I hate VOLEX RCBOs

[Taylortwocities]

I spent a very miserable morning - all morning - trying to crowbar two RCBOs into a customer's Volex consumer unit.

I wonder if anybody at Electrium has actually tried to do this.
The CU is so short that all of the conductors are crammed into the top of the board, leaving little room for anything else.

In an attepmt to make some space I re-arranged the board so the RCBOs (for two extended lighting circuits) were to be positioned at the extreme left of the board (next to the Main Switch).

This still was fraught with problems as the Volex board has a lovely neutral bus that runs horizontally above the CB positions. It is just, only just, possible to get the RCBOs under this rod, but I could only manage to do it by unscrewing the DIN rail and dropping it down.

Having re-positioned the DIN rail it was then almost impossible to connect the neutrals to the RCBO as the neutral termination was now at the back and under the horizontal neutral bus. Eventually it went in and all that was left to do was to connect the RCBO neutral feeds to the N1 terminal strip (blooming tricky that as there was already 4 plates full of black and blue spaghetti crammed into the space!).

I will never, ever try this again. Volex owners can have a nice new MEM 17th edition board or I'll walk..

Today I hate Volex even more than yesterday.

Anybody else had this little problem?

 

[hairyben]

A least it's an old board, I fitted a 2x19 wylex recently only to find the SP RCBO's don't fit- but it's okay, according to wylex they're working on a replacement and advised me to use DP RCBO's. Which would be fine if I didn't need over 20 RCBO and 10 MCB protected circuits.

Working on a replacement? well thats just dandy, cos it's only been a regulation 9 months and a mandatory requirement for 3 months, but keep working huh?

 

[Cremeegg]

Very few boards will take many RCBO's with ease. Even Hagers that I always thought had plenty of room get pretty cramped when loaded with RCBO's. At least they will fit - so many old and not so old boards wont even begin to take an RCBO.

 

[JohnD]

IMO the MEM 2000AD are tight for RCBOs, the Memera 2000 seems more spacious.

 

[RF Lighting]

I think everyone should just use Merlin Gerin boards.

Problem solved

 

[Cremeegg]

Any chance of a picture RF to show those of us that don't use MG (yet) just how much room there is. Then I can start chasing up wholesalers around here for the best price and ditch Hager who are my usual favourite for space.

 

[RF Lighting]

Any chance of a picture RF to show those of us that don't use MG (yet) just how much room there is. Then I can start chasing up wholesalers around here for the best price and ditch Hager who are my usual favourite for space.

Here is one with a few RCBOs

Maybe a *bit* on the large size for a domestic....

Hmmm still a bit big


On a more serious note, hager are one of my top brands for both domestic and commercial stuff. Merlin is only usually used in commercial / industrial environments

 

[Cremeegg]

Thanks RF - just a bit bigger than most domestic although was working in a new house today with three 21 module MK boards stacked on top of each other and all ways fully utilised. Complete rats nest in all three and so poorly done the NICEIC approved contractor should be shot.

Dont you find even Hager are tight when even half full of RCBO's?

 

[ricicle]

Get those tape tabs off those outgoing circuits and put some proper wire markers on if you must. ................

 

[RF Lighting]

Not one of my jobs.

I found it whilst doing a PIR at a co-op.

It was a pleasant suprise when I took the cover off. They normally look like roland has been nesting in there