can I replace mcb myself ?

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Hi, Im a residential landlord and have a couple of mcbs that have been flagged up on the eicr to change the rating of , I know what to do but have no qualifications apart from pat testing.
Can I change them myself or do I need to get someone in to do it ?

Also one of them is a 32a one on an electric shower, presumably they want it to be 40a however it never trips, is that really necessary ?

thank you
 
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What cable supplies (and how is it installed) the shower and what is it's rating? You mention more than one? What will you use to determine the Earth fault loop impedance once it has been changed as effectively it's a new circuit.
 
Hi, Im a residential landlord and have a couple of mcbs that have been flagged up on the eicr to change the rating of ,
Would you like to give some details so that we might be able to say if it is correct?

I know what to do but have no qualifications apart from pat testing.
Can I change them myself or do I need to get someone in to do it ?
You are allowed to; whether you are able to we cannot say.
As a landlord it might be better to get someone.

Also one of them is a 32a one on an electric shower, presumably they want it to be 40a however it never trips, is that really necessary ?
We would need to know the rating of the shower and the size of the cable.
Just fitting a higher rated MCB might not be the best thing to do.
 
Thanks, the cable is 6mm the shower is 9.5 kw but doesnt draw that.
its run under the floorboards/ through wall.

The same shower and cable passed with a 40a breaker in another flat.
 
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Ok. Out of interest you could have raised the MCB from 32A to 40A.

As it is, as suspected, the EICR is incorrect.
This is becoming very commonplace with inspectors not knowing what they are doing.

There is nothing wrong with the 50A MCB being there because the shower does not, and cannot, draw more than its 40A.
 
thanks, theres one which is now 32a supplying a 2.5mm cable going to a single socket.

and a 40a one on a 2.5mm cable which is for sockets in the flat.
 
thanks, theres one which is now 32a supplying a 2.5mm cable going to a single socket.
Nothing wrong with that either - as long as it is only one socket, even a double.

and a 40a one on a 2.5mm cable which is for sockets in the flat.
That's not right.

Is there only one 2.5mm² cable?
If so, change it for a 20A.
If there are two cables, and it is a ring circuit, then a 32A.
 
How odd then.

What I can not understand is if this person who did an EICR saw a 40 Amp MCB effectively supplying a Radial that only has one 2.5mm T&E and a 32 Amp supplying a shower fed with 6mm why on earth he didn't swap them himself and Test it. Would have taken him a few minutes and less to Write on his EICR report and left the Installation in a safer place. I agree with ELFi regarding the 20A though with plugs being used with there own fuse it's far safer unless there are several sockets and it could be potentially overloaded.
 
Nothing wrong with that either - as long as it is only one socket, even a double.


That's not right.

Is there only one 2.5mm² cable?
If so, change it for a 20A.
If there are two cables, and it is a ring circuit, then a 32A.
Thanks, just double checking that you are saying the 32a for the single socket is ok and doesnt need changing, but from your advice on the other ideally should be 20a if it has a single cable ?
thanks again
 
It's all about how much potentially the cable could supply. If it's just a double socket then this would be ok as you would only really be able to supply equipment via two 3/5/13 Amp fuses inside the plugs. If it's more sockets then the cable could be potentially overloaded as you can plug in more equipment as it's being protected by a 32A MCB and the current carrying capacity of the cable isn't as high as that in that scenario a 20A MCB would be reqired. Hope that makes sense.
 
I understand the problem, even as an electrician some times the rules seem odd and take a little thinking about, a ring final with an unfused spur is permitted if it only supplies one socket be it a single or double socket, and that spur can be taken from inside the consumer unit, and a ring final is supplied from a 32A overload. So supplying a single socket from a 32 amp overload is clearly permitted.

However I would not have personally supplies a socket from a 32A MCB if it only supplied that socket, there is no point it can only draw 26 amp even with a double socket and 20 amp is often quoted as the limit for a double socket so I would have selected a 16 or 20 MCB, unless I had to double up with a MCB supplying a ring final.

However it does not really matter what the regulations say, a code C3 is not a failure only code C1, C2, and F1 are failures, pointing out it does not comply with regulations is necessary so the owner can plan ahead, if unless you add a RCD you can't add more sockets you as the owner need to know, however a C2 indicates 'potentially dangerous' and unless it presents a potential danger then it should not get a C2, not complying with regulations does not mean it even needs coding, code 4 was removed which was to show that, it was not combined with code C3 it was removed.

However you have a problem with repairs, any C1, C2, or F1 codes need to have paperwork to show repaired, that paperwork will be either an electrical installation certificate, a minor works certificate, or a completion certificate, there is nothing to stop you filling out your own minor works certificate, however the certificate asks for readings, it states these can be obtained by enquiry, so you can simply copy them from the EICR if what you have done will not charge the readings, the
I being the person responsible for the Design, Construction, Inspection & Testing of the electrical installation (as indicated by my signature below), particulars of which are described above, having exercised reasonable skill and care when carrying out the Design, Construction, Inspection & Testing, hereby CERTIFY that the said work for which I have been responsible is to the best of my knowledge and belief in accordance with BS 7671:2018, amended to .............(date) except for the departures, if any, detailed as follows.
is the bit most ordinary persons do not like signing, but there is nothing stopping you from signing it.

But also you have to consider can you really use the test results from the EICR? plus the
I certify that the work covered by this certificate does not impair the safety of the existing installation and the work has been designed, constructed, inspected and tested in accordance with BS 7671:2018 (IET Wiring Regulations) amended to ............... (date) and that to the best of my knowledge and belief, at the time of my inspection, complied with BS 7671 except as detailed in Part 1 above.
I could not really sign that myself even as an electrician as I don't have a copy of BS 7671:2018 I only have BS 7671:2008 but the to best of my knowledge and belief I know all the changes, so suppose I could, however the question is are YOU prepared to sign?

Being honest unless some thing goes wrong you are not likely to have a problem, but the whole point of the EICR is to highlight any degrading or errors in the installation and so if you do make a mistake it would go unnoticed for 5 years or change of occupant. Not sure if the new law asks for an EICR on change of occupant but the regulations do.

As to errors on an EICR clearly there will be no minor works to show errors in the inspectors evaluation, so either he has to modify the report, or you need some one who has at least equal qualifications to say an error has been made. If the person doing the report is a scheme member and has done the report on scheme headed paperwork, then the scheme provider could send some one to inspect and override the opinion, but can't really see that happening.

My son suggested that I start doing EICR's and earn some money, however it states that the tester must be able to rectify the faults found, and I have a mauled hand, so that could be a problem, so I have not upgraded to BS 7671:2018 and gone back to work. But I know the tester could quote a silly figure, but he is duty bound to do the repairs if you ask him.

And the question is do you want the hassle of trying to get your minor works accepted by your insurer, or LABC if they request it, or do you want an easy life? The big question to my mind is not can I DIY these repairs, the answer to that is yes, but do I want the hassle of trying to prove I did the repairs to an acceptable standard?

I had the same with a re-wire of my mothers house, I had a quote for £3000 I seem to remember, I had the skill to do it, although not sure about time, but I would have to pay council around £250 for inspections, and buy new test equipment likely another £500 and I worked out I would be saving nothing, mainly as if it over ran I would be paying £250 a week for my mother keep in a care home, but it simply was not worth the hassle, if the LABC inspector delayed completion by just one week I was out of pocket.

I would say in future inspect the property first yourself and do anything likely to fail it, then get inspection done, but this one really not worth the hassle.
 

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