Dish fed to neighbouring apartment

I live in a Victorian house which was converted into four apartments. Yesterday a new tenant moved into the one below me.

Today I came home from work to find that the two spare outputs on my dish have been used to feed her apartment. I wouldn't mind only that I know that this can be extremely dangerous. I don't know if each apartment is on a different phase or not, all I know is that there are separate meters for each apartment.

Can anyone advise me on what I should do? I'm not so sure if it's something I should ignore due to the potential fire risk.

MrFrisp

In what way is it dangerous??

She only got two feed as she either got multi-room (Unlikely),,or has got Sky +.

I don't see how 2 cable feeds into an apartment can cause a fire.





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See here and here.

DeroK

Hi There. Surely, the simple thing to do is unplug her cables?

MrFrisp

Karsini wrote: »

See here and here.

The chances of that is fairly small I'd think...

@DeroK .... I don't think she can simply unplug them...The girl may be paying a subscription service.

If you simply unplug them,,you are leaving that girl without a service that she is still paying for.




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TheDriver

Karsini wrote: »

two spare outputs on my dish .

Straight away I assume she is using your equipment? So who installed her sub and didn't bother with the dish? Who is the management company?

2rkehij30qtza5

Has the OP paid for the dish? Is it his dish purely or one for the block?
If its the OP's dish, then what the new tenant has done is very rude. She could at least have asked. I would unplug if that's the case.

MrFrisp

Haylee Fast Cruiser wrote: »

Has the OP paid for the dish? Is it his dish purely or one for the block?
If its the OP's dish, then what the new tenant has done is very rude. She could at least have asked. I would unplug if that's the case.

Agreed.....If done without permission,,and equipment don't belong to her.






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TheDriver

TheDriver wrote: »

Straight away I assume she is using your equipment? So who installed her sub and didn't bother with the dish? Who is the management company?

No management company, just a private landlord - as I said it's literally a house that was converted into apartments. When I moved in there was an unused dish on the outside wall which I used to subscribe to Sky. The other two apartments have UPC. I'm not bothered about her using the two outputs in principle, I'm just worried about the safety aspect.

I literally just noticed this today so I've no idea who installed it but I figure she didn't do it herself.

Johnboy1951

Today I came home from work to find that the two spare outputs on my dish have been used to feed her apartment

The main point is ..... who owns the dish ..... is it your personal property?

If it is, then disconnect the cables, and inform the new tenant that the dish is your property so if she wishes to have Satellite she needs to get her own dish and her installer should be able to supply one.

If the dish is not your property ......

Johnboy1951

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

The main point is ..... who owns the dish ..... is it your personal property?

If it is, then disconnect the cables, and inform the new tenant that the dish is your property so if she wishes to have Satellite she needs to get her own dish and her installer should be able to supply one.

If the dish is not your property ......

Well it's not my property per se, it was on the apartment when I moved in but had no cables attached.

2rkehij30qtza5

Karsini wrote: »

Well it's not my property per se, it was on the apartment when I moved in but had no cables attached.

Then she is only doing what you are also doing!!! Although my guess is she doesn't know this..and still might be connected to what she thinks is "your" dish..which would be rude if that were the case. But you are both doing the same thing...connecting into a dish that you didn't get installed or pay for!

Haylee Fast Cruiser

Haylee Fast Cruiser wrote: »

Then she is only doing what you are also doing!!! Although my guess is she doesn't know this..and still might be connected to what she thinks is "your" dish..which would be rude if that were the case. But you are both doing the same thing...connecting into a dish that you didn't get installed or pay for!

That's not the point, I got permission from the landlord to do it. The point is that connecting two separate buildings to one dish can be a fire and insurance hazard. I just don't know if what I have is considered to be "two separate buildings" or "different phases."

Tony

The most important thing here s the safety risk regarless of who owns ths dish , unless both apartments are bonded to a common earth there are safety implications.

2rkehij30qtza5

Karsini wrote: »

Haylee Fast Cruiser wrote: »

Then she is only doing what you are also doing!!! Although my guess is she doesn't know this..and still might be connected to what she thinks is "your" dish..which would be rude if that were the case. But you are both doing the same thing...connecting into a dish that you didn't get installed or pay for!

That's not the point, I got permission from the landlord to do it. The point is that connecting two separate buildings to one dish can be a fire and insurance hazard. I just don't know if what I have is considered to be "two separate buildings" or "different phases."

Well if you got permission from the landlord then it was his..which means it is your to use for as long as you rent from him. So she shouldn't have connected without same permission. So I'd unplug.

watty

There is serious electric shock risk / damage to satellite receiver risk. It needs special barrier panel with its own earth or it is unsafe and contravenes wiring regulations for Multi-dwelling installs.

If I didn't know better then I wouldn't care in the slightest, it wouldn't bother me that she's using the two extra outputs on the LNB. That's not what I'm getting at, so ownership of the dish isn't the point.

Since it's a conversion of an old house, is it possible that the house actually just has one supply divided in four rather than four separate supplies? It does have four separate meters though.

Tony

Karsini wrote: »

It does have four separate meters though.

and probably 4 fuseboards with 4 earths which is the problem.

Tony

Tony wrote: »

and probably 4 fuseboards with 4 earths which is the problem.

Yeah that's correct. Certainly 4 fuseboards as I have my own personal one.

