# Some electrical pictures from Greece and Croatia



## Joe Tedesco (Mar 25, 2007)

I saw hardly any conduit, and the services were all run along the buildings and used cables of a type I did not recognize. 

I believe its a 230 volt system.

They use open splices, and I saw no covering?

I have more pictures. I just got in and need to catch up on sleep because of the 6 hr difference.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Those sure are some weird weatherheads. 

I recognize the taps in the first picture as Blackburn IPC's, but none of the other stuff looks famaliar. The second pic looks like ENT with a plumbing tee in it.


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## Joe Tedesco (Mar 25, 2007)

*Receptacles on the cruise ship*

No violations here, except the way some say how the _grounding terminal_ should be - "UP or DOWN" :laughing: 

I wonder if each single receptacle was on an individual 20 amp circuit?


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Joe Tedesco said:


> I wonder if each single receptacle was on an individual 20 amp circuit?


I was about to say that I suppose you could have tripped one to see if the other one went out. Then, I remembered those first pics and though maybe that wasn't such a good idea. If they don't use junction boxes, they might not use fuses or breakers either. :no:


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## Joe Tedesco (Mar 25, 2007)

*OC Devices*



MDShunk said:


> I was about to say that I suppose you could have tripped one to see if the other one went out. Then, I remembered those first pics and though maybe that wasn't such a good idea. If they don't use junction boxes, they might not use fuses or breakers either. :no:


I believe that the ship had similar enclosures like this one, but this open cabinet was found in a parking lot, and was without GFCI protection? :001_huh:


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## JohnJ0906 (Jan 22, 2007)

Joe, please don't tell us you spent your whole vacation looking at electrical stuff!:no: 

I'm sure (I hope!) you took some great pictures of the sights that you could post in Off Topic! :thumbup:


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

JohnJ0906 said:


> Joe, please don't tell us you spent your whole vacation looking at electrical stuff!:no:


I probably would have :laughing: 

I can't even go into a store without looking up all the time, gawking at the fixtuers and conduit runs in the bar joists. When I was school aged, I was on the school's debate team. When we visited other schools for debate meets, I'd look for the boiler rooms and mechanical rooms between sessions to look at all the neat stuff. It's a disease, I believe.


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## Joe Tedesco (Mar 25, 2007)

*Yes, I did*



JohnJ0906 said:


> Joe, please don't tell us you spent your whole vacation looking at electrical stuff!:no:
> 
> I'm sure (I hope!) you took some great pictures of the sights that you could post in Off Topic! :thumbup:


John:

Yes, I did, and I will post many, but the others posted here were in between stops, and while on tours. 

My wife told me not to take any pictures people there because she was afraid that I would get in trouble. :laughing: 

Marc:

A sickness it is for sure, and gets me in trouble from time to time, but I will not stop, especially with the 4 GB card I have now. :thumbup:


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## JohnJ0906 (Jan 22, 2007)

I thought I was nuts with a 1 Gb card!:laughing: 

Marc, Joe, I do the same thing. Marla and I took the kids for sno-balls last night, and I'm looking at stuff and muttering, "Shoulda brought the camera..."

I even took a picture of something at my sister's wedding reception! :whistling2:


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## frank (Feb 6, 2007)

We get to continental europe quite often. Apart from France/Germany/Italy and the Scandinavian countries we never get in a bath tub. If you had seen some of the stuff I have seen too (Joes great photo,s are just the tip) you wouldn,t bathe either


Frank


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## Pierre Belarge (Feb 3, 2007)

I was in the waiting room at the hospital, waiting for my Father to come out of the emergency room, and I saw a violation in the ceiling...I whipped out my trusty camera and took pictures. My family was mortified - I have the photos :thumbsup: My smaller camera is on my belt next to my phone every day. That is how I get some great pics, today I took around 70 pics, a slow day.

