RCD consumer unit and lawnmowers

[JohnW2]

Well, I don't actually disagree with anything you have written just whether it is necessarily worth introducing further regulation and trying to explain the likely reasons.

Fair enough. I suppose the thing which has surprised me is that they have not introduced requirements to maximise on the theoretical life-saving potential that could be had when there is an RCD. Also see ** below.

I acknowledge that but the point I was making was of the supplied flex with such items.

OK - but some Class II things (fans, light fittings etc) don't come with 'supplied flex', but we still have to have a CPC in the (fixed) cable we connect to them.

.. and, in any event, is a screw or nail really conceptually any different from a mower or hedgecutter blade?

The difference, surely, is that a person will not be holding the blade when it contacts the live conductor

No, not the blade itself, but might one not be touching a metal part of the machine which was in electrical continuity with the blade?

**There is also another way of looking at this. You started by making the distinction between primary/basic protection (essentially ADS) and the 'additional protection' (in the normal sense) provided by an RCD. I agree that, without a CPC, the RCD will provide such 'additional protection'. However, we're talking about a situation in which (presumably due to chance factors and/or the speed of the 'cut'), the primary protection may well be less than fully satisfactory (i.e. sometimes may not result in ADS). that being the case, one could view an RCD+CPC as 'supplementary primary protection' - aimed not to limit shock duration (i.e.'additional protection') but to at least partially compensate for the failings of the primary protection in the situation we are discussing (i.e.at least sometimes to result in ADS when the OPD hasn't).

...need to open bottle #2 (and, no, I haven't been the only person drinking from #1!).

Kind Regards, John