Preventing Hazards COMMON SENSE AND CARE NEEDED

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30389, 13 March 1964, Page 8

Preventing Hazards COMMON SENSE AND CARE NEEDED

[By

L. R. BLOXHAM, M.N.Z.I.Elect.]

Electricity has become so much a part of our lives today that we take it for granted. Just flick a switch, turn a knob or push a button, and work that took our ancestors hours to do is now achieved simply, cleanly and efficiently by a few hundreds irvisible volts.

Each year, more and more electrical gadgets are introduced to the world market to make the lot of the modern housewife an easier one. Through the remarkable achievements of electrical engineers and technicians in the last two decades, she can now leave her washing in the hands of a few buzzing relays in her automatic washer, and her evening meal at the mercy of a time-controlled stove.

Electricity can be employed to open tins and polish shoes, and the latest innovation in America is a neat little electrically operated toothbrush. Not every home in Christchurch will be equipped with such luxuries as these, but I think it is safe to say there is none without at least one electrical appliance—whether it be the humble lamp or indispensable iron. The increasing use of electricity in the home is not only demanding a greater skill from electricians, but also from the public, a greater awareness of, and ability to recognise, possible hazards in its use—and misuse. Every day of the week electricians and inspectors are finding hazards of some kind or other in Christchurch homes, factories and businesses.

It might be a lighting fuse which the man of the house has “fixed” with a dozen or more strands of an old flex; or the adding machine plug which the business executive hurriedly “replaced” with the aid of a pair of scissors and his typist’s nail file. There is now nothing in the Electrical Wiring Regulations to prevent anyone doing this sort of work, but it is imperative that any such attempts be done correctly. The Electricians' Amendment Act, 1960, gave to any person, authority to: Replace a fuse link. Affix a plug, or an adaptor, or a cord extension socket, or an appliance connector to a flexible cord forming part of, or directly connected to the fixed wiring, provided the work is done without payment or reward, in a workmanlike

manner, and in accordance with instructions issued or approved by the general manager of the N.Z. Electricity Department. The department will shortly be issuing an informative booklet with instructions for the layman in replacing fuse links, and fixing plugs to appliance cordis so I am not going to cover those points, in detail here. However, I

must stress that fuses are there for a purpose and the safety and efficiency of your electrical installation depend on the correct size of wire being used to repair the link.

The wiring of lighting circuits is small in size and requires a small fuse to protect it, usually 3 amp. or 5 amp. A heavier cable is used for plug sockets, and a larger fuse wire is needed—either 10 amp. of 15 amp.

Electric ranges are supplied through one, and sometimes two fuses at the switchboard, varying from 15 amp. to 30 amp. depending on the size of the range and the way it is connected. In addition, most ranges have an independent fuse compartment with each element on a separate fuse. So if the porridge boils over tomorrow morning and you later find the element not working, do not despair if the fuses on the board marked “range”-are still intact. More than likely, the culprit will be the element’s own fuse inside the stove.

But before you look, don’t forget to turn off the main switch.

Sometimes’ a fuse which has been painstakingly repaired will blow again immediately the main switch is turned on. If this occurs with a fuse

controlling a plug circuit, make a quick check to see that nothing is plugged in. If the fuse blows again, call an electrician as the fault will lie in the fixed wiring. Similarly, an electrician should be called if any other fuses on the board keep blowing. By so doing, they are warning you of a major fault somewhere in the house.

The connecting of plugs to flexible cords is also fully explained in the department’s booklet. I firmly believe—and so do many other electricians—that the general public should never have been given the right to undertake this work. The whole structure of electrical safety depends on the correct connecting of the cords to plugs and one error, such as the connecting of the earth wire to the phase (live) pin could result in severe shock or electrocution. However, the public have been given this right and all can be done is to stress to the upmost the need for knowledge and care when doing this work. If you are in doubt find out; or leave the cord alone. It’s just not worth the risk! Finally, there are numerous other hazards to be avoided in the use of electricity: the badly frayed cord, the perished extension lead, the faulty switch that needs jiggling to get it to work, the plug that gets hot, the light that flickers wnen someone walks across the room, the illegal extension that meanders through two doorways to a radiator in the bathroom, and mum’s sewing machine that works through dad’s “ingenious” cord adaptor plugged into the light socket. There is no doubt that electricity will increasingly serve us well for many years to come. To ensure safety in its use, however, calls for care and plain common sense from everyone.