How To Verify New Installation and Test MEN Switchboard

Advanced: How to test and verify a new MEN switchboard and installation!!! Australia and New Zealand.
Complete including explanations to testing and procedures.
Including Visual testing, main earth conductor, earthing, insulation resistance, polarity, switchboard connections, line polarity, earth fault loop impedance and RCD testing. Explaining tests and discussing faults.
To current legislation and wiring rules in Nz. AS/NZS 3000:2007.
Subscribe and check out other amazing videos, only on Sparkydave.

[@baddi3sslay]

Bless you for that sneeze at the start

[@goodvibes0101]

Great effort these videos take time to produce thanks for the content Dave. The IR for existing installations is 1 megohm for new I believe it is 50 megohms. The main earth resistance does need to be taken at the earth stake / rod to take into account that connection. Equipotential bond similarly onto the metallic material not the connection device.

[@davidowens5178]

Awesome Dave Thanks for the refresher never to old to go over all testing procedures

[@Kratos-pz6cd]

Dude I’ve learnt so much from you. Great videos!

[@colinreid7305]

Excellent information and will hopefully improve electrical installation standards and safety.

[@AgunziLFC]

Love your vids, i feel im learning more from watching yours than i am at Ara, its helping me a lot, thanks :)

[@seanmcclure7828]

I interpreted it as If you actually calculate maximum demand on the three final subcircuits and it comes in under the RCD rating, that is still compliant, as opposed to just adding up each sub circuits rating.

[@damiengrant967]

I guess the good thing about taking on board his way is that there is no margin for error. Room occupants can change and load demands on GPO's can change. So therefore if he had used two 20's and a 10 there is a potential future where someone overloads that RCD. I absolutely take your point, but I think I may adopt his methodology on this from now on.

[@JasonTMND]

Great video Dave, I watched this a couple of times ahead of my electrical refresher course and made some useful notes. I have replicated the polarity test plug too, this has made polarity testing 100% simpler for out in the field. Cool tip: I plug the polarity testing plug into a surface socket and have the alligator leads out of the terminals on there to replicate the lead version you have. Keep up the quality content!

[@taihapemike]

Thanks mate! You made more sense in this vid than the long winded muppet i work with did in 6 months of lunches

[@rockyolsson]

Love the video mate, I live in Nauru and there are many so call sparkies that are wiring houses and never do any test before utilities liven the building/house which is very dangerous for home owners. I work for the biggest private company and I done all our electrical from homes to hospitals, government offices and even the Australian embassy. I always do installation test and earth test to make sure everything is correct and safe before utilities hook up the power supply. Most of the homes that have been done by other electrician have problems and I would be called to check if it’s been wired properly and it is a disaster. Don’t know why it is even connected by utilities and I have to correct it and make it safe so no one would get electrocuted. Very few electrician follow the AS/NZS code or don’t even know anything about it and yet utilities still connected the house they wired. But now we are going to have our own electrical code which is based on the AS/NZS rule book which is good. I have three apprentice that work with that have already moved on to be good and trusted electricians and I am very proud of them. And regarding this video I have encouraged them to watch and let it be a reference or reminder when testing on homes they wired. Anyway keep them videos coming .Cheers.

[@ezequielvaldivia6875]

Good video, I´m Electrician certified too and the DS8(Chilean law for electrical instalations), contain more rules bout the wiring and main box, for security here it´s must install main breaker protector that protect cut omnipole phase and neutral "always" over all if exist more than three circuits + pilot light.. i´ve learned much with you videos.. I´m preparing my visa. thanks a lot, see´u soon over there in NZ..

[@yanfishtwig2356]

thanks for the knowledge M8 + hi from uk wales ...er i suppose i should add i know what yr showing may well not all apply to UK installations but it helped me to start to wrap my head round the tests. and ive enough experience in electronics to know a cautious cat is soon to be making whoopy with a reckless cats widow .. you know of course after a respectfull minute or 2 of mourning

[@P.James.7070]

Thanks a lot Dave. I appreciate you going out of your way to help others by making videos with great workmanship and professionalism 'straight out of the trade', so to speak. I'm doing a pre-trade at ETCo.

[@waynejackson8556]

Main earth resistance, you must test from the earth electrode (peg) (not the brass clamp) to the earth bar.

[@damiengrant967]

Hey bro, excellent video. This shows you have skills not just as a sparky but also teaching, and making videos. Good man and well done. There are a few good points in the comments regarding testing which could be taken on board but I am definitely not trying to be negative or pick at your work. I actually really like it!!! Please do more

[@Bipolarvideos]

Dave, could you do a video on binding stranded with solid, and other small challenges a new sparkie might run into.

[@bigbobbyjohnson1]

Really appreciate this video mate thank you!

[@Cashiez]

4:54 I have to agree but as a student I stumbled apon a SIT Polytech Relicensing course booklet which states based on 3000.2.6.2.1 "The load rating of the RCD is not the sum of the number of connected circuit breakers but that of the largest single circuit breaker" so it sounds like there might be some interpretion within the industry? Although I personally agree with your statement Dave.

