S.J.Watkins Electrical Services

04/05/2024

As a Mistral employee once told me, “You’re only as good as your fans” 😆

12/09/2022

Apologies to all for the COVID interruptions, I’m back on track and trying to clear up the backlog.
🙏

01/04/2022

03/02/2022

I found this illuminating…

13/08/2021

Wild and windy at Gordon today. Such a lovely part of Tasmania.

20/05/2021

Quick apologies to those people I haven’t returned calls to, I try to get back to everyone, as I too hate it when people appear to ignore you.
Sadly, like a lot of my fellow tradies the sheer number of calls coming in lately is unprecedented so bear with me (it’s a one man business after all) as I’m doing my best!
Thanks for your patience, Simon.

30/03/2021

So this happened today.

A total of four light fittings that were put in by an unqualified person had the “always active” loop connected to the earth terminal of the light.
Which means for at least the past three years the casing of the light has been live 240V. The equivalent of having a large bare wire in the center of the ceiling of each bedroom in this house.

This home has also had, at least part of the time, been used as a AIR B&B.

Finally the switchboard that distributed the power hasn’t been upgraded since the at least the seventies as they were all ceramic fuses, not circuit breakers or safety switches.

This is a very, very dangerous situation. Not only could anyone touching the light get electrocuted, even with the light switch in the ‘off’ position, they would have received full current of at least 10 amps.
For the record it takes a current of only 0.007 amps for three seconds to stop your heart but it’s usually a current of 0.1 amps for one second that is considered a lethal amount. (N.B. Other factors are also involved like voltage and current path through the body)
Safe to say that the experience is less than pleasant whatever the outcome.
Safety switches are designed to shut down the circuit whenever an imbalance is detected above 0.03 Amps within a period of 0.3 seconds. (e.g. you touch the active or the neutral) which in a healthy human being is faster than a ‘lethal shock’

The lesson from this is don’t do your own electrical work, it’s dangerous and potentially deadly.
Also if you don’t have safety switches in your switchboard, please think about getting them.

26/03/2021

Lighting colour guide.

26/03/2021

How to appropriately light up your life.

26/03/2021

IP ratings explained.

25/03/2021

Upgrade on a seriously old switchboard that the customer was very worried about.

25/03/2021

Some jobs take you to the nicest locations!