Best Consumer unit for home

[James]

I try to keep out of Domestic work but I have a problem at home.

Currently I have a wylex fuse board with re-wire fuses.
they are great because nuisance tripping never happens!!

however, it is an overhead TT supply and this is covered by a 30mA non delay rcd that covers the whole house.
this evening the rcd tripped and the wife got mad at me.
because in her mind being married to an electrician means that our electricity should be of a better quality than everybody else's and one stupid trip switch shouldn't turn everything off.

now no amount of waffle and bull faeces including flux capacitor integration into a 100 year old house is going to persuade her that it cant be done so I am now sadly looking into doing a job that is 10 years overdue.

If I am going to do it, I am going to do it properly so what are your recommendations for domestic consumer units?
may as well have all the mod cons in it SPD, RCBO, time delay rcd incomer.
are there any other bells, whistles or collections of random letters i should be thinking about?

might need a pen fault detector as i think in future they may upgrade the supply and i have a car charger.

 

[Baddegg]

As above I like the fuse box range and fit the spd models as standard…..3 this week so far ….if I can’t get them I use contactum defender….both these balance quality against the amount people will pay in the domestic market…..but reading through I’m in agreement with the long term view and would probably stump up for Hager or Schneider in my own place when I inevitably find myself in your position @James….it won’t be long as my wife recently discovered that our “electric thingy” (not my work) doesn’t look as nice as the one I’ve just fitted in her friends place…

 

[AJshep]

I like the Electrium consumer units but the cost is still higher then others.

For my house I'd probably go for a Hager with built in SPD. The SPDs in the Hager consumer units are rated at 100amp so don't require any additional OCPD. However as it's a TT I'd be inclined to change the Main switch to a 100ma Time delayed.
Hager have recently dropped the price of their mixture SPSN miniature RCBOs to around £15 each.

 

[timhoward]

Hager have recently dropped the price of their mixture SPSN miniature RCBOs to around £15 each.

I was about to say that the benefit of Crabtree Starbreaker is they make SPSN RCBOs.
Then you wrote that; so maybe I'm wrong but I've never seen a single module SPSN RCBO from Hager, only SP+N. I know the AFDDs are SPSN.
I think I specifically asked this on here a while back and this was confirmed.

 

[ferg]

I went for Hager in mine and that is what I fit as standard.
I've fitted a few fusebox boards where cost was the primary concern and I have to say I much prefer Hager.
As above the RCBOs have come down in price lately making cost less of an issue.
When it came to changing mine I had a Fusebox and RCBOs in stock waiting for a home and I still fitted Hager.
I used to keep both brands but now I only keep Hager.
Due to my location I have to carry a fair bit of stock and have been using Hager for many years without issue.

 

[nicebutdim]

I went for Hager in mine and that is what I fit as standard.
I've fitted a few fusebox boards where cost was the primary concern and I have to say I much prefer Hager.
As above the RCBOs have come down in price lately making cost less of an issue.
When it came to changing mine I had a Fusebox and RCBOs in stock waiting for a home and I still fitted Hager.
I used to keep both brands but now I only keep Hager.
Due to my location I have to carry a fair bit of stock and have been using Hager for many years without issue.

Can you resolve the issue of whether or not Hager offer SP+N RCBOs (regardless of cost) in a single module width? My understanding was the same as @timhoward in that they don't.

For me the main selling point of Hager is the fact that backward compatibility has been maintained over many years, but would favour Starbreaker in that regard as the range also incorporates other beneficial features. I don't dislike Hager in the least, but often struggle to understand their popularity in the domestic distribution board market.

 

[ferg]

Can you resolve the issue of whether or not Hager offer SP+N RCBOs (regardless of cost) in a single module width? My understanding was the same as @timhoward in that they don't.

For me the main selling point of Hager is the fact that backward compatibility has been maintained over many years, but would favour Starbreaker in that regard as the range also incorporates other beneficial features. I don't dislike Hager in the least, but often struggle to understand their popularity in the domestic distribution board market.

I'm not 100% but I'm almost certain Timhoward is right.

It's probably a bit Milwaukee or Dewalt TBH.
For me I'm a creature of habit and as I say I have to carry a fair bit of stock so switching between brands is a pain.
Backwards compatibility is a big selling point as is the longevity of the brand, availability, build quality and appearance.
Like a lot of one man bands I've had some of my customers a very long time so I like to be confident that what I fit is going to stand the test of time and not bite me in the backside a few years down the line.

 

[AJshep]

Your right after looking they are only Single pole !!

 

[timhoward]

Maybe I over think this, and maybe less relevant in the home of a sparks who has IR tester, but generally I reckon being able to disconnect N-E faults easily is a big benefit of RCBO boards and for this reason I don’t tend to fit Hager. When AFDDs actually work, are testable, and cost £25 I might reconsider!

 

[baldelectrician]

I always use Hager, however my confidence in them has been dented with the AFDD woes

In my home I have a Hager 3P+N DB with RCBO's plus an essential services DB for lighting, heating etc with a 63A Hager DP changeover switch

 

[mainline]

For me the main selling point of Hager is the fact that backward compatibility has been maintained over many years

Apparently, Hager are only compatible for metal consumer units.

That's only for about the last 7 years.

 

[nicebutdim]

Apparently, Hager are only compatible for metal consumer units.

That's only for about the last 7 years.

I thought it went back much farther in time.


Like Starbreaker

 

[mainline]

I always use Hager, however my confidence in them has been dented with the AFDD woes

I agree I saw a Hager afdd being tested, and it did absolutely nothing, other makes tripped fine.

 

[Timbo]

SBS consumer units, double pole rcbo's, twin busbar, no flying neutral leads. SPD available.

 

[westward10]

Is that fitted or on your couch.

 

[Diddy]

SBS consumer units, double pole rcbo's, twin busbar, no flying neutral leads. SPD available.

That guy who started this company was years ahead of the game. Quality products.