[@justinfarquhar8299]

Thanks Great idea to make a some test gear using some resistors. I will copy you and do the same

[@sil3nt534]

Awesome video mate. 10/10

[@ProsperMartin-w6n]

Bless you and thank you :)

[@MarcusMussawar]

great video really love the set up

[@MarcusMussawar]

easy to follow easier to remember really great thank you

[@JackWang-jx6xj]

wonderful, learned a lot. Is your RCD breaking the neutral?

[@scottwhite115]

Great video. Thanks.

[@hallowadventure]

Hey Dave, when you're referring to what regs say, you should drop a clause number, to back yourself up, since other people are shooting through their interpretations. :D

[@ramanmultani555]

Thanks been waiting for it.

[@samituaisrael8533]

Well presented. Thanks

[@noahflynn4942]

Awesome Video Dave!

[@Cashiez]

I'm a student Dave & hate to through the book around, I totally have to agree with video time . 4:25 talking about RCD rating and maximum demand of sub circuits, AS/NZS 3000: 2007 - 2.6.2.1 say's that the maximum demand of the portion of the electrical installation being protected by the device or the highest current rating of any overload protective device on the portion of the electrical installation being protected . I have a a SIT polytechnic paper which translates this portion to being: 2.6.2.1 [B] the highest sub circuit rating, so if we have 3x20 AMP MCB's = 60 AMPS, 20 AMPS being the highest rating, then this complies. therefore 16+16+6 = 38 but technically 16 amps is the highest rating and therefore complies BUT I remember that there are 4 way's of interpreting Maximum demand: (So Looked up the wiring rules) 2.2.2 (d) limitation partial quote "may be determined by the sum of the current settings of the circuit-breakers" so this appears to have taught me somthing. :-D

[@mikeyw1018]

Hey Cashie we are up to 2018 now not 2007 so might want to ensure your up to date

[@aaronryan7021]

@@mikeyw1018 Can you tell me where to look in ASNZS 2018 to find this info please.

[@lovepreetmavi3915]

@@mikeyw1018 that’s incorrect. We don’t refer to 2018 until the regulations refer to otherwise. Till right now, AS/NZS3000:2007 is the go to

[@mikeyw1018]

@@lovepreetmavi3915 not sure what regulations your referring to but the most current edition of the standard you can but is 2018 so any exams that apprentices will do will be based on this standard not 2007

[@lovepreetmavi3915]

@@mikeyw1018 regulation courses in NZ are till date using 2007 not 2018 as it has not been cited in the Electrical (Safety) Regulations 2010. Course providers (such as ETCO & ETEC) are still using 2007 and will tell you to scrap 2018 until it has not been cited in the ESR.

[@thenextkingofpirate3638]

Nice brother ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@stevievaughan6070]

great vids dave, but you need to insulation resistance test between active and neutral conductors as well as testing active and neutral conductors to earth. Also you have to turn on all gpo switches in case there is a fault in the gpo itself

[@346sammy]

could you please do a video on rewiring a house

[@antonsparks5147]

Thank-you very much for the invaluable video. I'm trying to understand the "Connections check" discussion around 22min 56 sec into the video. The video shows that if both the socket and light breakers are open then there is no continuity between the top connections / load side of the socket and light circuits breakers. Won't they be connected via the RCD neutral bar if: * the light circuit switch is switched on, and, * the socket circuit is switched on and has an appliance in it?

[@bedges35]

Hi Dave, Love your video so clear , but one thing would like to clarify when you are doing the insulation resistant test the way you did it don’t you stuff up the Rcbo or the rcd ? Regards Hadi

[@almerdiahmed3160]

Nice Job

[@dongmingyuan5067]

Nice socks LOL @7:35 . When will your new videos come?

[@garycollinge633]

Great video

[@jay-peephillips2349]

Hi there SparkyDave, first time here learning alot, appreciating the Uploads and enjoying the content. My question is, how would one identify whether a breaker is an overcurrent / overload protector, isolator and Earth-Leakage or circuit breaker?

[@BrodieMarr]

You have RCD(residual current device) and circuit breakers. Rcd= earth leakage Cb= overcurrent Then there is RCBO which is a combination of the two. An Rcd/rcbo is always marked with the ‘type’ a,b,c,d,s. Trip time (30mA) Markings for the sine ‘curve’ C16 is a ‘16 Amp, C’type’ breaker. 63A main switch covers everything That 40 Amp Rcd is only covering the 3x C16 next to it The next 3 are for stoves,air con, hot water. (These go back to un-protected neutral bar) Covered by their own RCD(voltex)40A

[@davidclarke2513]

Sorry mate but you can't use a socket outlet as a means of through box to wire a lighting g circuit which is on a totally different circuit because if you switch of the socket circuit of at the consumer unit it means that there are still live cables running through the socket,so mate you should have put a plastic tee box in like so the lighting cables do not go through the socket outlet

[@crazyethanyeahyeah]

Great video mate! Light bulbs in my house keep on blowing out - when I measure the voltage of the socket with the light switch turned OFF multi still reads about 80-120 volts? Does this mean there's a fault some where in the line? many thanks

[@lanceanderson1653]

Hi, the socket outlet plug you use with the known resistances, what is going on in that plug? are the pins all bridged out?

