Sparky Ninja and the ninja's apprentice talk electrical shop.
Two Daves, one of them known as Sparky Ninja, start by comparing their working weeks and then follow the technical questions those weeks raised. Expect Guidance Note tables, cable derating shortcuts, EICR judgment calls and talk about getting a group through the 2396 exam.
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SparkyNinja is two Daves talking about electrical work the way colleagues do once they finally find an hour to sit down together. One is David, known as Sparky Ninja. The other is David Bettridge, who introduces himself as the ninja's apprentice. According to Sparky Ninja, the apprentice now gets mistaken for him on Facebook, because he is the more active of the two at helping people there. By their own description, each conversation starts with what they have been doing that week. Those catch-ups carry working detail: emergency generator designs, a ferry to Northern Ireland to deliver three days of training at the Electrical Training Trust in Ballymena, and a 2396 week with a group crunching calculations as exams approach. Then the questions turn specific. On EICRs, the pair set Guidance Note 3's full-extent expectation, where no previous records exist, against the cost of dismantling and downtime for the client. On EV charging, one of them explains why open PEN protection built into a charger runs up against clause 8.4 of 61851, and why so few manufacturers mention it. On derating, a page of operating-temperature maths gets reduced to a single ratio and then proved both ways. Questions also come in from a Discord group, such as the point at which an insulation resistance reading on an EICR deserves further investigation. The titles show how wide the range runs. '86: Battery Storage, Safe Isolation, 2396 and Duty Holder Audits' and '83: Site visits, cable bending, DNC update, Solar, Surge protection, Heat pumps' each list several subjects at once. Training is more than a topic here. One of the pair describes himself as a consultant and training provider who relies on close colleagues to bounce ideas off, and he likes being able to email the ECA for technical answers. There is also a pointed case that the legislation section at the start of every course, usually treated as the boring bit, is what lets an electrician defend themselves in court and say yes or no to certain jobs. Competence comes up too, prompted by a separate contractor at a new job one of them has taken on. The pace is loose. Tangents get followed, and the back-and-forth between the two stays friendly throughout. Near the end of one episode they mention focusing on design ahead of a December exam, and they ask for topic requests through the comments and their socials. What a listener gets is the reasoning behind a call, not just the call.
Made for: Suits an electrician or trainee who wants inspection, testing and design questions argued through in plain conversation, particularly someone preparing for the 2396 exam or weighing how far an EICR should go.
What sets it apart: Rather than a scripted lesson, it pairs catch-ups on what the two have been working on with the exact references behind each call: Guidance Note 3 tables, clause 8.4 of 61851, and a derating ratio checked against the full equation.
Welcome to podcast for the SparkyNinja project. Here we will talk about all things electrical from industry to training and social interactions.
One megohm on an EICR becomes the awkward call you want Dave and Dave to talk through.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A candid catch-up connects training rules with competence, behavior, and responsibility on site.
Two hosts use a loose catch-up to look at how training, legislation, and site decisions shape competence. The discussion moves from a new job and 4am starts into apprenticeships, the parts of training people tend to write off as dull, and the practical value of knowing rules…
A grounded Saturday catch-up on generator design, technical backup and the professional step up around 2396.
SparkyNinja's Saturday catch-up follows the two Daves through the practical judgement calls behind emergency backup generator design for sprinkler pump houses in Scottish high-rise blocks of flats.
A grounded electrical discussion about simplifying calculations while keeping installation conditions in view.
SparkyNinja makes electrical practice feel like a working conversation, moving from David Bettridge's ferry trip to Northern Ireland and three days of training at the Electrical Training Trust in Ballymena into surge protection, derating, temporary installation questions, pack…
A practical look at when electrical testing should be full, risk-led, or scheduled more often.
Electrical inspection is treated here as a judgment call, especially when a full test would mean taking an installation apart and causing serious downtime.
A grounded discussion of site checks, training pressure, and open-PEN compliance questions.
Dave and Dave open on the working week around the tools: 2396 practice, exams on the horizon, warmer weather, and site visits for upcoming jobs.
A practical look at how internal wiring shapes lightning protection risk decisions.
SparkyNinja's fourth conversation with Sean Patton keeps lightning protection grounded in the building itself. Patton, technical manager at Dane, UK, and vice president of Atlas, walks through how internal wiring, unshielded cables, cable sheathing resistance, and large loops…
Specialists walking through software's tradeoffs, one system at a time.
Founders and engineers on AI coding agents like Claude Code, and supply chain security.
Smarter Ninja episode 87, "Working away, preparing training and earthing challenges," opens with Dave and Dave comparing 4am starts, hotel nights, and long drives from the northeast to Ely, London, and Swindon.
SparkyNinja 86 follows Dave and Dave through generator-backed sprinkler-pump design work in Scotland, with ATSs, emergency lighting, and eight design variants on the table.
SparkyNinja episode 85 follows David Bettridge through a ferry trip to the Electrical Training Trust in Ballymena, where he delivered three days of electrical training.
["SparkyNinja's Dave and Dame spend this episode on EICR extent and limitations, PAT testing, BS EN 60947-2:2025, and neutral-current diversion.", "Dave draws on 2391, GM3, 7671, and live jobs in Bristol and Barking while Dame describes a gym refit that required type AC devices to be replaced with type A devices.", "The main listener question asks whether an EICR with no previous records needs 100 percent inspection or whether 20 to 30 percent sampling is acceptable.", "They argue that competence, standards, and client-owned risk decisions matter more than a green PAT sticker or a checklist-only approach."]
["Dave and Dave open with a neutral-current-diversion update that cites 76% TN-C-S systems, 57% clamp-meter checks, and 67% of cases first flagged by unexpected voltage.", "They also walk through a 750 kVA transformer job with 400 mm four-core cables, a 30 metre run, and bend-radius limits inside a crowded plant room.", "The open-PEN segment ties UK Power Networks to IET 01 and to the argument that 10 amps of net current may be treated as acceptable in some guidance.", "The closing debate covers surge protection devices, multifunction testers, and whether overcurrent protection is needed before an SPD."]
SparkyNinja episode 82 moves from Barking site supervision to exhibition-stand training, landlord EICRs, and voltage-drop calculations.
SparkyNinja 81 turns into a technical catch-up between Ninja and David Vetteridge as they reset the show around a regular two-host format and an ongoing E5 workflow.
SparkyNinja episode 79 centers on BS 7671 Amendment 3, with Paul Meenan, Jay W, and Dave Watts unpacking the new unidirectional and bidirectional protective-device wording.
Sean Patton returns to SparkyNinja’s E5 podcast to walk David, Paul, and JW through lightning protection and surge protection with the Dane Red Book and IEC 6305-2.
SparkyNinja episode 77 brings David, JW, and Sean Passant into a detailed discussion of lightning protection, surge protection, and earthing.
An interview with a representative from Dane, a German manufacturer specializing in surge protection, lightning protection, and earthing, discussing their products and niche in the electrical industry.
This episode discusses the public comment period for the second amendment of BS7671, training methods during COVID, and CPD options through the Schneider partner portal.
An instructor walks through a mock exam for the 2396 electrical qualification, focusing on how to reference documentation.