Gutter vacuum

[THL4KEL]

Looks like a nice vac , but I don’t want to go back to having a geni and wouldn’t want mains power either like to be independent

Looks like a good alternative to SkyVac Industrial though.

 

[ched999uk]

So if you had all 3 motors running on the Phantom 3600 are you saying you couldn’t run it off a customers power mate?

No, I'm just suggesting that the published wattage (3600 watts) is not what it will actually pull from the mains. As it's supplied with a UK plug then it will run of a uk socket from a customers house. Remember to use a good quality extension cable and always fully unreel it. A coiled cable is a fire risk.

 

[GVS Julia Martin]

So if you had all 3 motors running on the Phantom 3600 are you saying you couldn’t run it off a customers power mate?

Yes you can run the Phantom 3600w on mains electrics. 3600w vacs hit their peak power - you are not running any of our 3600w systems continuously at their peak maximum start up power.

The Phantom is also equipped with the RCD adaptor, and so if you were not on mains electrics but in fact a spur (ie conservatory for example) if you were using all 3 motors and there were a surge for any reason at all, the RCD will protect the electrics.

I hope this clarifies, Julia

 

[PC]

Perfect thank you

 

[ched999uk]

The Phantom is also equipped with the RCD adaptor, and so if you were not on mains electrics but in fact a spur (ie conservatory for example) if you were using all 3 motors and there were a surge for any reason at all, the RCD will protect the electrics.

Just so you are aware an RCD (Residual Current Device) is not a replacement for a fuse. RCDs continuously monitor the flow of electrical current on a circuit. If an RCD detects a very small current leak (eg 10mA,30mA etc), it will quickly cut off the power supply. i.e. it doesn't protect against over current. If their is a fault with a device or cable and electricity 'leaks' to the earth wire or via a human to ground then the RCD will shut off the electricity very quickly - designed to prevent deaths due to electrocution. MCB (Miniature Circuit Breakers) protect against over current.

A spur should legally be installed with a suitable cable and mounting system to allow it to be protected by the final ring circuit breaker (usually 30Amps).

As far as I am aware all your current vacs will happily run from a customers socket - provided their sockets are in good condition and have been installed to current regs.

 

[GVS Julia Martin]

Just so you are aware an RCD (Residual Current Device) is not a replacement for a fuse. RCDs continuously monitor the flow of electrical current on a circuit. If an RCD detects a very small current leak (eg 10mA,30mA etc), it will quickly cut off the power supply. i.e. it doesn't protect against over current. If their is a fault with a device or cable and electricity 'leaks' to the earth wire or via a human to ground then the RCD will shut off the electricity very quickly - designed to prevent deaths due to electrocution. MCB (Miniature Circuit Breakers) protect against over current.

A spur should legally be installed with a suitable cable and mounting system to allow it to be protected by the final ring circuit breaker (usually 30Amps).

As far as I am aware all your current vacs will happily run from a customers socket - provided their sockets are in good condition and have been installed to current regs.

We are aware thank you. Hence why we a) give the advice we do and have done for many years and b) on the Phantom have provided the system with a choice of plug depending on the power source and for the fused 13a with the addition of the RCD.

Unfortunately some home owners have created their own extensions and run sockets from sockets without being installed to current regs. Not all properties are wired as they should be. In addition to that, if the pin of a plug was damaged or the power cable damaged then it isn’t always the socket that’s the issue hence other reasons for a surge in power.

 

[PC]

So to be 100% sure we would need to get a qualified electrician out to check the electrics of the house on every job?
Or just use a genny

 

[Iron Giant]

So to be 100% sure we would need to get a qualified electrician out to check the electrics of the house on every job?
Or just use a genny

The thing is, you'll never know if someone's electrics are up to regs, the vast majority of older houses won't be, I know people who haven't had their homes rewired since they were built in the 1970s they have just replaced the consumer unit, because not many people in the grand scheme of things want the mess and expense of a rewiring house,

My wife is still adamant to this day that the money we spent on a rewire was pointless as the electrics were working just fine and most people are in the same camp.

 

[THL4KEL]

When you go to plug in at the customers house if the socket looks old, keep an eye on it.

Never let a customer take your extension lead and plug it in without you seeing what it's being plugged into.

Tell them not to use washing machine, kettles while you're there.

Don't just leave the vac running if you don't need to, ideally let it rest once in a while so it cools down.

