part p - consumer unit. tails, rcd help

[Lectrician]

Tails do appear to be 10mm DI's - Very undersized.

CU upside down, as RF says, WHY!? It would fit either way

Proximity of external influence........?

Looks like 10mm single insulated next to the 10mm DI tails.

 

[fireman22]

whats TNT earthing, sounds dangerous

 

[Mista77]

Ok here are pics of board open, cutout and meter (outside).

[

What size do tails/earth look like and what size should they be.

He didn't touch any other lectrics that you see around the box, they were there already including weird round junction boxes

 

[fireman22]

those tails look double insulated to me, the older coloured tails were red with red over sleeve and black with black over sleeve. if you look close near the mains block you can see a step in the insulation. as for the board being upside down he could extend/replace tails then it should be easy. you could easily fit an rcd to this board or even rcbos

 

[Lectrician]

10mm Double Insulated Tails. 6mm Main Earth.

That Consumer Unit is aweful. I wouldn't pay a penny for a mess like that. I bet the old one looked neater and tidier than that.

NO excuse for it being upside down.

Cables everywhere. A mess.

Joint boxes above the CU are a mess, and loads of single insulation exposed.

No sign of an RCD.

 

[mst]

Looks more like a DIY SOS job to me.

AWFUL

 

[fireman22]

`difficult to say if main earth is undersized as two earths leave cut-out and from the look of it the fuseboard is away from that old meter box the earth going down may go to the board? maybe? is the earth going into the fuseboard the same size as the earth thats goes down from the meter (this looks like a 10mm to me)

 

[equitum]

My bet is that as the idiot who changed the CU couldn't be bothered to change the tails and they were too short to reach with the CU installed the "conventional" way up !

 

[Mista77]

OK. I am getting a little confused, but maybe you guys are checking against each other and I need to be patient.

So:

1. Are tails too small. i.e. 10mm? What size should they be: 16mm preferably 25 mm?

2. Old CU was ancient to say the least. Looked like the 1 way wylex CU (which is for old shower wiring that isn't used now)

3. Alot of the wiring above and around was there before. He stated that he wasn't here to rewire the house and I only aksed him to put in new unit and change/add to kicthen as well as bondind. I guess need to insist on RCD right or RCBOS (whatever that is)?

4) what size should all bonding/earthing be according to Part P if he installed it?

Thanks

 

[suffolklad]

hi all im just a diyer and wow what a mess i wouldnt pay for that surely thats not legal is it ? so close to pipes ,boiler ,drain cock, and upside down and wires every where , confusing for some one reading fuse rating of mcbs when upside down cant be legal can it

 

[fireman22]

if your tails into your fuseboard are the same size as those coming out of the meter then they should be 16mm. if not you will need elec supplier to change their tails too. what did you pay him to do? did he come and see the job before pricing it up? if more work is needed to bring it up e.g. cabling around fuseboard you will have to pay extra if you tell him you are prepared to pay him more money i am sure he will do more work.

 

[Mista77]

Hi fireman22.

So I guess the tails are ok? So 10mm would be needed for earthing bonding?

I paid £600 to change very old CU, add sockets and lights to kitchen and bonding/earthing. He came and saw job along with 2 others and was the best price. I now realise not always the best thing, although all 3 were on recommendation. I didn't ask any of them to look at wiring in rest of house and so non of this was in agreed price.

 

[DESL]

got guy who was NICEIC certified so could self cert Part P (checked on website).

I'd like to see him get assessed on this job!!!!

As for the tails being wrong size and too short what was wrong with fitting new tails long enough to go to meter but making a temporary connection via Henly block until supply company can connect new tails to meter.

 

[fireman22]

well, of the three points raised by kit fitters electrician.
1 the board should be the right way up, extend tails, turn board, job done
2 nothing wrong with tails from what i can seen think they are double insulated, he probably had not see these red/red & black/black tails
3 if the sockets on the circuit in the kitchen he added to, may reasonably be not expected to supply portable equipment for use outdoors i.e. if the kitchen was between other rooms with no door to the outside then he could argue the point of no rcd on circuit he added to. i would guess tho that this circuit could be expected to feed outside. if it was my companies job we would have installed a split-board and i dont really understand why he didnt.
the main earth should be 10mm. gas & water bonds also in 10mm cross bonding required(for the time being) in your bathroom(s) 4mm
tell him you will call in the niceic area inspector if he doesnt address these issues.
as for tidying up other electrics i dont really know what to say, its not pretty but probably not really dangerous. also i bet the fuse-board was there before the boiler, try asking the plumber to move it, joking

 

[DESL]

if it was my companies job we would have installed a split-board and i dont really understand why he didnt.

It looks like a split load board - just not wired or populated as one

as for tidying up other electrics i dont really know what to say, its not pretty but probably not really dangerous.

What - with all those single insulated wires coming out of the JBs