r/AskAusElectricians

I've got a colorbond shed, with top hat purlins along the walls. There's existing GPOs installed using Purlmate 3650s on the middle purlins, which are at a good height for GPOs in this shed.

I want to install a whole bunch more GPOs around the walls, but also plan to (at some point in the future) line the walls of the shed. The internal walls will consist of a 35x90mm studs installed sideways (so 35mm of thickness), with sheets of 12mm Structapanel or Plywood on top, making a total of 47mm offset from the purlins to the surface of the wall panels.

I want to get these GPOs installed now, but in a way that makes it easy for me to build the walls later on (at my own pace - I often work on this stuff sporadically as time permits), without having to get a sparky out each time I complete a section of the wall.

I've considered a few different options for mounting the GPOs using Purlmate 3650s, by using 35mm mounting blocks (the total offset of a the purlmate + 35mm mounting block is 45mm, which would end up being 2mm proud of the final wall surface):

Option 1. Attach a 35mm mounting block to the Purlmate, by using the 4 "corner" mounting slots in the mounting block (1. in the photos), drilling pilot holes into the Purlmate, and using screws, then attach the GPO to the mounting block using the standard screws. Cut holes in the wall perfectly matching the mounting blocks.

Pros: GPO is easily removed and accessed

Cons: screwing into the 2-3mm of plastic on the purlmate where it isn't intended to hold screws is potentially fragile

Option 2. Attach the GPO to the 35mm mounting block _and_ the Purlmate using a pair of longer (50mm) screws in the standard 84mm screw holes (2. in the photos). Cut holes in the wall perfectly matching the mounting blocks.

Pros: all screws mounted in sturdy locations

Cons: to get the mounting block to "seat" against the purlmate, you have to press the block tightly against the purlmate to get the screw started, so that there's absolutely zero gap between the block and the purlmate. If you ever remove the GPO for servicing/replacement etc., the next sparky will have to get this 100% right, or else the block will set a mm or two off the purlmate, and potentially become fragile

Option 3. Get the sparky to just install the GPO directly on the purlmate, but with enough slack to pull the GPO another 35mm further forward. When the wall is built, cut a hole smaller than the GPO in the panel, then screw the GPO directly to the panel.

Pros: no screws in dodgy or weird mounting arrangements - attachment would be 100% secure both before and after the wall is built.

Cons: the wiring is more "exposed" behind the panels once they go in (not sure if this would be an issue compliance-wise), and each section of wall would have to be 100% installed and sealed up to ensure they're 100% concealed and safe. Also not sure if this would (legally) require a sparky to re-mount the GPOs on the panel, even if no actual wiring was being touched or modified.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on which option they'd go with, or if there other ways to approach this that I should consider as well?

Thanks in advance!

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Hi All - recently had a solar and home battery install commissioned. For what it's worth its a 50kw battery, topped with a 15kw inverter, 3-phase. It's working pretty well but with one frustrating issue - We're finding that the system is splitting the load from the house between the battery and the grid when the battery has plenty of spare capacity. This seems to happen regardless of load from the house ... i.e. with the battery topped up to a respectable level, the house can be drawing 2kw or 8kw and the load will be split 1/3 to the grid and 2/3 to the battery. The system software is set to "Self-consumption" so my novice understanding says that all the load should come from the battery (and PV, during the day) until I hit a SOC protection limit. Installer has been silent to date ... has organised a firmware update but no change. Am feeling a bit lost and not sure where to look for clues before calling in a professional (would rather the installer resolve it, obviously). Any suggestions for what to look for or potential causes that might result in this sort of behavior? Thanks.

I built an app that allows free creation of jobs, invoices, rego expiry, timesheeting, staff onboarding & payroll (very limited), chasing payments (reminders).

It also has an automated admin to take calls (not free because I have to pay telephony provider for each call) and accept invoice payments (using stripe).

