New Consumer Unit

[Chri5]

Looks like I may go for Hager, 14 way split load. Do I use RCBO's or just the MCB's with the RCD protection.

I have kids and want to make sure that any sticky fingers don't cause any accidents!

Rcbos act as mcb AND Rcd, rcbo's have the advantage that they isolate only one circuit, not a bank which an rcd does.

In design terms rcbos are best and if cost is not a factor and you'd prefer that when fault conditions arise and ONLY that circuit fails, then go for them.

You will have to get a straight board without Rcd's if you go 100% rcbo

 

[Taylortwocities]

Looks like I may go for Hager, 14 way split load. Do I use RCBO's or just the MCB's with the RCD protection.

I have kids and want to make sure that any sticky fingers don't cause any accidents!

You are back to the Do I Use RCBO question.
Changing a consumer unit is not a DIY job unless you are fully conversant with BS7671, have calibrated test equipment and are prepared to fork out to the local authority for the pleasure of DIYing it.

As Ricicle said at the beginning: "ask your electrician"

 

[Daz66]

TTC I am not doing the job myself but want to understand all of the pro's and con's of everything before the work starts.

I will be opening up and closing after the electrician and being as involved as they will allow (running cables, deciding routes, cutting boxes etc) and of course paying for the works!!

 

[ferdinand2000]

TTC I am not doing the job myself but want to understand all of the pro's and con's of everything before the work starts.

I will be opening up and closing after the electrician and being as involved as they will allow (running cables, deciding routes, cutting boxes etc) and of course paying for the works!!

Make sure you consider everything you *could* want to do to the house and allow for that. eg loft conversion?

Saving £40 on a smaller ECU is a false economy if you have to to more buggeration later.

I like Wylex, and a mains switch between the meter and your ECU, so you can disconnect it completely yourself.

F

 

[riveralt]

I like Wylex, and a mains switch between the meter and your ECU, so you can disconnect it completely yourself.
F

Please tell me you're not an electrician.

 

[ferdinand2000]

<duplicate>

 

[ferdinand2000]

I like Wylex, and a mains switch between the meter and your ECU, so you can disconnect it completely yourself.
F

Please tell me you're not an electrician.

I am not an electrician .

Nor do I do my own electrics - beyond that which I am allowed/confident to do and then with many questions first.

Nor am I clear just what you are shocked about, River.

My experience over years is that I like Wylex, and I can't see any problem making it easier for sparkies to work with CUs with fewer live supplies around, and to allow residents to disable the entire setup should there be a potential problem.

Double pole, properly rated with a sufficient contact gap, properly fused switch - obviously.

Why would you not have one fitted?

F

 

[riveralt]

I like Wylex, and a mains switch between the meter and your ECU, so you can disconnect it completely yourself.

Please tell me you're not an electrician.

I am not an electrician .

Good to hear.

Nor do I do my own electrics - beyond that which I am allowed/confident to do and then with many questions first. Nor am I clear just what you are shocked about, River. My experience over years is that I like Wylex,

http://www.mcbexchange.co.uk/electrium/RecallAdvertWeb.jpg

and I can't see any problem making it easier for sparkies to work with CUs with fewer live supplies around, and to allow residents to disable the entire setup should there be a potential problem.
Double pole, properly rated with a sufficient contact gap, properly fused switch - obviously.
Why would you not have one fitted?

No mate, I wouldn't have fitted one because to do so I would have had break the seal on the distributors fuse before removing it or work live while I fitted an isolator. The first would be illegal and the first and second would be stupid.
I would have got the Network distributor to fit an isolator between the meter and the consumer unit - not a fused switch as you have stated.

 

[Iggifer]

I tried to get my DNO to fit me a DP Isolator. Nope. Sent me back to the supplier. £43. Much easier than getting them to come pull the fuse then trying to get them to come put it back in again

 

[ferdinand2000]

>http://www.mcbexchange.co.uk/electrium/RecallAdvertWeb.jpg

I wouldn't take one occasion as a cause for a 'never use them again' decision.

I would have got the Network distributor to fit an isolator between the meter and the consumer unit - not a fused switch as you have stated.

Yep - that's one way. My sparks didn't ask me to do that.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Ferdinand

 

[RF Lighting]

The general lack of quality and penny pinching which has been going on at wylex for a few years now is a good reason to not use them.

Oh and a switch between your meter and your CU is entirely pointless. There's a perfectly good DP isolator in your CU. All it is is an extra four potential points of failure that do not need to be there.

What happens if you need to work on the isolator? Put another isolator in to isolate that? And then of course an isolator for that isolator....

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Oh and a switch between your meter and your CU is entirely pointless. There's a perfectly good DP isolator in your CU.

Which would be of no use whatsoever were a switchfuse for an outbuilding supply ever installed.

All it is is an extra four potential points of failure that do not need to be there.

Four extra screwed joints out of the several tens or even hundreds in the rest of the house.

Anyone that unsure of his ability to get it right shouldn't be touching any of them.

 

[RF Lighting]

I still don't get what the big deal about a henley bock and a switch fuse is either.

It's just more pointless work assuming there's a spare way in the CU.

 

[flameport]

I wouldn't take one occasion as a cause for a 'never use them again' decision.

All manufacturers can and do have quality issues with products.
The difference in this case was that Electrium was turning out defective MCBs in three different ratings across 7 different brands between April 2009 and February 2010 - that's nearly an entire year of defective shyte being made before anyone noticed there was a problem.

Isolators = waste of money and time.
There is already a device there to disconnect the power, which will be used when the isolator is fitted or the meter is replaced.
Even if that can't be accessed or used for some reason, there are other ways.

 

[riveralt]

Isolators = waste of money and time.
There is already a device there to disconnect the power, which will be used when the isolator is fitted or the meter is replaced.
Even if that can't be accessed or used for some reason, there are other ways.

To replace a CU without the aide of an isolator, aside from illegally removing the fuse yourself or calling the DNO out to remove it on your behalf, or foolishly working live , what are the other ways?