MCB replacement question

[Taylortwocities]

I must be much more cautious than you, Winston.
I wouldn't advise anybody to just change MCBs 'willy nilly '
Need answers to these key questions first:
1. Why is the cooker MCB only 6amp.
2. Why did the crusty old electrician find it necessary to crowbar those 10A MCBs on the two lighting circuits?

I do not believe he has done that as a mistake, or because that was all he had in his car.

 

[winston1]

We don't know but maybe:

1. The previous owner had a gas cooker and only used the circuit for electronic ignition.
2. Loads of halogen spotlights, or perhaps he previously worked in industry where 10A lighting circuits are more common.

 

[RF Lighting]

Are we really advising DIYers to work in consumer units with so much exposed incoming tail right next to where they would be working?

EAWR anybody?

 

[Spark123]

Put your postcode in here and get one of these to come and have a look:
http://www.competentperson.co.uk

 

[Risteard]

Put your postcode in here and get one of these to come and have a look:
http://www.competentperson.co.uk

That wesbite is invalid outside of England & Wales. The OP is in Scotland.

NICEIC (www.niceic.com) and/or SELECT websites should be checked.

 

[Spark123]

Oh poo, I was thinking it was in Kent for some daft reason!

 

[LoriT71]

First of all, you guys are several kinds of awesome for taking the time to reply to me (particularly the long and detailed replies)!

Second of all, I am genuinely horrified to hear that the person I trusted to install the CU has done such a dodgy job. He is a family friend and has done several different jobs for me over the years - nearly all of which he very generously hasn't charged me for (he is a "proper" electrician and has run his own business for as long as I've known him. Scary!). Many times when I've tried to pay him he has mentioned that the equipment didn't cost him anything because he got it "from another job he had worked on". So I knew that this CU was second-hand (it has a couple of broken bits on the casing). It didn't occur to me though to think about things like regulations and safety. I just assumed he would do everything "right".

The job was only done 11 months ago when I moved in. The previous fuse box was over 30 years old, so I was just grateful at the time to have rid of it. I'm now feeling slightly queasy at the thought of fire hazards and the lack of anything resembling a completion certificate.

I know some of you asked for additional info about the cooker socket etc (securespark in particular). But I'm realising that I really need to get this mess sorted by a proper electrician. So I guess there's no point at the moment continuing to discuss doing things to fix this current CU.

Thanks for all your advice.

Lori
x

 

[ban-all-sheds]

We don't know

Precisely.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

EAWR anybody?

The key word being W....

Which it is not a place of for a DIYer in their own home.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Lori.
Do let us know how you get on. Cheers. TTC

 

[endecotp]

Hi Lori,

You probably do understand this, but just to be sure: do you realise that with the front off the consumer unit and the main switch on, as shown in your photo, all of the screws, exposed bits of wire etc. etc. are live? You really should turn off the main switch before taking the front cover off. Even when the main switch is off, some of the wires and screws remain live i.e. those going in to the top of the main switch.

 

[LoriT71]

Hi Lori,

You probably do understand this, but just to be sure: do you realise that with the front off the consumer unit and the main switch on, as shown in your photo, all of the screws, exposed bits of wire etc. etc. are live? You really should turn off the main switch before taking the front cover off. Even when the main switch is off, some of the wires and screws remain live i.e. those going in to the top of the main switch.

Thanks endecotp, I did assume that anything metal would be potentially live, so I was ultra careful (obviously not *quite* careful enough to actually shut off the main switch! But I had wanted to keep the lights on to enable me to take the photos! D'oh!).

I'm still slightly reeling from the fact that my "go-to-guy" has let me down like this. The slightly annoying thing is that I've had a look on Screwfix to see the prices of consumer units - and they're not that expensive. So if he'd even said to me at the time "Look, I can do this free of charge if you let me use an old second-hand unit that doesn't meet regs etc....or you can pay for a new unit and I'll still fit that free" then I would obviously have opted to pay for whatever was needed (by the way, I've always wanted to pay him for anything he's done - but he's refused. So I hope I don't seem like someone who deserves all they get for only ever getting things done on the cheap, or free?).

I don't suppose anyone could give me an idea of what it will cost to hire a registered electrician to install a new CU (and possibly test to make sure everything else is safe with the house wiring)?

Lori
x

 

[deadshort]

Sorry for the delay replying. I was down taking photos. I'll have a look at the links posted above and will come back here with more info.

Thanks once again! x

View attachment 102299 View attachment 102300

Your electrician needs to go to Spec-savers Clearly by the poor termination of the wiring he has an issue !


DS

 

[flameport]

The busbar in that CU looks wrong. Appears that the silver coloured screws for each MCB are behind the copper bar - they should be in front, as the screw head clamps onto the front of the bar, the threaded part of the screw being in the U shaped slot.

 

[endecotp]

I don't suppose anyone could give me an idea of what it will cost to hire a registered electrician to install a new CU (and possibly test to make sure everything else is safe with the house wiring)?

It's one day's work; possibly quite a short day, if everything goes to plan. You know the cost of the parts; now guess what an electrician's daily rate is where you live.