Loft electrics onto this consumer unit?

[donrkebab]

He could have used RCBO’s if available to feed the new Circuits , but in a Metal Board imo

Re: the cu, your opinion is wrong.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Even if it was metal (ie not Moulded Plastic), his Consumer Unit has no RCD protection, so he cannot simply add MCB's to his Unit.

Why not?

 

[SFK]

EFL,
Happy to be corrected on this as I was speaking from what my Electrician said when he fitted circuits to my loft in my CU without 30mA protection )see my earlier comment #21).
His comment was that the new circuit to these newly fitted sockets needed RCD protection, so could not use MCB, and would use a RCBO for this new circuit.
SFK

 

[EFLImpudence]

Happy to be corrected on this as I was speaking from what my Electrician said when he fitted circuits to my loft in my CU without 30mA protection )see my earlier comment #21).
His comment was that the new circuit to these newly fitted sockets needed RCD protection, so could not use MCB, and would use a RCBO for this new circuit.

That is true, but it is nothing to do with your CU being plastic or metal.

MCBs could be used for other things.

 

[EFLImpudence]

I have edited the post, please read again if you did not see the edits.

 

[SFK]

EFL,
Understood. Thank you

My mistake in my wording regarding the type of CU, it was badly worded response directly to Phills comment on
"If it’s not Moulded Plastic , just try source some Hagar MCB’s to suit",
which I read as
"If it’s a metal CU, just try source some Hagar MCB’s to suit".

SFK

 

[donrkebab]

I have edited the post, please read again if you did not see the edits.

But you haven't indicated the edits, AFICT

 

[EFLImpudence]

It doesn't matter.

The point is that someone who had already read the post may never see the edits if I hadn't told them asked them to read it again.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It looks like the existing C/U is moulded Plastic , so you can’t add extra Circuits to it because it’s not 18th edition compliant (ie Metal Body/Front)

Nonsense.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

As a gas engineer/plumber il be doing the plumbing, pipework/heating,

OOI, copper or push-fit plastic?

the electrics is out of my scope. Im hust tryi g to get as much info as possible to make sure i dont end up paying for work that isnt needed.

Now would be a good time to replace the CU with an all-RCBO one at a marginal cost so small you'll probably not notice it.

 

[JohnW2]

Now would be a good time to replace the CU with an all-RCBO one at a marginal cost so small you'll probably not notice it.

I have to say that my first reaction is that, in relation to the big picture of the size (and hence presumably cost) of the OP's loft conversion, the cost of replacing the CU (with a dual-RCD or all-RCBO one) would be so relatively trivial that this would seemingly be a good opportunity to have it done, as part of the whole project.

 

[WhydidIstart]

It looks like the existing C/U is moulded Plastic , so you can’t add extra Circuits to it because it’s not 18th edition compliant (ie Metal Body/Front)

The IET have specifically clarified this point here: https://electrical.theiet.org/wiring-matters/issues/59/consumer-units-a-brief-overview/
stating that additional circuits can be added to a plastic CU, as many others have already said.