Wylex plug in mcb\\\'s

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I have two wylex standard cu's ( 3 way and 4 way ) which are about 25 years old and I have purchased wylex plug in mcb's to replace the rewireable fuses.There is a gap of 5mm between the new mcb and its carrier which exposes the live mcb connector.The base of the mcb where it pushes into its new carrier lies flush with the front of the main cu and cannot be fitted deeper into the cu. This is obviously a safety hazard as tiny fingers with metal implements could physically touch these connectors.The mcb's protrude further out than the old rewireable fuses preventing the old fuse covers from being refitted.I have put the old fuses back in to prevent electric shock until I have a solution. Are there any experts out there who know if there is a deeper cover or some form of shroud to cover the 5mm gap.As a last resort I will return the mcb's and fit a new cu but plug ins seemed to be a good option at the time. safety is my main concern. :)
 
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Your new MCB's should have a replacement base, which would then allow them to seat firmly. The old cover is normally too shallow to be fitted once the MCB's are in place.
 
Look like
XWYB6.jpg
 
As Salem says the MCB should come with a new colour coded base that replaces the old fuse base.
 
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Regardless of anything else, what are the Consumer units made of?

If they have wooden backs, then you need to change them.

Personally I would advocate changing the boards anyway as they are so old. Electrical accessaries only have a design life of 20 years and these sound past their sell-by date.
 
Thanks for the info all.The interesting thing is that the new mcb,s came with new bases which are the ones that produce a gap.The old bases dont fit at all.I think it is a design issue which surprises me coming from a reputable company such as wylex.The daft thing is that someone in their design dept must have thought it would be a brilliant idea to have a nice flowing recess under the mcb ,If the base was completely level there wouldnt be a problem.I can only assume the designer was feeling in touch with his feminine side when he designed these replacements .( im assuming it was a fella ) The consumer units are all plastic and dont look too bad compared to me at that age.
 
saleem2000. thanks for the piccy.My new mcbs are similar but the bases that came with them are not the same as they have a recess in the plastic where the mcb butts up to the base ( just enough room to get a screwdriver in ).Perhaps its a new method of reducing the population.I suppose the next thing will be minimalist 13 amp socket outlets that hang from the wall with no backboxes ( hey lets abolish the earth connection as well ).I will suggest this to wylex, we could call it the suicide range.
 
telecom said:
My new mcbs are similar but the bases that came with them are not the same as they have a recess in the plastic where the mcb butts up to the base.

The side with the recess fits against the consumer unit, so the "flat" side is where you plug in the MCB. As in the picture.
 
salem2000 said:
telecom said:
My new mcbs are similar but the bases that came with them are not the same as they have a recess in the plastic where the mcb butts up to the base.

The side with the recess fits against the consumer unit, so the "flat" side is where you plug in the MCB. As in the picture.

Salem, I think he means that there is a small indent in the base section into which part of the MCB sits when installed. You would not see it in your picture as the MCB is one the base unit.
 
The newer wylex boards have a cut-out (or knock-out, depending on the material) section on the fuse cover so that the fuse cover can be refitted with the mcb's in place.
 
they are made of bakerlite, not wood. the same stuff they used to make old telephones from.
 

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