Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems This week's Top Tip!

Gents, I contacted Mark at the Missing Link for advice on connection of several Ref Suppliers wrt direct earth. Here's the reply:
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Hi George,
Hope you are well , your own technical earth is highly recommended to get the best performance from the reference supplier.. The key to separate technical earthing is to use one point only so if running 2x suppliers the correct way is to earth the second supplier to the first via the binding posts this way they both share the same spike and keep the impedance to a minimum the 10mm2 is perfect to make your own link lead if you were to add a third Ref Supplier it would again be Earthed to the first ( not the second) .. The other way is to run a separate 10mm2 earth from each supplier to the same external spike... Glad you are using it to best effect look forward to hearing from you soon
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The only downside of this at present is throwing the cable out of the window!

By the way, Mrs Meridian says I have permission to add any number of upgrades I choose as long as they are all at this price!

Cheers

George

Soory if I'm being dim - the screw terminal in the rear *of* the wall sockets, or from the rear of the kit? (Assuming there are grounding posts)

All wall sockets have an earthing point on their rear, so you'd need to unscrew it from the wall, see if it's the pathetic small screw terminal, or the integral screw recess built into the rear assmbly (better makes like MK use this). If this sounds overly complicated, don't worry, it will be readily apparent when you look at the rear. The anchor point for the yellow/green wire is what you're after! DO REMEMBER TO TURN OFF ALL YOUR MAINS POWER AT THE SWITCHBOARD FIRST THOUGH !!!

Cheers

George

George, I seem to remember that the earch should go to a spike driven about 4 feet into the ground and, as pointed out above, kept wet during the summer. I bet Mrs M will want to sign off the planning application for the spike and the summer maintenance plan.....

Cheers,
Steve

OK - this sounds like a weekend job then when I have the wife to drive me to hospital.

Last time I was fitting strip lights in my loft I electrocuted myself twice within about 5 minutes in the same manner. (Not the sharpest tool in the box).

I got past the sceptical inertia when I read the Russ Andrews downloadable a few years back regarding clean power etc.

http://www.russandrews.com/
(I'd post the whole link but it only works if you register with the site ...it's free though)

I did the seperate consumer unit bit last year and this year got as far as buying the copper earth spike. This seems a better idea than just sinking a wire into the ground as it probably gets to the moist soil easier during summer and makes for better contact.

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=101343&ts=47353&id=13335

As you can see, the costs of one of these won't break the project budget either.

I haven't figured out a) where to sink it outside, b) where to exit the house (through a window is not an option, but drilling a wall hole is OK), and c) which socket or ring to connect it to.

My bro-in-law did the same last year at his place and found a definite improvement in SQ. It may depend on how effective your native earthing is.

Now this is the sort of thing we'd end up discussing over a beer or three at the M customer club meeting, don't you think

ps....don't forget that in the UK, the local planning regs say that all new domestic electrical installations have to be approved and certified. Not sure if an earth spike is included in this ruling though.

Don't do it, you'll probably drive the earth rod straight through the gas pipe and then you would need to be Corgi registed to fix that.

I wouldn`t recommend doing the separate earth via the earth rod system if the earth supplied by the electricity company is a Protective Multiple Earthing (PME),

http://www.rsgb.org.uk/emc/emcwebsite/leaflets/emc7protectivemultipleearthingmembers.pdf

With a (PME) the Earth is at the same potential as the neutral, so in effect you could be putting a fault on the circuit and this could trip your (RCD) residual current device if you have one.

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Book/5.6.1.htm

You could always plug the leak in the gas pipe by attaching the earth cable to it...the water pipe may be a safer alternative.

Actually, I guess these pipes are plastic now so it may not be such a good idea.