Full rcbo boards????

D00DY_T00DY · May 30, 2017

Hi all,

Probably going to seem like a novice question just wondering what techniques you lot have for full rcbo boards to keep it neat.

Put 5 in today for a temporary supply for ground workers on a genny; earth rod with a Zs of 2.13ohms (fairly good?)

Anyway it was a complete nightmare trying to keep it neat with the earth and neutral flexes out of them.

I've only installed less than 10 just wondering all your techniques for rcbos?

I kept all the length on these and tried to coil them nicely behind the cpc and neutral terminals.

The Ghost · May 30, 2017

I cable tie them and loop them behind incoming L-N and splay them up to the terminal. Was thinking of ferruling them with shorter cable. The functional earths are crazy though at what .5mm? and also long, it is a bit messy and annoying I have to work with such tat.

D00DY_T00DY · May 30, 2017

Vortigern said:
I cable tie them and loop them behind incoming L-N and splay them up to the terminal. Was thinking of ferruling them with shorter cable. The functional earths are crazy though at what .5mm? and also long, it is a bit messy and annoying I have to work with such tat.

Some say there isn't actually a conducter In there at all

I tried connecting all the rcbo flexes out then get them all together then connect my circuits but fighting 6mm wires round was just a pain so I'm thinking circuits first then move the flex round the circuit wires and cable tie them all together.

It'll be a while till I'm installed rcbos again though.

Rpa07 · May 30, 2017

I agree, I did an 8 way Wylex the other day and was doing great with neatness which all went to pot with the functionals and the neutrals. I cable tied across in a group of 2 then splayed.
Good experience though. Was a small dimension board though as it had to fit in a meter box!

The Ghost · May 30, 2017

Well indeed a spark I know just connects even the functional earth to neutral. It does get me though as the FE is so small and mixing sizes in the same termination is somewhat unreliable.

Wilko · May 30, 2017

D00DY_T00DY said:
... temporary supply for ground workers on a genny; earth rod with a Zs of 2.13ohms (fairly good?) ...

Just how big was that fish again ?
You've beaten my record (6.x Ohms) that's for sure !

westward10 · May 30, 2017

I know Memshield 3 isn't the same quality as Memshield 2 but the rcbos have no earth lead.

Octopus · May 30, 2017

Not all RCBO's have earth leads ...

Pete999 · May 30, 2017

D00DY_T00DY said:
Hi all,

Probably going to seem like a novice question just wondering what techniques you lot have for full rcbo boards to keep it neat.

Put 5 in today for a temporary supply for ground workers on a genny; earth rod with a Zs of 2.13ohms (fairly good?)

Anyway it was a complete nightmare trying to keep it neat with the earth and neutral flexes out of them.

I've only installed less than 10 just wondering all your techniques for rcbos?

I kept all the length on these and tried to coil them nicely behind the cpc and neutral terminals.

Stick some functional earth coloured sleeving over them cut to length, nice and neat no problems imo

Leesparkykent · May 30, 2017

SBS compact RCBO's. you use a double bus bar so no neutral tail or functional/reference earth.

hightower · May 30, 2017

Cut and ferrule for me every time.

Like to leave a little bit length still so the RCBO isn't completely useless if it does need to be moved a little in the future.

[ElectriciansForums.net] Full rcbo boards????

telectrix · May 30, 2017

Wilko said:
Just how big was that fish again ?
You've beaten my record (6.x Ohms) that's for sure !

fish???? this is what my lad landed the other day.

john davies · May 30, 2017

I beg to differ. RCBOs are far better than the dual RCD boards with massive tails cluttering up the whole space. I just cut the neutral lead down to size and fit a 4 or 6mm2 boot lace ferrule. These things cost pence. As for the f/earth , take them to below the bus bar, into a wago 222 then take a 2.5mm2 single from wago222 up to earth bar. Also if you are installing C/U as a replacement there is much less chance of nusance tripping.

telectrix · May 30, 2017

hightower said:
Cut and ferrule for me every time.

Like to leave a little bit length still so the RCBO isn't completely useless if it does need to be moved a little in the future.

View attachment 36659

very neat, mate.

The Ghost · May 30, 2017

hightower said:
Cut and ferrule

Very nice @hightower think I will go for ferrule now I've seen that. I do however have reservations about ferrules in that it is possible for it to slip out of the ferrule

hightower · May 30, 2017

telectrix said:
very neat, mate.

Was done last year for my CPS assessment, looking at it now (a year down the line) and I'd argue there's room for improvement. I think if I'd done it today I'd have learnt a few more tricks and it would be neater still.

Thought I had some photos of a Proteus (absolute s****) 3-phase board I done recently where I'd cut and ferruled but I've checked and seems I didn't bother to get the camera out.

FatAlan · May 30, 2017

Where you been HT? Nice pic, how long did that take out of interest? Or is that why I haven't seen any posts for a while!

Ian1981 · May 30, 2017

I know the kqi Schneider rcbo instructions tell you not to bundle the neutrals together but can cut to length.
They recommend if the functional earth is cut then a bootlace is fitted due to crushing of the fine strands when tightend in the terminals

LankyWill · May 30, 2017

My boss used to unwrap the coiled leads and hang them from a table at night. Gives you a nice straight tail then. I always shorten and ferrule, that said the SBS is a good option.

davesparks · May 30, 2017

Rcbo tails should be cut to length and not bundled up in the board as this can lead to overheating of the conductor. Some, such as Schneider, even have this detailed in the instructions.

I'm curious about the Zs quoted in the OP, any Zs measurement on a generator fed installation won't include the earth rod, it will be testing the return path directly to the star point of the alternator.
The Ra for generator earth rods has to be measured using an earth electrode testing method.

D00DY_T00DY · May 30, 2017

Wilko said:
Just how big was that fish again ?
You've beaten my record (6.x Ohms) that's for sure !

The rod was on the other side of the cabin wall if it makes you feel better

literally a 4meter run max. That's going down the wall too

1M rod? Wholesalers forgot our spike though so that was fun.

davesparks · May 30, 2017

D00DY_T00DY said:
The rod was on the other side of the cabin wall if it makes you feel better literally a 4meter run max. That's going down the wall too 1M rod? Wholesalers forgot our spike though so that was fun.

What method did you use to test the rod?

Ian1981 · May 30, 2017

I got a Ra of 4 ohms the other day tho I used the structural steel as the electrode.
All bolted together about 10 lengths of steel into the foundations.

D00DY_T00DY · May 30, 2017

Ian1981 said:
I know the kqi Schneider rcbo instructions tell you not to bundle the neutrals together but can cut to length.
They recommend if the functional earth is cut then a bootlace is fitted due to crushing of the fine strands when tightend in the terminals

Temporary supply mate, might be in a month max. Probably try blag the company to give him the cable and gear back since they won't use it

did on the last tempory supply we did haha

D00DY_T00DY · May 30, 2017

davesparks said:
What method did you use to test the rod?

Boss does the testing, I took a Zs at the board after I finished. That's what I was referencing

-

The Ghost

-

-

The Ghost

-

Octopus

-

hightower

-

john davies

-

The Ghost

hightower

-

-

LankyWill

davesparks

-

davesparks

-

-

-

Similar Threads

OFFICIAL SPONSORS