(Qualified) Electrician / plumbing courses in Sydney

[Cherry Pro]

Hi

Hubby is in advertising and has always enjoyed doing things around the house and can do a lot of handyman type of jobs.

During our recent reno, we found that we paid $780 to an electrician for about 2.5 hours of work that involved fitting in a new rangehood, cooktop and oven, replacing 3 exterior lights and 2 room ceiling lights. This was in the Campbelltown area.

At home, he's always changed light fittings on himself, has repaired our dishwasher, washing m/c and rangehood without any formal qualifications.

Was thinking maybe a short electrical course is what he could do to get him qualified and while I did a google search, could not find anything suitable.

Can someone recommend a part-time or weekend course that would enable him to become a licenced electrician ? Is there something that could cover plumbing as well.

Thanks

 

[stumunro]

He will need to get a full time job as an apprentice, go to tafe one day a week and complete 3 years at tafe plus a year on top to achieve a Journeymans ticket. Then 2 years of advance courses at nite to obtain full licensing.

Do this for one trade, then repear for the other.

Good luck

 

[Cherry Pro]

Thanks stumunro ...thought he could get away with doing a weekend /
weeknight course.

Possibly suitable for someone considering a career change but for someone wanting to do a bit on the side, 5 years is pretty intensive.

No wonder electricians charge so much !

 

[gcad]

Short answer: No. I'd elaborate but I'm a little offended by the suggestion that someone can do my job with 2 days training.

 

[Gee Cee]

I did my electrical apprenticeship with what is now Integral energy.
3 years of Tech.
4 years of training. Then extra courses in house and with Tech and other places.
Worked my way up to Technichan then got a position on 24/7 emergency service covering everything from no lights in a home to electrocutions to minor street area blackouts to major blackouts that cover the 132000volt network.
Similar to what Sydney has just experienced.
It is not a weekend course.

The biggest problem I found at electrical accidents is that people think it is all so simple
Just hook up the green the red and the brown and it works. My Father in law thought the same and i had to almost re-wire his house

It may work. Nut it may have the potential to liven up all your taps. Overload the place and burn it down. Or easily kill a number of people.

I recall a electricution of a child touching a tap. The home handyman crossed the neutral and earth. It all worked OK.
Even though the outside tap was alive

If you went to a Doctor and he had a months training what would you think?

 

[craigb]

No OFFENCE Cherry, and you did'nt know , buts thats realy funny i have tears thanks for the giggles,

I am a builder and a mate said he could get his class c builders lic in tafe in 8 wks, LOL.

 

[GreatPig]

The home handyman crossed the neutral and earth. It all worked OK.
Even though the outside tap was alive

Can you explain how swapping earth and neutral can make a tap live?

GP

 

[gcad]

Can you explain how swapping earth and neutral can make a tap live?

GP

If the installation is maintained correctly then ordinarly it wouldn't be live. If the MEN link or main neutral conductor have high resistance then current will flow to the installation's earth as opposed to returning to the supply transformer. With the addition of a swapped neutral for earth, this scenario becomes deadly because you have the entire load's current flowing to earth and it is not returning to the supply transformer therefore you have a voltage potential at the installation's earth. As the tap is connected to the installation's earth via means of equipotential bond, you now have a tap with a voltage potential.

 

[Horizon]

I started my working life similar to Gee Cee above with an electricity utility, working as an apprentice during the day and studying at Uni part time for my elec eng qualifications. Luckily the latter allowed me to move away from that dangerous electricity stuff. Can't say I miss being up poles in SE Qld storms or digging earth grid trenches for weeks at a time

As the tap is connected to the installation's earth via means of equipotential bond, you now have a tap with a voltage potential.

I worked with one old timer elec inspector, who used to reverse the polarity on a new home, disconnect (simulate fault) the MEN, and then show how all taps were now live in a home.

We also went to investigate accidents, shocks and tingles reported as saw some scary electrical work!

Cheers,
Horizon

 

[Big Tone]

Hi

Hubby is in advertising and has always enjoyed doing things around the house and can do a lot of handyman type of jobs.

During our recent reno, we found that we paid $780 to an electrician for about 2.5 hours of work that involved fitting in a new rangehood, cooktop and oven, replacing 3 exterior lights and 2 room ceiling lights. This was in the Campbelltown area.

At home, he's always changed light fittings on himself, has repaired our dishwasher, washing m/c and rangehood without any formal qualifications.

Was thinking maybe a short electrical course is what he could do to get him qualified and while I did a google search, could not find anything suitable.

Can someone recommend a part-time or weekend course that would enable him to become a licenced electrician ? Is there something that could cover plumbing as well.

Thanks

Try OTEN

It is a distance learning course (study from home at your own pace) but as others have said it will take a few years with a few years of experience required as well to get ticketed!!

Big Tone

 

[evand]

You got it in one gacad. Its not just the reversed polarity itself. But if combined with a HR (high resistance) neutral will become DEADLY.

As the taps (earth) become the return path for the supply instead of the neutral.

When i meet someone who does a little bit of electrical work at home and says 'i'm an electrician' i ask if they know how to do a simple 2 way switching setup. (like a hallway with a switch at each end for a central light fitting) if they say no, i say 'its 2nd year apprentice stuff' so you should keep away from electricity. Its happened to me a few times.

Then again i've been belted a few times. One serious one. I suppose every sparkie has. I say it makes you respect it, if you didnt cop a couple you'd get too complacent.

Years ago i finished my eelctrical apprenticeship then studied 3 years of an electronics engineering degree. In the 3rd year i relasied i was setting myself up to be an emplyee so i left and worked for myself and have never looked back. Have never work for anyone else in 20 years.

