Replacing old fuse board with a consumer unit

[Anarki]

I posted on here a few months ago that I planned on replacing my old fuse board with a consumer unit.

My house is at the stage whereby it is ready to be fitted, I have booked out my electric company to come out and cut off my supply and reconnect later the same day. (standard practice)

Will they ask for a certificate of installation from a registration electrician before re-connecting my supply?

I am expecting the backlash of comments stating I'm not qualified to carry out the work and that its notifiable under the building regs, etc, but all I need to know is will they re-connect my supply regardless?

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

I am expecting the backlash of comments stating I'm not qualified to carry out the work and that its notifiable under the building regs, etc, but all I need to know is will they re-connect my supply regardless?

If your expecting a backlash, I can only assume that you are not notifying and believe you are under qualified to perform this task, or why mention it?

So that being the case, I suggest you ask the DNO, if they require any documentation, instead of us.

I hope you were clever enough to do an electrical installation condition report prior to any renovation work.

 

[Anarki]

I am expecting the backlash of comments stating I'm not qualified to carry out the work and that its notifiable under the building regs, etc, but all I need to know is will they re-connect my supply regardless?

If your expecting a backlash, I can only assume that you are not notifying and believe you are under qualified to perform this task, or why mention it?

So that being the case, I suggest you ask the DNO, if they require any documentation, instead of us.

As you've obviously picked up I'm not a qualified electrician, therefore cannot sign off jobs.

That isn't to say I don't know what I'm doing.

I have designed the circuits in my house, am ready to connect them up to my new CU, I'm just waiting on fitting the CU (which means waiting for the electric company coming out disconnect my supply)

If they won't re-connect my supply unless they have the signed paperwork it means me getting in a sparky to sign off my work, which they are reluctant to do as it isn't their work.

I'm not paying for a skilled person to bash down my house, chase walls, run cable, install sockets, etc, when I am more than capable of doing all that myself.

I am not prepared to be quoted £3k for a re-wire when 85% of the cost will be unskilled work.

The big no-no will be me pulling the electric meter tamper seal, wiring in a 100A Mains Switched Fuse and adding another tamper seal into the meter. Then carrying on with all work as I plan with shrugging shoulders saying it was like that when I brought the property.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

So illegal work then, sorry do not want to be an accessory to this crime.
Ask the DNO, what they want from you ,they wont charge you for the answer.

 

[jamesmcbride]

I'm not having a dig at you here and accept that you're doing this regardless.

Presumably you are installing the new Consumer Unit in accordance with BS7671 and therefore will be testing it etc?

That being the case, I would guess that the most the DNO is going to want is evidence that you have done that. (eg the dead tests of the EIC completed)

If you aren't testing it, do you fully understand the implications of not testing the installation?

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

If you think you are qualified to do the installation then you should also think you are qualified to fill in an EIC. I filled one in and the BCO accepted it. If I had not filled it in I wouldn't have had my extension signed off by the local authority.

There is nothing on an EIC which requires special qualificatications as long as you can honestly sign the declaration.

So why haven't you just filled it in with all the measurements and checks you have made?

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

So why haven't you just filled it in with all the measurements and checks you have made?

It is likely that the lack of qualification also goes with a lack of knowledge on how to perform these test, fill the forms and actually understand what the results mean!
Could be wrong though!

 

[EFLImpudence]

Fluke, Megger or another ???

 

[Aragorn84]

Regardless of the legitimacy of the work, or any other issues, why not just ask the DNO to install an isolator before you begin the installation of the CU?

That way you can just turn it off if/when you choose to install the CU, without having to get the DNO involved with the CU itself?

 

[ericmark]

As you've obviously picked up I'm not a qualified electrician, therefore cannot sign off jobs.

That isn't to say I don't know what I'm doing.

There are two forms when swapping a consumer unit. The Electrical Installation Certificate can be signed by anyone who "Knows what they are doing" and it is likely this form the DNO will be requesting as the other form be it a completion certificate (LABC) or compliance certificate (Scheme member) can take up to 14 days to receive so they could hardly ask to see this paperwork.

