Firstly, I’ve asked a qualified electrician to help me with this and just waiting for him to come back to me but thought I’d pre-wire for him to check before use.
I have this main switch which I’ve installed into a MDF cabinet to run an old dell monitor. I want to be able to wire the monitor into the back of the switch then use a standard IEC plug into the cabinet.
Can someone take a quick look at my wiring below to see if it looks correct. The instructables link is US-based but other than the voltage, I didn’t suspect there would be any variations for Australia.
Hi Rod.
Firstly when dealing with American equipment and instructions be aware they use black and white for mains. Black active.
Secondly I am not a licensed electrician but I would like to offer a bit of criticism which hopefully you will view as constructive (as against destructive)
I don’t know what the rules say but I would have used fully shrouded or fully insulated push on connectors for mains wiring. Bit safer I think.
What size is that wire? If less than 2.5 sq mm you have used the incorrect size of crimp. Should be Red ones up to 2.5 then Blue.
What crimp tool did you use. The crimps may be ok but in the pics they don’t look quite right.
You are sensible getting an electrician to look the job over before use. If any of the things I have pointed out ARE wrong and against the rules he should rectify the errors and even re crimp if required.
Cheers Bob
Thanks for replying Bob and I’m more than happy for you and others to offer constructive criticism/advice. That’s all part of learning!
I basically cut a standard IEC cord and wired that into the back of the switch, using the existing crimps I had. I think I’ll just leave it up to the electrician to redo the wiring himself rather than risk anything.
I’m all for having a go, but definitely a good idea to leave this one for an electrician. In Australia there are large fines for performing electrical work while unlicensed, and even just using the incorrect insulation colour for the wiring poses a big hazard to someone working on it in future.
Hi Rod
Should be Red crimps. Blue for 2,5sqmm up to Yellow for 4sqmm. Above about 6sqmm you are getting into hydraulic crimp systems.
Let the sparky fix it. Safer, besides the legal repercussions if anything goes wrong and someone is hurt.
Cheers Bob
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