The green goo is the plasticiser coming out of the insulation. Currently all manufacturers are saying no need to rush and rewire BUT the green goo is a HSE risk so wearing gloves is appropriate NOT to get Di-isoctyl phthalate on your skin. I have seen cables insulation become brittle with cracking so needs monitoring! 5:08
Well done Matt I can’t remember ever seeing the green goo , to me i think it help to age the installation along with the fact that the conductors are stranded, so I think it dates back to the late thifteys late sixties. Also who would have guessed that guy gaz interviewed is your dad . Great video as always Matt 👍
If you haven't seen the green goo it's just like fairy liquid . It's a breakdown of the insulation, doesn't mean it's been overloaded necessarily. I have seen it on lighting circuits more than sockets . Sometimes it's an odd piece of cable I a whole house . Definitely 1970s houses which can suffer from the problem. Lots of houses are rewired before if becomes an issue because people move house and renovate etc , we have more electrical appliances than ever so need more sockets hence houses are rewired .
Seems like it would mostly happen in places where the wires are coming down from above. So any length of wire above the guy could build up and leak down the length of the cable over time and come out the end. Since most socket writing now it's from the floor up and is from the ceiling down it's going to happen more on lighting rings and in bungalows maybe where the mains trying is wired in the roof down.... Maybe.
I've had it on an extension lead, coming out of the trailing socket. Proper old stuff, non-earthed German plug and twin flex, moulded plug and trailing socket, 50s or early 60s probably. The whole thing had a peculiar chemical smell to it so the process might well have something to do with plasticisers reacting with the copper.
There doesn’t seem to be much information about the green goo in general. In fact unless you have seen it you probably wouldn’t believe it. On one job it was so bad it was running down the walls. Last year I part rewired a bungalow. The customer didn’t know what I was on about until I showed them a couple joint boxes from the loft full of the goo.
Avoid touching it with bare fingers. Its like a fine oil that gets into your skin. It doesn't wash off instantly and can make your eyes sting if they come into contact with your hands...Even if you've washed them and they are bone dry. It also gives of a distinctive smell, I cant describe it but once you've smelt it once, you wont forget it.
100 acre estate Hoddesdon has the green goo, also has stainless steel tube on plumbing. Dates it early’70s when there were copper shortages because of war in Rhodesia.
Not seen electrical go full goo myself but I have seen the precursors where the insulation on a core has started to react with the copper, beginning to chew it up and also stuck to it making it difficult to pull off.
421.1.201 Within domestic (household) premises, consumer units and similar switchgear assemblies shall comply with BS EN 61439-3 and shall: (i) have their enclosure manufactured from non-combustible material, or (ii) be enclosed in a cabinet or enclosure constructed of non-combustible material and complying with Regulation 132.12. Not sure the Transformer would qualify as switchgear.
@@danvictor3934 While I generally agree that it is open to far more interpretation than it should be, in the specific case of a doorbell transformer I don't think it could be argued that it counts as switchgear. Switchgear is defined as: "An assembly of main and auxiliary switching equipment for operation, regulation and protection or other control of an electrical installation." eFIXX did a video on the subject about a month ago, covering the related regulations: "The WAGO Junction Box Debate: Metal or Plastic?"
The two lighting circuits on the same RCD is probably because of a borrowed neutral. That's common on older installations. It's a workaround, but the alternative is very disruptive. In this case it looks like the householder is facing having to pay for a rewire anyway with the cable insulation breaking down.
Presumably the wires are overheating because there's a huge amount of resistance somewhere in that ring, right? It's not overheating because the customer is running too much current through it. (I only passed my L3 qual this year, hence the simpleton question).
It might just be the age of the wires. 50+ years old, those bright red wires might have been new tech that just turned out to not be that great over time. Like how products now that have a thin rubber coating like console controllers, can end up going all sticky from the rubber failing over time. The new modern twin core with brown wire probably has a better coating that doesn't turn into goo 😂
It is not wires overheating. It is the breakdown of plastciser in 1960's 70's cable. Over time it will show on the insulation test as it does in this video. The same pesticides was also very tasty for rats and mice. Insulation tests between each of the sockets which have been isolated an hour pd the consumer unit will pin down the area of the fault. I would have checked the box where all the red/black cables have been extended by Brown/blue cable as a matter of urgency as there was green goo running out of the box. Green goo is an indicator of electrical insulation breaking down and is confirmed by the low resistance in the insulation test.
The green goo is the plasticiser coming out of the insulation.
Currently all manufacturers are saying no need to rush and rewire BUT the green goo is a HSE risk so wearing gloves is appropriate NOT to get Di-isoctyl phthalate on your skin.
I have seen cables insulation become brittle with cracking so needs monitoring! 5:08
Thanks Shaun for taking the time to watch and comment
Well done Matt I can’t remember ever seeing the green goo , to me i think it help to age the installation along with the fact that the conductors are stranded, so I think it dates back to the late thifteys late sixties.
Also who would have guessed that guy gaz interviewed is your dad .
