State of Consumer unit?

[dishman]

Just wanted opinion on the state/compliance of the consumer (unit) in my property.

I plan to get a full electrical assessment/certificate as I am considering letting the property in the future. However, I just wanted to see what people thought as to the age and condition of the unit and compared to modern regs.

 

[kai]

That looks OK, as it stands, provided there are no alterations made to the installation at all. There is 30mA RCD protection to the sockets, and it appears to be an early or mid 1990's installation, judging by the fact that the main switch does not have Red/Green Positive Contact Indication windows, which were introduced towards the latter end of the Nineties.

 

[Spark123]

It isn't to current standards, then again you are probably looking at 99.9% of domestic consumer units that fall into that bracket too!
If you have an EICR carried out the electrician will tell you what is required to bring it up to current standards and the classification of remedial action, probably a C3 Improvement Recommended.
A new all metal consumer unit with RCD protection to all circuits will probably be the remedy for this.

 

[dishman]

I therefore assume the requirement for modern standards is not a requirement for letting then considering the state of some of the consumer units I see in rented properties?

I assume it just has to pass a safety test, which it sounds like it should subject to the wiring in the rest of the house.

 

[Spark123]

As long as there are no unsatisfactory C1 or C2 classifications on the EICR it is acceptable. An EICR is always done to the current standard so as I said before, 99.9% of consumer units will not be to current standard as a new regulation came into force on 1st Jan saying they now must be made from a non-combustible material or installed in an enclosure of such.
That isn't to say an electrician who inspects and tests your installation doesn't find any C1 or C2 issues.

 

[Iggifer]

Shame the guy who installed it left his level at home that day

 

[Echo the husky]

Is that only fixed at the bottom half of the db, and the top half just left floating?

 

[Iggifer]

Is that only fixed at the bottom half of the db, and the top half just left floating?

Who cares?! It's wylex! Probably best it falls off the wall before it set's on fire!

OP - that was a joke - don't worry about it.

Echo - I think there's a batten on the right hand side, the other side of the trunking. I've seen too many boards fitted to the meter board like that with no fixings into the wall above. So lazy

 

[Echo the husky]

That range of boards was probably the last good boards Wylex made. Though I have come across 2 now with MCB mechanisms jammed on...

 

[dishman]

Is that only fixed at the bottom half of the db, and the top half just left floating?

Who cares?! It's wylex! Probably best it falls off the wall before it set's on fire!

OP - that was a joke - don't worry about it.

Echo - I think there's a batten on the right hand side, the other side of the trunking. I've seen too many boards fitted to the meter board like that with no fixings into the wall above. So lazy

Don't worry, I thought it looked a bit shoddy too. I was going to ask about it actually. As long as it's safe, that's the main thing.

 

[Echo the husky]

You will need to have a condition report carried out to confirm that.

 

[Risteard]

Just wanted opinion on the state/compliance of the consumer in my property.

Any photos of him/her?

 

[dishman]

All Hail The Power Of The Edit Button!

 

[chivers67]

The cable coming out the side looks a odd - I guess that's for the cooker or shower. Seems a bit odd when it perhaps could have entered the Consumers bottom , at least your sockets and shower is served via the RCD.

 

[dishman]

Why did they stop using colour coded trip switches for the different ratings? All the ones I see these days are gray. Colour coding seems like a common sense way to quickly identify the types at a glance. I only assume they don't do it anymore as this is an old board.