[@hexdator2934]

An insulation resistance test was completed between Line/Neutral to earth but, how did this method test the insulation resistance between Line and Neutral? Thanks.

[@cookiecanfly_]

Mate have you tried the fluke 1662? How does this megger compare? Thanks

[@jaymax9560]

Can you make a video on how to run wire through the walls and roof and how to secure them to standard. For ethernet and electrical? Thank You :)

[@johnlennon1151]

Call a sparky.

[@taniorahala408]

Soild stuff Sparkydave

[@benpopau7652]

So interesting

[@klemmzagala2649]

you are from nz?

[@JGNZ616]

Do you have to put caps on both ends of the bus bar?

[@garydavidson6260]

I am a little puzzled why you state that the RCD needs to have an amperage greater than the sum of its downstream circuit breakers. I thought that RCD's can handle far greater currents than actually stated (40 A, 63 A etc), however what is critical for RCD's is the 30 mA rating, which detects current imbalance anywhere in the circuit. Our new house, for example, has a "40 A" RCD (30 mA, type A) connected to several downstream circuit breakers totaling almost 150 A load (32 A + 20 A + 6 x 16 A), if all switched on simultaneously. Are RCD's in New Zealand different from those in Europe or am I missing something here. I am not a trained electrician...

[@damiengrant967]

There must be more going on there then meets the eye. Because 150A going through a 40A RCD would absolutely trip it. What you see on the face and how it is wired may be different

[@garydavidson6260]

@@damiengrant967 Not 100% sure if something else going on but I do not think so. Unfortunately I cannot send photo of my setup here, but what I said above is true. It is a new house in France.

[@IAmThe_RA]

​@@garydavidson6260I think it's because a 63A RCD is costlier and I heard that the regs in New Zealand or Australia require each RCD to protects no more than 3 circuits (probably to avoid nuisance tripping).

[@IAmThe_RA]

​@@garydavidson6260The amp rating on RCD means that if the current pulled is bigger than the amp rating the device can get damaged. The same applies to main switch. That's why a fuse upstream is required to protect the installation.

[@samgoesfar]

Hi dave, thank you for these videos. The question i have is, how do you short out phase and neutral when insulation resistance testing if the switchboard and meter board are live? cheers

[@damiengrant967]

Isolate power and do the IRT testing when it is not live

[@jacksonroad9263]

Do we need a earth rod and MEN link in a subboard if its > 50meters away from main switchboard?

[@cheeseluke]

can you do fan timers ?

[@Ressy66]

IRT Test - how are you not frying the RCD/RCBO electronics, or LED drivers etc

[@marklucas4274]

The RCDs and RCDMCB/RCBO dont mind the 500VDC from the IR test. I believe the LED didn't get fried because he bonded L & N so they were at the same potential and there wasnt 500V across the L & N of the LED driver, only L + N to Earth. Happy to be corrected if that is wrong. I always just unplug them from the 413/surface mount socket prior to meggering the circuit.

[@steveblunsden4295]

Hoi mate, how do you make up those polarity testers?

[@sparkydave]

Might show it in a vid at some stage... resistors (stock spares from alarm systems from memory) and cable/crocodile clips

[@James_Bowie]

In Oz, type A RCDs become mandatory in 2023.

[@ajaykumartargotra2768]

Hi there, I have question if you can answer! I think I have 10amp circuit breaker , now my question is how many led lights I can install on one circuit breaker? 10watt led light. 220v .thanks

[@MrAStompy]

Convert Amps to Watts 10 (Amps) x 220 (Voltage) = 2200 Watts Apply 80% rule- 2200 x 0.8 = 1760 W 1760 / 10 (the Led light) = 176 Led lights

[@ajaykumartargotra2768]

@@MrAStompy many thanks for your kind reply 👍 🙏

[@lovepreetmavi3915]

@@ajaykumartargotra2768 with LED, you need to take into consideration inrush current. Best way is to ask the manufacturer of the inrush current and the number of fittings on different type of mcb’s

[@sayayindog.3696]

USA we have all metal panels and is all big difference from panel 😮

[@DadBangr]

Do you need to do fault loop impedance testing if the circuit is on an RCD?

[@ozjuice]

Yes, each circuits resistance needs to comply with the circuit device.

[@stanleyperez6368]

Say cute si stanley

[@patrickjacobsen7805]

Chur bro

[@Venom-nk8nd]

🇵🇬🇵🇬,,,

[@stuartsmith4307]

i wanted to watch it all the way to the end but fuc soz mate ui could nt handle ya nazzel voice and ya just sort of dragged this shit out , soz cuz

[@infinityentertainment5500]

Dear Dave, do you have any Facebook pages? if you don't mind can I have your contact no. pls? You are really amazing bro.