Materials

Below are two items that although not plumbing equipment, they are very much related, and you may have to work on them at some stage.

Cable.

DIY plumbers need to know something about electric cables. Cable is a device that provides a path along which the electricity flows it is made up of insulated metal conductors, or cores, and covered with a protective outer sheath of plastic or PVC. Most cable has three cores, the live sheathed in red, the neutral in black and the earth has no cover. The bare earth between the end of the cable on the fitting it is connected to, must always be protected by green/yellow earth sleeving. Cable comes in various sizes and ratings, each designed for a specific task. If in doubt of the type to use, consult a specialist supplier, detailing the work planned, and then purchase the cable by the role. Harefield Plumbers are familiar with this.

Consumer unit.

A unit, sometimes known as the main fuse box, often found in the garage, under the stairs or in its own special cupboard, which contains all the switches, fuses and/or miniature circuit breakers (MCBs) governing the different circuits that run around your house. In all the houses, the fuse box was/is usually a rather large black, brown or cream box, in which each of the circuits is protected by a re-wireable fuse. When there is a problem, the fuse burns out and you have to turn off the main power supply, identify and pull out the offending fuse block, replace the fuse wire, solve the problem that caused the fuse to blow and then switch the power back on. In the modern installation, the fuse box is replaced with a neat white box complete with a roll of small switches or miniature circuit breakers (MCBs). A Harefield Plumber would sort this.When there is a power cut, all you have to do is turn off the main power supply, identify and sort out the problem, switch on or push back the miniature circuit breaker and then turn the power back on.