SalteeDog

I guess you need to have a word with the landlord.

chainsawman

Cheeky.... I would unplug it if I were you.... Not nice to set it up without asking you. Landlord probably gives a go ahead.. If he/she did that, Ask the Landlord for the contributions..

jhegarty

chainsawman wrote: »

Cheeky.... I would unplug it if I were you.... Not nice to set it up without asking you. Landlord probably gives a go ahead.. If he/she did that, Ask the Landlord for the contributions..

But the op doesn't own the dish any more than the new tenant does.

Tony

Guys how is the ownership of the dish even relevant if theres a risk of electric shock ? Think we need to get real here, it needs to be made safe as a matter of urgency

Gerry Wicklow

As has been pointed out several times already, regardless of who owns the dish, it is very dangerous from an electrical point of view. I have seen houses burnt down from this kind of thing.

chainsawman

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

As has been pointed out several times already, regardless of who owns the dish, it is very dangerous from an electrical point of view. I have seen houses burnt down from this kind of thing.

Really !!!! How's that ? I have Sat Dish myself with three TVs connected to it, Is that Dangerous ?

watty

Not when they are in the same house.

Sam Russell

In a single dwelling, there is a single earth. Different dwellings have different earths, and if served by different phases, there can be 440V (in the UK) which can be dangerous.

The lack of earth bonding is the problem, to make sure that stray voltages do not appear. I have seen equipment have 350V appear on the neutral through lack of proper earth - caused by a fault in the local sub-station. In the case I was involved in, a fire was narrowly averted, but much smoke. It is very serious if the house is fed by different phases.

Despite the people taking pot shots at me for no decent reason I'll continue.

I called an electrician friend of mine who said there might be a common earth for all four apartments, due to the way the house is built. So I said I'd check myself as I have access to the meters for billing purposes. There is a junction box with four earths going in and only one coming out. So he might be right but I don't know enough about this to say for certain.

I'm going away for 5 days from tomorrow. To play it safe I think I'll disconnect the Sky box from the dish, even though I could miss the Picasso EPG update by doing so.

I'll certainly have a chat with the landlord though.

STB

Karsini wrote: »

Despite the people taking pot shots at me for no decent reason I'll continue.

I called an electrician friend of mine who said there might be a common earth for all four apartments, due to the way the house is built. So I said I'd check myself as I have access to the meters for billing purposes. There is a junction box with four earths going in and only one coming out. So he might be right but I don't know enough about this to say for certain.

I'm going away for 5 days from tomorrow. To play it safe I think I'll disconnect the Sky box from the dish, even though I could miss the Picasso EPG update by doing so.

I'll certainly have a chat with the landlord though.

The people taking pot shots dont know what they are talking about and belong in the after hours forum. They are missing the point which is about the risk factor.

It is highly likely that the earth is common to all, correctly configured and will most likely be okay. If not then his house/landlord insurance wont be worth a curse.

I would be more concerned about the who did the "install" to the extra apartment.

Tony

STB wrote: »

It is highly likely that the earth is common to all,

I'm pretty sure it most unlikely given most of the converted houses I've seen so far , electricians tend to earth to the nearest pipe or separate earth rod rather than run earths back to a common bonding point.

Johnboy1951

Tony wrote: »

Guys how is the ownership of the dish even relevant if theres a risk of electric shock ? Think we need to get real here, it needs to be made safe as a matter of urgency

The ownership of the dish was very important in determining what action could be taken.

If it was owned by Karsini then an IMMEDIATE solution was to unplug the new cables from the dish and thus avoid any electrical problems.

As the dish is not personal property a different course of action must be taken, and suitable precautions put in place to avoid problems.

@Karsini
yes do unplug those cables from your STB while away.
As soon as possible have your discussion with the building manager about the situation.
It is potentially a hazard ...... and needs to be rectified or confirmed as safe.

Tony

Nonsense, the only proper action to be taken is to immediately remove the danger. The matter of who owns the dish will fade very quickly if someone gets an electric shock.

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

The ownership of the dish was very important in determining what action could be taken.

Johnboy1951

The ownership of the dish was very important in determining what action could be taken.

Tony wrote: »

Nonsense, the only proper action to be taken is to immediately remove the danger. The matter of who owns the dish will fade very quickly if someone gets an electric shock.

What is nonsense is your post quoted above ...... nonsense in that it does not in any way address the excerpt you quoted of my post.

If you are going to quote me, then at least address the point made in the quote ..... ownership affects the actions that can be legally taken to address the situation.

If you don't believe it then try interfering with my dish and connections sometime.

Tony

Your post is right above for all to see so its difficult to see how you did not know I was addressing your post .

Perhaps you would like to form a commitee to write a report on whether the OP should take any action or not . Fact is he was connected to the dish himself and I've no intention of going near yours (why you bring this to the discussion is beyond me)

If someone became injured as a result of a electric shock I doubt your pedantic view would hold much sway . I see little point in responding futher

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

What is nonsense is your post quoted above ...... nonsense in that it does not in any way address the excerpt you quoted of my post.

If you are going to quote me, then at least address the point made in the quote ..... ownership affects the actions that can be legally taken to address the situation.

If you don't believe it then try interfering with my dish and connections sometime.

bk

Ok guys, thanks, the question has been answered, closing this thread.