 

[spruce]

The thing is, you'll never know if someone's electrics are up to regs, the vast majority of older houses won't be, I know people who haven't had their homes rewired since they were built in the 1970s they have just replaced the consumer unit, because not many people in the grand scheme of things want the mess and expense of a rewiring house,

My wife is still adamant to this day that the money we spent on a rewire was pointless as the electrics were working just fine and most people are in the same camp.

They were very probably right.

The only upgrade we had to do to our 1965 dormer in 2000 was adding earthing cable to every lighting circuit and switch. We had to do that before the bank would give us a mortgage. We also had to put an RCD into the garage. I asked for it to be put on the main house wiring, which covered everything, including the garage.
I didn't understand why they only wanted to protect the garage. In South Africa, the whole house had to be protected with earth leakage.

The electrician doing the job said the main house wiring was fine.

I've done a fair bit of work under the upstairs floor, where the main wiring runs, and it is showing no signs of deterioration.

 

[THL4KEL]

I think a lot of depends on whether you payed for a partial rewire or complete rewire.

I had a full rewire on my old house done when I bought it. Everything ripped out and replaced.

(Sparky said to me, you need a full rewire every twenty years, which isn't very long really, but it would not surprise with all the poor quality rubbish coming of China these days).

I have no issues with tripping out even if I run all three motors on my vac at once starting it up on my house.

The properties I worry about are when the sockets/switches are old (black/brown switches or have gone yellow looking) and the wiring is exposed running down the wall. You know it's old...

If it's looks old I just run two motors on the vac. If I find stubborn growth just switch third motor on just for that. Plus keep having a rest with the air blowing through the machine because when you hit hard growth and machine is straining, it creates staring in customers electrics and wires start heating up.. Same thing happens if the hose gets twisted. If that happens get rid of the kink immediately.

 

[PC]

I think a lot of depends on whether you payed for a partial rewire or complete rewire.

I had a full rewire on my old house done when I bought it. Everything ripped out and replaced.

(Sparky said to me, you need a full rewire every twenty years, which isn't very long really, but it would not surprise with all the poor quality rubbish coming of China these days).

I have no issues with tripping out even if I run all three motors on my vac at once starting it up on my house.

The properties I worry about are when the sockets/switches are old (black/brown switches or have gone yellow looking) and the wiring is exposed running down the wall. You know it's old...

If it's looks old I just run two motors on the vac. If I find stubborn growth just switch third motor on just for that. Plus keep having a rest with the air blowing through the machine because when you hit hard growth and machine is straining, it creates staring in customers electrics and wires start heating up.. Same thing happens if the hose gets twisted. If that happens get rid of the kink immediately.

Good tips

 

[ched999uk]

The only upgrade we had to do to our 1965 dormer in 2000 was adding earthing cable to every lighting circuit and switch. We had to do that before the bank would give us a mortgage.

That's a bit naught of them. Electrical regs are not retrospective they are test based. i.e. our old holiday apartments still had old 1960's rubber insulated cables in part of it and as long as they passed the EICR tests it was fine, insurance companies wanted the tests certificates!
We had a youngish electrician come to quote for the EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) and he said all the rubber had to be ripped out, a new 3 phase supply installed etc..... Then had a more experienced electrician come to quote and he said as long as it passes tests then all good. That said I did spend about 2 months one winter replacing lots of cables and correcting lots of iffy historic work before the electrician did his testing. We did replace all 9 fuse boards (consumer units) for ones with RCD protection even the one that took me a week to find as it had been plaster boarded over and then wallpapered over! I also replaced all the lighting cables with 3 core so they had earths.

Our EICR was only valid for 5 years I think due to it being classed as commercial. I think a normal house EICR lasts 10 years.
If in doubt get it tested by a reputable electrician. They keep changing the regs every few years as well, now you have to have a metal consumer unit! No idea why they think that's safer as all the mcb, rcd, rcbo, and isolators are still made of plastic.

 

[spruce]

That's a bit naught of them. Electrical regs are not retrospective they are test based. i.e. our old holiday apartments still had old 1960's rubber insulated cables in part of it and as long as they passed the EICR tests it was fine, insurance companies wanted the tests certificates!
We had a youngish electrician come to quote for the EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) and he said all the rubber had to be ripped out, a new 3 phase supply installed etc..... Then had a more experienced electrician come to quote and he said as long as it passes tests then all good. That said I did spend about 2 months one winter replacing lots of cables and correcting lots of iffy historic work before the electrician did his testing. We did replace all 9 fuse boards (consumer units) for ones with RCD protection even the one that took me a week to find as it had been plaster boarded over and then wallpapered over! I also replaced all the lighting cables with 3 core so they had earths.

