker.
If your board is like that and has an RCD then at least you have that protection and in reality the board is fine but as I said it's just not what would be used here. I've been a Electrician for 22 years and have never installed a board like that but safety wise you're ok.

[armaghniac]

/quote]
It's a modern version of an old board. I was more thinking of the old screw in neozed type fuseboards that were common here, like this

Those fuses were never used in the North, or not commonly, they were the 26 county standard of a generation ago.
IMHO they were still better than the NI fuse wire setup.

[laoislad]

/quote]
It's a modern version of an old board. I was more thinking of the old screw in neozed type fuseboards that were common here, like this

Those fuses were never used in the North, or not commonly, they were the 26 county standard of a generation ago.
IMHO they were still better than the NI fuse wire setup.

The problem with them is they could easily be bypassed. I've seen people put bolts in the fuse holder instead of a fuse!
What size current would it take to blow a steel bolt!!!
Or people would also put coins into the fuse holder to bridge the gap if the fuse didn't fit because they were using the wrong size fuse for the circuit.
You wouldn't believe some of the things I've seen and the chances people have taken with electricity.

[armaghniac]

You wouldn't believe some of the things I've seen and the chances people have taken with electricity.

I would believe anything in this respect.
However, in the 26 counties the fuses were readily available and it was easy enough to get the right fuse if you were half inclined to make an effort.

[Hardy]

You wouldn't believe some of the things I've seen and the chances people have taken with electricity.

My favourite is the old free juice method used by some farmers back in the day. The would drive two 4-inch nails into the incoming supply cables, live and neutral, before the meter. Attach a pair of jump leads and all outdoor machinery and equipment was powered by the ESB free of charge.