Consumer unit breakers

[davebullocklive]

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[SimonH2]

OK, so the existing CU shows there to be several incorrectly done circuits - some of the faults being dangerous rather than just "not to current standards". Your description of the garage supply shows several issues (such as no discrimination between MCBs in garage and upstream supply in house) - but most of all it shows the installation to be dangerous as regardless of installation method,the single 2.5mm T&E cable is NOT adequately protected by a B32 MCB.

So it's not enough to "just replace like for like" - because as was pointed out fairly early on, there is no guarantee that what's already there is "right" - or if it was originally "right", that it would be OK now since new work must meet current standards. Your last post proves that to be the case.

The only sensible advice is "get a qualified electrician" and potentially saves live or at least a lot of heartache down the line.

 

[davebullocklive]

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[AndyPRK]

If the garage is part of the house you could use some if the 6mm cable to supply the garage.

Or if you want to stick with 2.5mm use a 16/20 MCB but the 32a in the garage cu is rather pointless.

 

[davebullocklive]

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[AndyPRK]

32a or 40a for the 6mm

Lights 6a

May as well leave the garage sockets on 32a.

 

[davebullocklive]

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[AndyPRK]

Dunno. I think it said in the thread.

If you have purchased a reel of 6mm use that.

The 2.5mm cables could potentially then be used to create a seperate kitchen ring for sockets. If that isn't practical maybe just put a socket on it for a high load appliance like a washing mc, dish washer powered from a 16 or 20a MCB.
Or it maybe useful for a fridge freezer.

 

[SimonH2]

It's not a ring if there's only one cable.
But 3.5kW is OK on a 20A breaker - it's about 15A. And the 20A breaker is OK for a single 2.5mm T&E.

 

[davebullocklive]

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[SimonH2]

If you mean there are two parallel cables then that's not normally described as a ring - a ring (in this context) means something different.
Provided the rules for paralleling cables are met, then you can use a larger breaker - I think a B32 should be Ok with 2x2.5mm unless some parts of the cable are buried in insulation.

 

[davebullocklive]

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[ban-all-sheds]

So you are saying that we must not say anything but "get an electrician", but we must point out things he is doing wrong (and tell him to get an electrician). The two are mutually exclusive.

Is that meant to be a sensible objection?

That saying "xyz is wrong, you need an electrician" and "you need an electrician" are so different as to be mutually exclusive and therefore I'm to be crticised when I say I believe that we should only be telling him to get an electrician?

Whuich if you bother to read what is written, rather than what you want to have been written, you will see that we agree on that - neither of us have suggested we encourage in any way him doing this work (quite the opposite). But since he appears to have decided to go ahead anyway, we feel it is not unreasonable to attempt to mitigate as best we can the risks.

That's encouragement.

But a) is incompatible with what you wrote earlier :

The ONLY thing we should tell him is to get an electrician. Anything else would be a shamefully irresponsible dereliction of duty.

See above

Most of the responses have been the same. Only a couple have actually suggested what to use - and I think only after it's become clear that he's going to do it anyway so we may as well try and get him to do it as safely as we can influence.

Trying to help him in any way is encouragement, it is facilitating.

Ah, so now you are doing another U-turn
First you said "get an electrician" is the only advice that should be given, then you U-turned and said it was OK (in fact "good") to try and mitigate things when it's clear he's going ahead anyway, now you've U-turned again to "get an electrician" is the only thing to be said.

Go on then - show where I said that was "good".

 

[davebullocklive]

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[ban-all-sheds]

Already answered.