Great video as always Matt 👍
1965 if his estimate of how old his dad was when he wired it are correct
If you haven't seen the green goo it's just like fairy liquid . It's a breakdown of the insulation, doesn't mean it's been overloaded necessarily. I have seen it on lighting circuits more than sockets . Sometimes it's an odd piece of cable I a whole house . Definitely 1970s houses which can suffer from the problem. Lots of houses are rewired before if becomes an issue because people move house and renovate etc , we have more electrical appliances than ever so need more sockets hence houses are rewired .
Seems like it would mostly happen in places where the wires are coming down from above. So any length of wire above the guy could build up and leak down the length of the cable over time and come out the end.
Since most socket writing now it's from the floor up and is from the ceiling down it's going to happen more on lighting rings and in bungalows maybe where the mains trying is wired in the roof down.... Maybe.
@@ge2719 that would make sense. Gravity
I've had it on an extension lead, coming out of the trailing socket. Proper old stuff, non-earthed German plug and twin flex, moulded plug and trailing socket, 50s or early 60s probably. The whole thing had a peculiar chemical smell to it so the process might well have something to do with plasticisers reacting with the copper.
Isn’t the box above the Consumer unit a relocation box? Looks on the footage that the old cables go to that, then new colours from that to CU.
There doesn’t seem to be much information about the green goo in general. In fact unless you have seen it you probably wouldn’t believe it. On one job it was so bad it was running down the walls. Last year I part rewired a bungalow. The customer didn’t know what I was on about until I showed them a couple joint boxes from the loft full of the goo.
Avoid touching it with bare fingers. Its like a fine oil that gets into your skin. It doesn't wash off instantly and can make your eyes sting if they come into contact with your hands...Even if you've washed them and they are bone dry. It also gives of a distinctive smell, I cant describe it but once you've smelt it once, you wont forget it.
100 acre estate Hoddesdon has the green goo, also has stainless steel tube on plumbing. Dates it early’70s when there were copper shortages because of war in Rhodesia.
Not seen electrical go full goo myself but I have seen the precursors where the insulation on a core has started to react with the copper, beginning to chew it up and also stuck to it making it difficult to pull off.
Hi. I have my 10 hours Bay assesment tommorow. Do you have any good advise for it since im prepared but nervous
Artisan Electrics had a video once where an installation had the green goo appearing
All the 6 amp lighting circuits on one Rcd Rccb and a din rail Doorbell transformer in a plastic non amendment 3 2015 enclosure Fab.
421.1.201 Within domestic (household) premises, consumer units and similar switchgear assemblies shall comply with BS EN 61439-3 and shall:
(i) have their enclosure manufactured from non-combustible material, or
(ii) be enclosed in a cabinet or enclosure constructed of non-combustible material and complying with Regulation 132.12.
Not sure the Transformer would qualify as switchgear.
@@conarobrien9434 Problem is similar switch gear assembly is open to wild interpretation depending on the person.
@@danvictor3934 While I generally agree that it is open to far more interpretation than it should be, in the specific case of a doorbell transformer I don't think it could be argued that it counts as switchgear.
Switchgear is defined as: "An assembly of main and auxiliary switching equipment for operation, regulation and protection or other control of an electrical installation."
eFIXX did a video on the subject about a month ago, covering the related regulations: "The WAGO Junction Box Debate: Metal or Plastic?"
The two lighting circuits on the same RCD is probably because of a borrowed neutral. That's common on older installations. It's a workaround, but the alternative is very disruptive. In this case it looks like the householder is facing having to pay for a rewire anyway with the cable insulation breaking down.
Only ever had it on lighting circuits to date, never on a socket.
👍🏻
Property sounds like it needs an Electrician and The Ghostbusters.
Great point 😀
that's a rewire all day long, so many sparks want the quick money of consumer units.
How to find Electrical fault in house wiring circuit
There was green goo coming out of the junction box over the CU. He did not look inside.
Yeah, it’s kinda weird. Just out of curiosity you’d think you’d take the cover off.
So what is the green goo?
Verdigris.
Poor quality cable insulation breaks down and reacts with the copper
You might benefit from having multiple cameras.
Sadly Matt was on his own 👍🏻
Rings are in the road , finals are in the house!
He never said main so what's the problem old school knows what he meant
Presumably the wires are overheating because there's a huge amount of resistance somewhere in that ring, right? It's not overheating because the customer is running too much current through it. (I only passed my L3 qual this year, hence the simpleton question).
It might just be the age of the wires. 50+ years old, those bright red wires might have been new tech that just turned out to not be that great over time.
Like how products now that have a thin rubber coating like console controllers, can end up going all sticky from the rubber failing over time.
The new modern twin core with brown wire probably has a better coating that doesn't turn into goo 😂
That green goo, shorting on a contact i bet if you put all the sockets in wagos and retest the IR would be clear
It is not wires overheating. It is the breakdown of plastciser in 1960's 70's cable. Over time it will show on the insulation test as it does in this video. The same pesticides was also very tasty for rats and mice. Insulation tests between each of the sockets which have been isolated an hour pd the consumer unit will pin down the area of the fault. I would have checked the box where all the red/black cables have been extended by Brown/blue cable as a matter of urgency as there was green goo running out of the box. Green goo is an indicator of electrical insulation breaking down and is confirmed by the low resistance in the insulation test.
Where was the fault?
1.4 ohms on each leg of the ring? That ring main is too long.
So basically you didn't find the fault.
Not in this video