& bolt it down (use a fastener anyway) ... I have seen a few on machines like drill presses vibrate loose & become ineffective.

Supposed to use a star washer to prevent that.

"My Restricted Electrical Work Licence is due for renewal.."

Would this be the same as the Class-C licence? Do they still have that?

With stuff that passes under my nose one sees more mechanical joints fail than soldered. Telstra cable around here being some of the worst; developing corrosive joints with monotonous regularity.

It does not seem to matter what is used mechanically as a fastner, where there is vibration & corrosion it can be compromised. There are of course the Monkeys that will tamper. A donated "stick welder" this week, is in the process of being put right.. The mains cable had a section wrapped in duct tape? One could guess why? It has a ten amp plug & the cable in not original.

Clearly when there is a plate on it saying it can draw 13.5A 240V. So clearly with deep burn holes through the cable sheath into the core & the wrong plug: It is little wonder we get regulations. However lets "get real", regulations are never going to stop the morons that do this sort of thing.

Sending a scan of my licence to Brad which is self explanatory of what I can and can't do under Queensland Electrical Safety regulations.
I am not allowed to perform CPR to the public due to the fact that my replacement knee and hip restrict my movements.
Started another repair today, sending a photo of how the lead was restrained.

A restricted work licence is sometimes called 'disconnect-reconnect' and is handy for plumbers when exchanging electric hot water services. It was once known in NSW as a B-Grade licence. A C-Grade licence was brought in for apprentices and trainees for a short time and then abolished due to being labelled a revenue raising measure. The A-Grade licence was, of course, for tradesmen. Other states have/had similar categories but sometimes refer to them differently.

I had a "C-class" in Qld. (probably would have got me off the hook if caught doing something with mains?) There was never any prompting for renewal (maybe due to poor registration records or change of address?)

My A-Grade licence (now called a Qualified Supervisor's Certificate by some bumbling bureaucrat) is a life licence though they send out a replacement card every three or four years. Where it hurts me is Contractor Licence renewal. $230 thankyou and that is yearly.

I know it's taboo but why not solder the earth directly to the Chassis? My scope iron will handle chassis soldering with ease. Is it because a lot of people do not have the skills to do such soldering?
I quite often bolt the wire to the Chassis and then solder the bolt and the crimp.

There seems to be some sort of political correctness against soldering these days. No longer do we see soldering of earth bonds in domestic meter boxes or to protect bonds to water pipes from the weather. The funny thing is that these bonds are painted now. Oddly enough, a painted earth bond does not last as long as doing things the old way. Some electricians also seem to have a problem with tightening screws on BP connectors or line clamps sufficiently so the connection doesn't work loose over time. Soldering solves all these problems but one cannot fight city hall, as they say on the telly.

"I know it's taboo but why not solder the earth directly to the Chassis?"

Dry joints, expansion - compression due heat & cold, that was the explanation given by the inspector when I raised the same question.

I've always assumed it is because a soldered joint could be softened or melted by a fault current allowing the joint to come adrift and removing the earth protection.

For a radio, if it is suspected that an imperfect screw, nut and star washer earth is suspected of causing interference, use a soldered earth as well.

As far as house earths go, mine, which went in in 2004, consists of a copper sheathed steel rod with the specified connector for the earth wire all painted over with zinc paint. The rod is now all gone to rust, but the joint area look OK being protected by the zinc paint. I can't detect any voltage at all across the joint between earth wire and rod despite earth currents which are said to exist in domestic installations. So I assume it is still good.

One of the things I often do with an eye terminal in a set is to solder it once crimped. that part will never corrode within the terminal & lose conduction.

These people often do not realise that whist it makes life hard to separate if you over solder; bundled wire will never arc, if it is soldered at the tip and encased with a cap.

Marc

I think the idea is that not to rely on solder for mechanical strength.
Hence the bolt, crimping and star washer for correct earthing.
The original instigators and engineers did know what they were talking about .
Contrary to the many qualified and experienced servicemen opinions.
JJ

At the end of the day it is only as strong as the wire and it will break. The wire beaks normally happen when the cable clamping is inferior & that's not all that uncommon. As said when you see a lot of stuff you see a lot of faults.

Photos uploaded to Post 19.

I like how the QLD Government spells 'requirement'.