So long as there are no glaring errors then unlikely to be a problem.

It has been a problem where until one is given the readings for the new/reinstated supply you can't really enter them on the paperwork and the DNO want to see it completed so normal is they ask for the electrician to be on site at the time it is connected.

I have sat there all day waiting for DNO to arrive with all the test gear and pen ready to fill in paperwork but as soon as they realise your able to do it they don't hang around and wait to see the paper work completed.

This is of course the problem unless we pretended to be the village idiot the DNO guys would not give us any hassle. So really the only people who can answer your question are either the DNO who by asking in first place would auto be very careful before they connected so may be not the best people to ask or another person who has tried to kid them they know what they are doing when really they don't.

So likely if you have the 17th edition test set in plain view and have the paperwork completed to the point where you need power to continue they will connect. But if you ask them if it looks OK or any other comments which identify you as a chancer likely they will think twice before connecting. Yes I know it's a pain having to hire a 17th edition test set which you will likely not use but that's really the only way they will be convinced you do "know what you are doing".

Comments like my mate is an electrician he's coming around latter will likely be met with he should have been here now we need him before we connect.

So the easy reply is if you do know what you are doing there will be no problem. If your a chancer then likely they will catch you out.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

Why not just do the job right and legal, of course save money doing donkey work and menial tasks, but have someone on board that can hopefully prevent an injury, property damage or even a fatality!

 

[ericmark]

As a P.S. I do laugh when people tell me how easy house bashing is. It is easy to install cables and devices what is harder is to know if they will comply.

I remember being told to install a 32A three phase socket using 4mm² cable and looking at the job and replying I thought at least 6mm² or maybe 10mm² was required. It was a gut feeling rather than calculated.

It turned out I was right and once done and tested all had to be ripped out and done again with 10mm².

The point is we do jobs then realise we were on the edge so over time we get a gut feeling as to what will be required even if we don't calculate. It is very easy for a by stander to think it's easy as we often don't calculate but take a chance but should our gut feeling be out it can be expensive to correct.

So the DIY man has to do far more than the professional as he can't rely on this gut feeling and he has to put pen to paper. Or to be more to the point good at using excel. In other words work out every circuit like the apprentice has to do in college. So you will need "A" level further maths. The normal "A" level does not cover all the bits you need.

My advise to the apprentice was to test every circuit so he would gain over time that feeling for what would pass and what would fail. By the end of his 4 years he would be able like the master to judge it without calculating.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Western Power's requirements are:

CUSTOMERS INSTALLATION
It is the Customer's responsibility to ensure that the electrical installation to which the Customer requires an electricity connection from WPD is installed in such a manner that it will comply with Regulations 8(4) and 25 of the Electricity, Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 ("Regs. 8(4) and 25") immediately prior to energisation.
The Customer must grant WPD access to check compliance with Regs 8(4) and 25 when requested to do so.

Normally they only require that a registered electrician is/has been responsible for the installation.
You will need to satisfy them on these points.

Then there is the legality of what you are planning to do....

 

[securespark]

As far as the DNO is concerned, the only paperwork I ever filled out in the North West was a Completion Certificate, saying that the work was up to standard.

Do they still as for these, Westie? It was a long time ago I last filled one out.

 

[JohnW2]

"It is the Customer's responsibility to ensure that the electrical installation to which the Customer requires an electricity connection from WPD is installed in such a manner that it will comply with Regulations 8(4) and 25 of the Electricity, Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 ("Regs. 8(4) and 25") immediately prior to energisation."... Normally they only require that a registered electrician is/has been responsible for the installation.

Could you perhaps remind us what regs 8(4) and 25 of ESQCR are ? [If WPD are normally satisfied on these points if someone like yourself has been responsible for the installation, I presume that must mean that they expect you to be familiar with those regs.]

Kind Regards, John