Adding a Ring Circuit

[chuck1000]

I'm putting in a new ring circuit and I'm now at the stage of connecting the wires in the Consumer Unit. I've installed and MCB and I'm happy with where the live wires go. The problem I have is with the neutral wires. I understand that they get connected to the neutral bank but there are no spare ports. I notice that some of the ports have 3 wires and others have just one. What can I do to connect the neutral wires?

Also, I have spare ports for the earth wires. Can the earth wires be put into any free earth ports?

Thanks

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I'm putting in a new ring circuit and I'm now at the stage of connecting the wires in the Consumer Unit.

I trust that you've done polarity, continuity and insulation resistance testing?

And as this is a new circuit that you are aware of your legal responsibilities vis-a-vis part P of the Building Regulations?

I've installed and MCB and I'm happy with where the live wires go. The problem I have is with the neutral wires. I understand that they get connected to the neutral bank but there are no spare ports. I notice that some of the ports have 3 wires and others have just one. What can I do to connect the neutral wires?

Is it not obvious to you that the neutral bar (or bars if it's a split-load board, in which case do make sure you use the right one) is a solid piece of brass, and therefore electrically just a single point, and therefore you can put the neutral conductors anywhere they will fit?

Also, I have spare ports for the earth wires. Can the earth wires be put into any free earth ports?

Is it not obvious to you that the earth bar is a solid piece of brass, and therefore electrically just a single point, and therefore you can put the earth conductors anywhere they will fit?

Thanks

You're welcome, but I think you're doing something beyond your level of knowledge....

 

[andy]

And as this is a new circuit that you are aware of your legal responsibilities vis-a-vis part P of the Building Regulations?

note his location, bas

 

[ban-all-sheds]

 

[Damocles]

It is sometimes considered nice to keep the cables in the same order in the earth and neutral bars as they are in the mcbs. So all wires for first circuit go in first position, all wires for second circuit go in second position...and soon. Though if you do not have any spare holes it sounds like someone else has already mucked that up. But nice to keep both legs of a ring together.

 

[HandyJon]

It is sometimes considered nice to keep the cables in the same order in the earth and neutral bars as they are in the mcbs.

So this is not a regulation by anybody, just a convention? I was told that it was required for a PIR to pass.

 

[mapj1]

Only required in the sense that the circuits should be clearly identifiable, and readily seperable. A tangled mess may or may not be. May depend on your strength of feeling. However, a sloppy layout often indicates an overly liberal attitude to other matters related to good workmanship, so the PIR tester may well decide to look more closely at other matters, and if wires are violin string tight, or scuffed, or get trapped by the lid when it closes, these are very 'real' failures that may well accompany the spaghetti horror.