Trip-switch fuses

My house has the old-fashioned ceramic/fuse-wire main fuses. I live in fear that one day I might have to replace the wire in one of these
Is it possible to replace these with trip-switch fuses that just slot in where the older type ones are now?
Or would I have to get a whole new trip-switch main fuse board, and obviously have to pay an electrician to install it?

I do not think that you will get retro-fit mcb's for that board.
If you still have ceramic fuses it may be that the whole house needs looking at.

I would get a PIR done, then you know what you are up against. Probably a full rewire, but a PIR will tell you.

Any chance of a photo of the fuseboard and supply and we may be able to advise further

You shouldn't be doing it without a test of the existing circuits, a check of the earthing arrangements, the bonding etc.

Analogy- would you spend £1500 on new alloys and tyres for a car that wouldn't pass it's MOT in a week?

Have a check up / periodical inspection report (PIR) and take guidance from the report.

Wow Chris, are we talking a lot of dosh to change to trip-switches then?

And KK, the house is only 25 years old. Surely I shouldn't be worrying about re-wiring yet, should I? I'm actually quite surprised to find these sort of fuses in a relatively new-ish house. My last house was about 100 years old but had already been re-wired and had a modern fuse box.

I don't actually have any electrical troubles, it's only that I find those sort of fuses a bit scary, and idea of having to fix one and getting it wrong even scarier! I'm being a bit girly and wimpish, I know.

SHOW US A PHOTO

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=129539

I am very sorry chaps, it seems I have mislead you My boyfriend, who knows a bit but steers clear of electrics, says I DO NOT have ceramic fuses which went out with the ark, but bakelite ones. I was confused by the ceramic bit where the fuse wire goes. Mine are like this...



The fuse board looks like this. As you can see (and I have just noticed ), there is already a trip-switch replacement in there, though I do not know why just the one.





There is also the above notice, though I have yet to find a button marked "test" anywhere. The whole set-up looks rather complicated due to a redundant "Economy 7" circuit (now have gas C.H), and the cable leading to the boiler controls.



I hope these pics help you understand, and apologise for scaring you with my "ceramic" fuses! Thank you for the time you have taken to help me.

Lynne

That is a Wylex Standard.

You can get push-in MCBs to replace the old fuses. They cost about £7 new or about £4 on fleabay for used ones. the older model, with push-buttons instead of the switch, are about £2.50 on fleabay. You must get plastic shields to fit, with them.

to fit them you have to turn off the main switch and test for dead. You do not have to take off the CU casing, but after pulling out the fuses you have to unscrew the plastic shield behind, and replace with the new one of the same colour from the replacement MCB (they are sized to fit and not interchangeable). then push in the MCB. Take out and replace the MCBs one at a time, do not take them all out together (this reduces the risk that you might accidentally mix them up)

when you take out the plastic shield, a copper busbar is exposed. this is live if the main switch is on, but dead when the main switch is off. You do not need to touch it anyway.

you can pay a qualified electrician to do this, as it is notifiable work.

However I have reason to believe that approx 0.0000% of these swaps are notified.

p.s. if you get an electrician in, it would make more sense to have the old CU replaced with a modern one, and the old stuff tidied away. Make sure he is a member of a self-certification scheme - ask for evidence before giving him the job.

p.p.s. the 45A MCB you already have is probably for an electric cooker or electric shower. It is probably too high a load for that model of CU, so if it is still in use, you ought to get a new CU of sufficient capacity.

p.p.p.s. you ought to have circuit labels above every fuse to say what they do. you can make your own with white vinyl tape and a permanent marker.

Second what JohnD has said re the 45A MCB being too big for that model of CU. Do you have an RCD type socket in a garage or similar - could be where the label comes from? Is it just me or does the 15A fuse for lights also look out of place?

That's nothing... I found one the other day (I had left my camera at home ) with a 30A fusewire in.

"Oh, the lights kept tripping," said the elderly geezer, "so I just upped the fusewire. Did the trick...."

I advised him that if he wanted to advance further in years to fit the correct fuse & investigate the fault immediately...

But back to this topic. If that lighting circuit is running off 15A, that is wrong & the sign of an overstretched circuit.

external floodlights?

"EXT" could be "Extension" or "External" I suppose. All depends what CSA the outrgoing cable is...