I have two friends who always compaint about paying a lot of money to manage these small things and how their partner felt exhausted managing admin. I also work in the education side of the industry. So, I spent more than a year to build the app.

Let me know if you are interested to test it out, I will send you the link of the app and website.

Please give me your feedback to make it better.

I imagine there are certain descriptions where you already have a pretty good idea before you even arrive.

Without giving away trade secrets, are there any common ones?

I have about 80 halogen mr16 downlights raping my electricity bill and I want to replace them.

The two I've had a look at are hardwired to ATCO TM50 transformers (though it's possible the others are different the way the previous owner did things)

I want to go with smart lights (yes I will use the smart features as I have at previous house)

Is my house going to burn down if I replace the bulbs with some cheap Chinese ZigBee bulbs?? And is the transformer still going to use more than 5w for the led bulbs?

I've tried some "dicuno" and "zemismart" bulbs at $15 a pop and work fine. I just can't get over the cheap Chinese factor. Though I am sure they all come from the same factory anyway.

The Phillips hue mr16's are about $70 each...

I am guessing i'd be up for about $50? each to replace the transformers with a plug and maybe another $50 a light?

Hi brains trust!

Can someone explain how or if plug in home batteries can/won't work?

In energy circles there has been talk of apartment owners getting in on GPO plug in home batteries (and some looking at solar). Octopus Energy is a company that has indicated it has plans to roll out in Aus. There are also a handful of companies doing trials in Aus as we speak.

I'm confused. I have home battery and solar and my research has led me to understand there are heaps of controls and backstops to stop things going pear shaped. Mainly around inverters and specifically DNSP requirements etc. So how the heck does this work? My electrical knowledge is not great - can you actually just plug in a battery and have it supply your home? Is it limited to that specific circuit, are there safety issues (i.e. as I understand GPOs are not designed to constantly pump max 10A in and out daily without frying themselves.

*Edit: also completely bypasses fire code stuff for home batteries, but maybe they could bypass them for low capacity and/or power output?

I’ve gone down a deep rabbit hole regarding Home Assistant. I am a single woman who just bought my own place and I want to monitor electricity output (to use less and know I’m not shitting out of my ass for electricity bills) and also be able to automate and activate things, especially remotely, e.g. aircon/fans, lights, garage door, shutters, blinds/curtains.

Tell me y’all. HOW DOES IT WORK. WHAT DO I NEED TO START BUYING. TELL ME WHAT I MUST DO TO PREPARE. I’m obviously gonna have a sparky install the sparky stuff. But the things on my end and to prepare for that - if that makes sense? Particular switches, light bulbs, aircons, fans, and such that will all be compatible. I haven’t had my house settlement yet so now’s the perfect time to figure out what things I need to look out for when buying electrical components (my house needs a new aircon, lights, switches, new fans, and a garage door at some point that will be done in stages) that will be compatible with Home Assistant when I eventually get Home Assistant installed.

Is it hard? Is it beneficial or too much work? I would love y’all’s help on this. Thank you!

We've been in our place for a few years now and haven't had any electrical issues.

Just wondering whether people actually book inspections as preventative maintenance, or whether most homeowners only call once something stops working.

Homeowner here with a 2 storey house with bathrooms (inc shower) directly above one another. Issue has been happening for over a year. (1 x bathroom renovated approx 10 years ago, the other 25 years ago)

We have had 2 separate companies out (ie 2 electricians at each so 4 x brains looking at it) to investigate why our shower drain has a current of around 19v. Another shower drain 1m away reads around 9v and poking their multimeter through sealant at the edge of the shower (ie touching the tilebed) reads somewhere in between depending where exactly they test.

This same pattern happens in the bathroom directly below.

Energex came out and tested with their low impedance multimeter and found 4.5v max which is below statutory regulations so he basically said "not my problem, go back to your contractor". Problem is, both contractors said that even though its less than regulations, they still wouldn't be getting in the shower.