Our EICR was only valid for 5 years I think due to it being classed as commercial. I think a normal house EICR lasts 10 years.
If in doubt get it tested by a reputable electrician. They keep changing the regs every few years as well, now you have to have a metal consumer unit! No idea why they think that's safer as all the mcb, rcd, rcbo, and isolators are still made of plastic.

None of the cables are rubber. They are all 'plastic' coated exactly the same as the latest cable we buy.
I've got a piece in the garage for reference if anyone asks.

We do have the old wire fuse box, so that does need to be upgraded to a consumer unit. I was going to get that done sometime, but didn't know it was part of the current regulations.

 

[Iron Giant]

None of the cables are rubber. They are all 'plastic' coated exactly the same as the latest cable we buy.
I've got a piece in the garage for reference if anyone asks.

We do have the old wire fuse box, so that does need to be upgraded to a consumer unit. I was going to get that done sometime, but didn't know it was part of the current regulations.

It only matters when you really come to sell your house, some will want it sorted.

The electrics will need testing then if anything needs replacing they can sort it out and fit a new consumer unit and get rid of the old domino wire fuses.

 

[spruce]

It only matters when you really come to sell your house, some will want it sorted.

The electrics will need testing then if anything needs replacing they can sort it out and fit a new consumer unit and get rid of the old domino wire fuses.

Interestingly, the old guy across the road moved in 3 years ago. That bungalow also had one of those old fuse boards. I know as the old couple who lived before had a lighting bulb blow which took out the fuse. A carer came running across asking me if I could replace the fuse. Thankfully I have some fuse wire in my tool box

A year after he moved in, he had the fuse board changed for a consumer unit at the same time he replaced the boiler. He wasn't required to replace the fuse board as part of the moving in requirements.

 

[Iron Giant]

They were very probably right.

The only upgrade we had to do to our 1965 dormer in 2000 was adding earthing cable to every lighting circuit and switch. We had to do that before the bank would give us a mortgage. We also had to put an RCD into the garage. I asked for it to be put on the main house wiring, which covered everything, including the garage.
I didn't understand why they only wanted to protect the garage. In South Africa, the whole house had to be protected with earth leakage.

The electrician doing the job said the main house wiring was fine.

I've done a fair bit of work under the upstairs floor, where the main wiring runs, and it is showing no signs of deterioration.

For me, it was peace of mind knowing that I was going to have to have the house upside down and holes etc put in walls when we had fully renovated our house, it was something a mate said "it's the last thing anyone wants to do, but you definitely don't want to have to do it after renovating a whole house" this stuck with me as he was right for me.

When we had our electrics tested there was only one issue highlighted, the lights weren't tested only the sockets non of our lights had been earthed except the kitchen which had been renovated in the early 2000's a lot of cables were inside metal conduit throughout the house.

We have added a lot more sockets to our house than there were originally the old couple were in their 90's and had lived here since 1936 and really hadn't added much to the electrics one socket in each room except the living room where we had two sockets, the kitchen will have been the biggest update they had ever done.

 

[Iron Giant]

Interestingly, the old guy across the road moved in 3 years ago. That bungalow also had one of those old fuse boards. I know as the old couple who lived before had a lighting bulb blow which took out the fuse. A carer came running across asking me if I could replace the fuse. Thankfully I have some fuse wire in my tool box

A year after he moved in, he had the fuse board changed for a consumer unit at the same time he replaced the boiler. He wasn't required to replace the fuse board as part of the moving in requirements.

What I was getting at was if a buyer insists that the electrics need an upgrade possibly after getting them tested or not an old customer of mine was selling their house around 3 years ago the buyer wanted the consumer unit upgraded the house was built 1999.

My wife and I didn't bother getting ours tested when purchasing our home in 2020 we were fully aware of jobs that needed doing or that we wanted to do, it really is down to an individual or maybe if someone gets a survey arranged through their mortgage lender and they become aware of certain issues

 

[ched999uk]

We do have the old wire fuse box, so that does need to be upgraded to a consumer unit. I was going to get that done sometime, but didn't know it was part of the current regulations.

Fuse Box/consumer unit - same thing really just 'technical' terms. Personally I would get the fuse box changed to either have mcb or rbco devices to protect each circuit. When the electrician comes to swap the fuse board they have to test each circuit to ensure there are no faults or damaged cables etc.