If the installation is maintained correctly then ordinarly it wouldn't be live. If the MEN link or main neutral conductor have high resistance then current will flow to the installation's earth as opposed to returning to the supply transformer. With the addition of a swapped neutral for earth, this scenario becomes deadly because you have the entire load's current flowing to earth and it is not returning to the supply transformer therefore you have a voltage potential at the installation's earth. As the tap is connected to the installation's earth via means of equipotential bond, you now have a tap with a voltage potential.

 

[BoatBoy]

And idiots on "other" forums would have us believe that tradies should be payed less because we are apparently all dumb or not as smart as those code writers or someone who studied economics

Well, all I can say is you're not going to die because the latest playstation game isnt up to scratch or you made a poor economic decision, though I think you will if a building falls down on you or your dodgy electical work fries you or your poorly built boat self destructs under you.

They forget that we have to jump through as many hoops if not more to get the bucks.

Dave

 

[csc]

thats the funniest question i have ever seen online.



how to become an electrician in two days....get your TAFE enrolment course now!!

my god! someone stop the tears rolling down my eyes.....

how do people survive in this world is something i often wonder???

you poor pet!

that is an hillarious question..............

next: how to become an astronaut in 24 hours??

im sorry, i cant help but laugh at this initial thread post...

 

[Cherry Pro]

Thanks all for the wealth of information.

I didn't mean to demean or offend anyone.

And nowhere did I ask whether "it could be done in 2 days" ... I thought a weekend/weeknight course for over a year / couple of years would be the norm but now I know better.

PS : Am glad I brought on a few laughs at least !!!

 

[willair]

Hi

Hubby is in advertising and has always enjoyed doing things around the house and can do a lot of handyman type of jobs.

During our recent reno, we found that we paid $780 to an electrician for about 2.5 hours of work that involved fitting in a new rangehood, cooktop and oven, replacing 3 exterior lights and 2 room ceiling lights. This was in the Campbelltown area.

At home, he's always changed light fittings on himself, has repaired our dishwasher, washing m/c and rangehood without any formal qualifications.

Was thinking maybe a short electrical course is what he could do to get him qualified and while I did a google search, could not find anything suitable.

Can someone recommend a part-time or weekend course that would enable him to become a licenced electrician ? Is there something that could cover plumbing as well.

Thanks

It took me six years to be able to work as a plumber,4 years then about 2 to get licensed to work as a small business,there are a lot of unlicensedplumbers out there that do work but just the basic stuff ,that does not get passed by the local council,as for the sparky side i always employ a licenced sparky i have been thrown against several walls in my working time as a result of dodgy elec work,it's bad enough getting the shockand trying to break your hand from the live wires, then as you get smashed into the wall,then you have to fix the wallsort of stays in your mind for a long time..
imho willair..
http://www.pic.vic.gov.au/www/html/208-use-a-licensed-plumber.asp
http://www.masterplumbers.com.au/

 

[Gee Cee]

Almost fried by live H/W system

I had a incident where i nearly got fried.
Old home . Changing Hot water system. Isolated H/W circuit at main board. tested with test lamps and neon tester at H/W system. All dead.

Disconnected active and neutral.
Then as i pulled the earth connection off the tank there was a big flash and ark.
The lady inside came out and asked why I had turned off the whole house.

I Found neutral connection burnt off at the point of attachment.
The Main earth broken at earth stake. burnt off bond between waterpipe & earth stake.
So supply for the whole house was coming back from MEN at switchboard along the tiny earthwire to the H/W system. Then finding its way back to supply transformer through the water pipes.

Luckily I had used a pair of insulated pliers when i removed the earth connection from the H/W tank

 

[BoatBoy]

I had a incident where i nearly got fried.

Shocking

Dave

 

[craigb]

thats the funniest question i have ever seen online.



how to become an electrician in two days....get your TAFE enrolment course now!!

my god! someone stop the tears rolling down my eyes.....

how do people survive in this world is something i often wonder???

you poor pet!

that is an hillarious question..............

next: how to become an astronaut in 24 hours??

im sorry, i cant help but laugh at this initial thread post...

i find this so funny that i re-read the furum and i still grinned and tears came , thanks no offence you did not know but very funny.

 

[handyandy]

We have just uncovered a whole lot of "handyman" electrical work that was done some time in the past when these units were initially updated.

At that time they obviously decided that two lights were better than the one central light in the bathroom. So they simply wired from the central light to two new bayonet fittings about 800mm each way from the old fitting and simply shoved the old fitting up into the ceiling cavity

They must have also decided to move the power point in the bathroom and also put a wall light in. This was so they could put some sort of vanity mirror in without interference from the power point. We found that they had simply made the shallowest of trenches to take the cable to the new light and had embedded the old power point in the wall and 'cemented' over the taped connections including the new side connection to the new power point.

The whole wiring job in this block of units is very ordinary but this little add on beats it all. (So far we have found this 'modification ' in 4 bathrooms.)

One of the reason we are actually renovating these bathrooms again is that they hadn't fixed any of the leaking problems that are prevalent in 30 year old units - ala no waterproofing. But I digress.

Cheers

 

[craigb]

I once apon a time had a buiss partner, in construction , this ended abruptly.
He now runs a property maintenence buissenes "building training nill" another aquaintence told me he needed to move the Point of attachment to get a truss on so without waiting for a q/sparky. he cut the wires while they were live.
NASTY NASTY STUFF!
ask for quals when your paying a tradie, only those with nill quals will be offended, so this q might save you lots of issues in the future.