Neither of the contractors that we've had out have been able to figure out what's going on, they've:
- tested earths to the nth degree
- it doesn't seem tied to one specific circuit (as they turn circuits off, the voltage drops gradually)
- upgraded everything to safety switches to see if the extra sensitivity trips anything (we still don't have any circuits tripping intermittently)
- Fault tested every socket in the house

And both contractors have basically had to give up.

What would my next steps be to try and get this resolved? A few other contractors Ive spoken to have said "they'll get back to me" after i describe the situation and never do - i assume it just gets put in the too-hard basket and they'd rather just do straightforward jobs.

Every contractor out there seems to say they 'specialise' in fault finding, is there a slightly different trade that I need to look for?

Even if we ripped both bathrooms apart and treated it as an excuse to renovate, I would hate to do all that without knowing what is causing the voltage and still have the same issue after a renovation!

Hi, our build is a couple of years old and originally had planned for gas cooktop. We changed our minds with plenty of notice but Builder plumbed in gas pipes anyway and electrician caught unawares. He said something along the lines of good thing I used enough wire... But I suspect he single phased it anyway. How can I tell? In the electrical box the 3 phase a/c has a different switch with 3 switches in 1 but I don't see anything like that for the stove. If it is indeed single phase, am I missing much? The cooktop doesn't behave the way I would expect, with lots of switching on and off at lower temps (just the delay getting longer with lower power). Also, if it is single phase and there are clear benefits to wiring it 3 phase how hard and expensive would it be?

Hi,

I've just had my kitchen renovated and the sparky has put ovens and cooktop all on the same 3ph circuit.

Is this allowed under AS/NZS 3000?

Installation is NSW under Endeavour Energy.

* Circuit breaker is 4 pole 20A

* Cooktop is 11.1kW 3ph has isolator switch via contactor connected to same 3ph circuit

* Oven No. 1 is 3.6kW 3ph

* Oven No. 2 is 3.8kW 1ph

As background, we live on a rather steep block. We are getting a shed built that will need power connected. It's approximately 15m from the house with a 2m high retaining wall in between. As you can read, burying the cable is not an option. Therefore, the overhead option really is the only solution that I can think of. If there is another solution, please tell me.

It is intended to put a sub board in the shed along with lighting and GPOs.

I have two questions:

1. Can a domestic sparky do the overhead bit, or do I need to speak to a linesman?

2. Is there any regulations preventing me from putting the posts and hanging wire up, provided they meet the required specifications?

Thanks

Hello everyone, just as in the title. To give some context, I'm currently working in Poland and as an electrician, I have 3 years of working experience and SEP and G1 (up to 1kV) certifications (required in the trade in Poland). How do I go about applying for jobs and what cetifications would I need to work in Australia as an electrician. Additionally I have read that Ausie employers don't really value work experience outside of Australia, is this true? Thank you for your help :)

Good day fellas, I'm a Canada apprentice hoping to move to Perth.

I'm trying to gather information on the job market, and what to expect if I get Invited over

G'day guys.

I'm trying to understand the biggest payment headaches subbies deal with, actually getting paid for work you've already done.

I come from software development particularly in the construction industry. I've heard for years the same thing: the work's done, the claim's in, and then you're chasing the head contractor for weeks while your cash sits in someone else's account.

Before trying to put anything together, I actually want to listen.

If you're open to sharing, a few quick points would help a lot:

* How many years you've been in business

* Roughly how often you get paid late (never / sometimes / most of the time)

* Longest you've ever waited on a progress claim

* Have you ever used the Security of Payment Act — or steered clear of it? Why?

* How you currently keep track of what's owed and when it's due (head, spreadsheet, accountant, software?)

Not pitching anything. Genuinely trying to understand what hurts most and how people actually deal with it, so if I build something, it solves a real problem.

Appreciate anyone willing to share their experience.

Cheers.