[Question] COC

[willies]

Hi Guys

Hope you can share some light. When an electrician performs a compliance test for issuing the COC what exactly must he perform. Must he actually put a plug in each socket or are they only using testers.

Also i have black cover computer plugs installed in my house to blend in with my tiles as you cannot find normal black plug covers and an electrician adapted them that i can use them for my appliances. Are they save? Are they compliant or not.

Where does it say in the act what kind of plug you can install? It's working perfectly.

Willie

[AndyD]

Each socket should be tested for a COC.

What exactly did the electrician do to 'adapt' them?

[dfsa]

What plug did he put into each socket? He should put an earth leakage tester ( It looks like a 3 pin plug with a dial and some lights on it) into each socket and perform a leakage test. ( Your earth leakage device must trip between 15 & 25ma) The little tester also will show him if the connections inside are connected to the correct points on the socket.

There should not be a problem with your black sockets, as long as the guy shaved off just enough on the earth pole to fit your standard 3 pin plug. The plug socket is still a 15a socket. The only reason for having a computer outlet different, is that normally computers run off dedicated uninterrupted supply's. You then do not want to plug normal devices into your dedicated circuits. The dedicated ( computer socket) has a stopper on the earth pole to only allow a half moon earth pin ( You will notice that on your computer 3 pin plug, the earth pin is flattened on top) to enter the socket.

Hopefully the person that modified the sockets, did do a tension and earth test to ensure you have a good earth connection on the 3 pin plug.

[murdock]

it depends on how much you paid for the test...R450 the going rate...small dwelling...chances are he would have done random tests and a visual inpsection...in some cases you might not even get the inspector on site just a random person with some equipment which looks like a tester...eeeeish believe it...then made up a list to compensate for the cheap rate...or if you paid around R950 chances are he would have checked every plug and done a proper inspection report with a list of faults detailed...the scary part you could even be paying the higher price and getting the other fella to check the job...a good example was a job i did a year or so back...i did an inspection...but failed literally every DB that i checked...so they stalled as long as they could then when the job got to a critical handover stage they got a nother fella in to go behind me and make sure all the DBs passed...mmm...10 years ago i would have got all worked up about it and made a big fuss about it and reported them to the authorities but have learnt from experience not to waste my time...if you read other threads on this website alone you will understand why....i got my money and moved on to the next job...honestly...i know some might think i am using my signiture to humour you...i actually just dont care anymore...i do as the south african do in south africa.


an example of a cheap inspection report

bad earthing...

fault on the plugs...

etc...

a proper inspection report would detail the fault...with the reading recorded...the location and refer to the code for the violation from the sans book.

[bergie]

is it plastic or metal covers? there are 2 separate earth terminals on the dedicated metal plugs,which would have to be linked in your case.

[murdock]

Where does it say in the act what kind of plug you can install? It's working perfectly.

Willie

if i remember correctly its sabs 164

[willies]

COC

Each socket should be tested for a COC.

What exactly did the electrician do to 'adapt' them?

With a black computer plug the one prong is flat so to make it work he filed it so that the plug can accomodate all appliances.
Reason being the tiles are black and you cannot find a normal black cover in any store.

Did chat to Mark at GEIA and he told me that those plugs must be removed and that you need different wiring for them. My understanding is that the act is to test safety and that it does not stipulate what kind of plug you may use or not. Also according to Mark i cannot then use such plug in my kitchen even if it is for a computer. So due to his inspection he instructed the elctrician to replace all the plugs as unsafe. The act however refers to reasonable safe. No one can give me an explanation what that means.

He also said that the prior 1992 provision for houses that is older than 1992 does not apply any more and that you need to change every thing to obtain your COC. So i feel sorry for all the guys having houses build prior 1992 as all their swimming pool db boards also needs to be removed and re-installed.

The messgage was quite clear from him that many electricians and especially players in the property industry is not educated in this regard.


I find it quite strange as i'm sure he is also not a lawyer but it seems as if he knows more than any lawyer when it comes to COC regulations.

Comments will be highly appreciated

[Dave A]

I find it quite strange as i'm sure he is also not a lawyer but it seems as if he knows more than any lawyer when it comes to COC regulations.

Any qualified electrician should know more than a lawyer when it comes to COC regulations

[mikilianis]

I am aware of a earth test but "a tension and earth test" please enlighten me

[werner jordaan]

hi guys
just wanna find out about doing a coc on the supply cable only.(16mm2 swa ,16 mm2 earth )
do u still have to do the loop impedance and pssc?

[Sparks]

hi guys
just wanna find out about doing a coc on the supply cable only.(16mm2 swa ,16 mm2 earth )
do u still have to do the loop impedance and pssc?

Yes, that and the voltages: supply(with and without load) and elevated.

[Sparks]

With a black computer plug the one prong is flat so to make it work he filed it so that the plug can accomodate all appliances.

Dedicated circuits mostly do not have earth fault protection. By filing the stopper away your electrician acted illegally and exposed you and your family to electrocution. If you really must have a black plug I suggest you first replace the "compromised" socket outlet with a new one then get a "dedicated" plugtop and spray or paint it black.