BTW: my father survived that hospital trip.:thumbup:


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## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

I had some incredible pictures of electrical systems in China, Inuit homes in Alaska with meters mounted on 4X4s next to sod dug out huts., and HV cables laying in the gutter in NY city, blow ups, LOST THEM due to hard drive crash.


BACK UP, Back up, back up and lastly BACK UP.


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## frenchelectrican (Mar 15, 2007)

Joe T;.. I guess you knew I used to live in France before so i can tell the wire colours code right off the bat as you see one photo the bleu wire that is netural. the green with yellow stripe that is grounding wire aka green or bare wire here in thier place they called "earth " 

for hot conductors they did change the colour code few time over the years so it get pretty instering with it. If i rember Greece system the black is hot but not sure if that was on old colour code or they went to brown as modern colour code.

http://www.electrical-contractor.ne.../ubb/showflat/Number/148731/page/1#Post148731

that link will show the international color code but keep in your mind it might change senice this was typed quite few years back so i am not sure if it was updated or not 

Merci , Marc


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## Joe Tedesco (Mar 25, 2007)

*Color Code*



frenchelectrican said:


> Joe T;.. I guess you knew I used to live in France before so i can tell the wire colours code right off the bat as you see one photo the bleu wire that is netural. the green with yellow stripe that is grounding wire aka green or bare wire here in thier place they called "earth "
> 
> for hot conductors they did change the colour code few time over the years so it get pretty instering with it. If i rember Greece system the black is hot but not sure if that was on old colour code or they went to brown as modern colour code.
> 
> ...


Thanks Marc: 

Here's a picture with the colors I saw, Brown; Black; Blue; Green/Yellow.


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## frank (Feb 6, 2007)

Frenchelectrician

All European Union Countries are supposed to have a harmonised colour code wiring system

Single Phase Live/Brown
Neutral/Blue
Earth/Green-yellow.

Multiphase Phase1 Black
Phase 2 Grey
Phase 3 Brown.

This is a supposed improvement from Red/Yellow/Blue. Crazy beurocrats at it again


Frank


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## frenchelectrican (Mar 15, 2007)

> Frank
> This is a supposed improvement from Red/Yellow/Blue. Crazy beurocrats at it again


 Frank ya better belive it i know it pretty insane as well in our old french electrical system as well 

here is the French colour system is (Old System)

Phase 1: Green (Vert),
Phase 2: Yellow (Jaune),
Phase 3: Brown (Marron),
Neutral: Grey (Gris),
Earth: White (Blanc)

According to a reference, the old French color code used up until 1970 and was:

Phase = Green
Neutral = Red
Earth = White or Gray

Current French Standard:

Phase A: Black (Noir),
Phase B: Red (Rouge),
Phase C: Brown (Marron),
Neurtal: Blue (Bleu),
Ground: Green / Yellow (Vert/Jaune)


Now you know why i got a habit always test the voltage first place and dont really trust the wire colour at all. that the main reason it really throw your mind right off the  wall 

Merci , Marc


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

frenchelectrican said:


> According to a reference, the old French color code used up until 1970 and was:
> 
> Phase = Green
> Neutral = Red
> Earth = White or Gray


Holy smokes! It probably wouldn't be a good idea for a US electrician to start to work in an older section of France, then. He'd be killed, just from old habits.  Green for a phase conductor... whew!


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## frenchelectrican (Mar 15, 2007)

Yep, I did work on older section and tell ya the truth it was hairrasing event and when i move to USA it was rather hair rasing for a min until i got used to the USA colour code but one of the electrician from France gave me a stern lesson always carry your tester and test and test the voltage no matter what wire colour it is!! 

after that it was not too bad once i get a habit to test it first it did payoff more than once because i get some machines from european area and they have oddball wire colour and one electrician have to called me in to get this unit hook up right that why i keep a note pad it was written what common colour codes from each area it come from so i can wire it up quick 

Merci, Marc


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

I do prefer the way many European machine prints read left to right, instead of top to bottom like North American ladder diagrams do.


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