Opinion on CU position

[oharaf]

Just been to survey a CU change.

The CU is in a cupboard under the 'drainer' for the kitchen sink and the Service Head is in the cupboard next to it under a gas hob!!!!

Now then my 'gut' instinct is that the CU should really be 'relocated' elsewhere, however, would its present position be 'unsatisfactory' under the 17th.?

I have yet to go and get 'big red' out the van and trawl it, I was hoping to get a definitive answer from you guys as I am very tired after already doing 75hrs this week

Thanks in advance chaps

 

[Lectrician]

I can't see the actuall situation differing from the 16th to the 17th.

There would be no reg that states "You cannot place a CU under the sink", but there are regs regarding external influence and proximity to other services etc. That, and of course, access.

 

[oharaf]

Yes, the external influences was in the back of my mind AND I don't relish getting in that cupboard to mount and connect a new one particularly.

My preference is to reposition the CU in the cupboard in the hall which will mean fitting an isolator, extending every circuit over a distance of about 5m

Unfortunately there does not appear to be any where nearer suitable to do this, so it is a lot of time under the floor pulling in new cables!!!


Do they do an IP56 rated CU?????

 

[securespark]

It's not just the water...how close are:

supply cables

tails

final circuit cables

cut-out

meter


from:

gas meter

service pipe

installation pipe?

 

[RF Lighting]

Slap it in a big naff off gewiss box

 

[oharaf]

They are all within the cupboard!!!!!!!!!!

 

[plugwash]

Do they do an IP56 rated CU?????

IP rated CUs do exist but usually only in small sizes. They are regularlly used on building sites and sometimes in outbuildings.

 

[bobsmate]

I've also recently been called to a job where the CU is about two metres away from both the kitchen sink and bathroom door is this allowed?

 

[17thman]

move the sink

 

[ericmark]

132.12 Accessibility of electrical equipment
Electrical equipment shall be arranged so as to afford as may be necessary:
(i) Sufficient space for the initial installation and later replacement of individual items of electrical equipment
(ii) accessibility for operation, inspection, testing, fault detection, maintenance and repair.
416.2.3 A barrier or enclosure shall be firmly secured in place and have sufficient stability and durability to maintain the required degree of protection and appropriate separation from live parts in the known conditions of normal service, taking account of relevant external influences.
Also see 512.2 External influences
520.3 (iv) their enclosure or methods of protection against external influences.
Think also something in Appendix 5
526.7 Where a connection is made in an enclosure the enclosure shall provide adequate mechanical protection and protection against relevant external influences.
530.3 General and common requirements
Equipment shall be selected and installed to provide for the safety and proper functioning for the intended use of the installation. Equipment installed shall be appropriate to the external influences foreseen.
559.10.5.1 (iii) Presence of water: AD3 (sprays)
622.1
I would say the enclosure should be to IPX4 i.e. same as bathroom. Protected against water splashing from any direction. You need to take a balanced approach as if the cost raises too much you lose the work but maybe that would not be so bad in this case?

 

[securespark]

They are all within the cupboard!!!!!!!!!!

But how close are the items I listed to each other? If they are the minimum distance apart, they you are OK. As for the water, that's your call.

I went to an address in Stoke a few years ago. Having trouble finding the CU, I asked the lady. "In the downstairs toilet", she replied.

Well, I looked, but didn't see it. "Oh no, it's above your head...."

So I get on a ladder and pull back a loft hatch to find the CU mounted right underneath the bath waste, with the front of the CU facing the floor.

The cables had been taken through the back of the CU, leaving a huge hole right underneath the waste. That would fill up nice & quick, wouldn't it?

Needless to say I condemned everything I could see!!