where are they?

[amandeep.dhillon.1983]

Hi all,
im not sure if this is the correct place to ask this but if anyone can move it then please move it to the correct place in the forums. thank you.

ok now back to my problem. in my house there a re a total of 6 fuses in the consumer box. these are:
1) cooker
2) shower
3) downstairs ring main
4) upstairs ring main
5) downstairs lights
6) upstairs lights

currently all of these are RCD protected (as the consumer box only has an RCD switch). unfortunatly, as the coocker is electric, it keeps tripping the RCD (and as you can imagine, if it trips at night everything goes including the lights). what i want to do is buy a split consumer box (preferably 3X3 RCD/MCB) but i cannot find one.

does anyone know where i may be able to buy one or what is the closest thing i can get to this and where i can get it from?

thank you for your help


aman

 

[2scoops0406]

try tlc-direct here

You can get split load kits.

 

[RF Lighting]

Why not just get the cooker repaired? Cookers do not just trip RCDs for fun. I would think this is a good indication there is a fault with your cooker, not with your installation arrangement. There may be good reason for your installation to be fully protected by RCD. Do not even think about changing your CCU without the advice of a qualified electrician. Also you MUST notify LABC before carrying out this work. Do you know what type of earthing arrangement you have? Do you know how to properly replace a consumer unit? Do you know how to safely isolate the tails? Are you sure you know how to properly fit a CCU?

 

[Adam_151]

Cookers do not just trip RCDs for fun. I would think this is a good indication there is a fault with your cooker, not with your installation arrangement.

Cookers do tend to leak a bit to earth when they get old sometimes, hence it is a good idea if possible to not rcd protect the cooker

There may be good reason for your installation to be fully protected by RCD

There could well be, the OP should ensure he is not on a TT earthing arrangement before removing the RCD protection from some circuits

Do not even think about changing your CCU without the advice of a qualified electrician. Also you MUST notify LABC before carrying out this work. Do you know what type of earthing arrangement you have? Do you know how to properly replace a consumer unit? Do you know how to safely isolate the tails? Are you sure you know how to properly fit a CCU?

All valid concerns, but replacing the CU is easy its the testing that needs a bit more know-how (at the very least an ELFI test needs to be done on the circuits that are RCD protected and arn't going to be anymore... of course the full array of tests should be carried out, but to keep things in perspective, it always helps to ask yourself whether you stand to make things less safe than before you started, not condoning inproper testing btw, just making a point )

 

[RF Lighting]

it is a good idea if possible to not rcd protect the cooker

Unless there is a socket outlet on the cooker panel which could reasonably supply equipment for use outdoors. Also IMHO it would be better to repair the fault, not just take it off RCD and pretend it never existed. The current fault, if left untouched, could get worse and a dangerous situation could occur.

There may be good reason for your installation to be fully protected by RCD

There could well be, the OP should ensure he is not on a TT earthing arrangement before removing the RCD protection from some circuits

Do you know what type of earthing arrangement you have?

replacing the CU is easy

In theory yes. but it is all too easy for someone inexperienced to undertighten the incoming tails connections, or over tighten an outgoing circuit cable, or make any number of potentially dangerous mistakes.

(at the very least an ELFI test needs to be done on the circuits that are RCD protected and arn't going to be anymore)

No.
At the very least a full Electrical Installation Certificate MUST be completed and LABC MUST be notified about the works. That is the law.

 

[Steve]

adam, sorry, replacing a CU is easy? dont see how that applies to everyone. I mean, last i saw, MCBs supplied by electrical wholesalers (ie. TLC) do not come with instructions. Or individual boxes which might have had instructions on them. Consumer units come with mounting instructions and a bunch of sticky circuit markers, but nothing more. I'm afraid that if you have never had the cover off a modern CU and studied its innards, the average DIYer would not know where to start with wiring one.

(The picture of the CU with all the out-going lives stuffed into the bottom of the MCBs with the busbar would be helpful right now! perfect example of what im talking about)

 

[Spark123]

This one?
//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19325

 

[plugwash]

well its pretty obvious if you have a clue about electricity and what a circuit breaker does.

ofc if your talking about the type of DIYer that connects all 3 cables to the same connections in a light (or only doesn't do that because he has read a tutorial) then i would agree with you.

 

[RF Lighting]

That is frightening. Still it makes a very blunt point about how someone who thinks they know what they are doing can be soooo wrong. The consumer unit is not a place for novice DIYers to play.

 

[Adam_151]

*sigh*

Looks like the minor subtleties of my post have escaped some readers... the crux of the matter is that the most important (common sense) requirement for electrical work is that it does not leave the installation any more dangerous than it was before the work began.

Yes, doing the paperwork is the correct way to go about it (at least if you want BS7671 compliance, which I should add is not required anywhere in law...but that is a whole new can of worms altogether...) but it helps to keep a sense of realism and perspective, lest that you become snowed under by bureaucracy, quoting rules and regulations, without little thought to the reasons behind them.

If I service my car, it would be a good idea for me to check the lights all work, and the tyre tread is sufficent, etc, but if I failed to do those checks, just because I changed the oil, it doesn't mean the car is anymore dangerous to drive afterwards than what it was before, of course, it probably wouldn't be too wise fail to check these things, but I'm in no more danger driving it than before I touched it, (regardless of what state it actually happens to be in)

Contraversal I know, and I hope I don't end up convincing anyone to neglect on testing, but rather intended as a step back and open your eyes kind of excercise

 

[RF Lighting]

I just can't understand how properly testing an installation could make it more dangerous that it already is or was. The whole point of testing is to make sure the installation is safe once you have finished working on it.

you become snowed under by bureaucracy, quoting rules and regulations,

Sadly yes you do, but that is the way things have to be done these days.

You do not need a test certificate for the installation to comply with BS7671, but the testing will make sure it does (max permitted Zs values etc) but you do need the test certificate to comply with part p of the building regs, which you are legally required to comply with.

According to Government statistics, each year on average 10 people die and about 750 are seriously injured in accidents involving unsafe electrical installations in the home. Part P is intended to increase the safety of households by improving the installation, inspection and testing of electrical installations in dwellings.