Wylex 17th Edition Consumer Unit

[dingbat]

I wasn't having a go at you, Clive, but rather the industry, which has a bad habit of using sloppy language and perpetuating its own peculiar flavour of mythology through ignorance...

..and then blaming its own lack of clarity on third parties such as 'Europe'!

 

[CliveDiy]

Guys while I’ve got your attention, I hope you don’t mind me asking without entering a new post.

Can anyone advise I’m fitting a heat detector in the kitchen and garage, smoke alarm in the hallway and on the first floor landing.

A Carbon Monoxide detector in the lounge.

Question:
I shall be fitting a combi central heating boiler in the bathroom airing cupboard in place of the old hot water cylinder, is it ok to fit a Carbon Monoxide detector in the airing cupboard or should it be on the landing?

Many thanks

Clive

 

[ebee]

Clive,
with ref to your RCBO question.
A single module will detect L/E or N/E faults that cause an imbalance of 30mA or whatever but when they disconnect they only disconnect the L not the N so a N/E fault would still be present whereas a Double module is usually double pole switching .

The Carbon monoxide question I`ll leave to others

 

[CliveDiy]

Hi Dingbat,

No I realise you wasn’t having a go at me, I hope that we all come on these chat forums for a little bit of help and not a slagging match, to me it would kind of defeat the object of them.

But it did make me have another look at the Screwfix main catalogue where it states Consumer Units & the 17th Edition, only to put in a supplement they sent me, Wylex 17th Edition Consumer Unit, but as you said it’s the installation that’s should be installed to the 17th Edition.

The manufactures well I guess they are a law unto the themselves.

What I need to know now is where to stick that carbon monoxide detector, airing cupboard or landing?

 

[Pensdown]

If it were my house, I would fit a CM detector in the cupboard and a smoke detector on the landing.

 

[CliveDiy]

Hi ebee
Thanks for clarifying the point about the RCBO.

I think the existing consumer unit will not be big enough, it has 11 MCBs and 1 RCD.

To put all RCBOs in I think I would have to pop round to my local bank after dark with a suitable wrecking bar in my hand.


I thought maybe I could put the ground floor ring and first floor lights on 1 RCD and first floor ring and ground floor lights on the second RCD.

Then put the alarms on the RCD which would also cover the first floor ring.

Would I be right in assuming I would need a 17 way CU.
That would be 11 MCBs and 3 ways taken up by each of the 2 RCDs required or is the main switch also included when they say a box has a number of ways?

 

[CliveDiy]

Pensdown

Thanks for your input, the wiring is in place for a smoke on the landing so there would be no problem daisy chaining off it to put the CM in the airing cupboard, I just wondered if the location was acceptable under 17th Edition and beings as it will be stuffed in a cupboard whether there is anything under the building regs such how far from the wall or appliance it must be.

Smoke alarms for example have to be 300mm from a wall and there is a maximum distance they can be from doorways to habitable rooms.

 

[Click-Sure]

Somebody ask to see a dual-rcd splip load wylex CU?

Can do.

Untitled

• Click-Sure
• 12 Jul 2008
• 6

 

[st07]

Sorry to bump an old topic, but I saw it mentioned earlier that RCBO's are very expensive and one poster even quoted £40 per RCBO, however I was searching eBay earlier where they can be found for around a tenner.

Have prices come down a lot since a year and a half ago?

 

[1john]

Sorry to bump an old topic, but I saw it mentioned earlier that RCBO's are very expensive and one poster even quoted £40 per RCBO, however I was searching eBay earlier where they can be found for around a tenner.

Have prices come down a lot since a year and a half ago?

Different brands cost different amounts of money. A fiesta is cheaper than a bently.

 

[st07]

Yeah that's true enough, what I should have said was I've been searching for Wylex RCBO's which I'm lead to believe are one of the better 'branded' products, and they can be found on eBay for around £10. In fact, I'm struggling to find any £20+ RCBO's.

Have prices dropped a lot since over a year ago and on this basis would it be advisable to buy a load of RCBO's than rely on a split load RCD configuration??

 

[flameport]

they can be found on eBay for around £10.

So can plenty of other fake, dangerous and stolen merchandise.
Considering that defective circuit breakers can kill or cause your house to burn down, buy them from a reputable supplier.
More info here: www.counterfeit-kills.co.uk

 

[st07]

I don't think it's fair to assume they're fake just because they're sold on eBay. Or are you saying prices haven't fallen much and a £10 RCBO is almost certainly a counterfeit item?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I don't think it's fair to assume they're fake just because they're sold on eBay.

Since you have no way of testing them is it safe to assume that they are not?

 

[ebee]

Buyer Beware as they say in Latin

"I don't think it's fair to assume they're fake just because they're sold on eBay."

It might not be fair but it is realistically safer