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.

 

[nicebutdim]

Really?

Wylex 16A SP Type B MCB - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Miniature circuit breaker with front-operated din rail release clip, dolly switch reset mechanism and in-built tunnel shield. 'No miss' tunnel terminals on top and bottom. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

Crabtree Loadstar 16A SP Type B MCB - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Clamp terminal allows fitting of comb-type busbar. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

Wylex DP Type 2 Miniature Surge Protection Device 40kA - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. 18th Edition Amendment 2. For use with Wylex consumer units. Single module including all connections, fits in way 1 next to main switch. Features status indicators showing if the device has been activated and includes volt-free contacts for remote monitoring and...

www.screwfix.com

Crabtree Starbreaker DP Type 2 Miniature Surge Protection Device 40kA - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. 18th Edition Amendment 2. For use with Crabtree Starbreaker consumer units. Provides protection against overvoltage originating from switching and secondary effects from lightning strikes, protecting the electrical installation and all connected equipment. Status...

www.screwfix.com

Crabtree Starbreaker 80A 30mA DP Type A RCCB - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. 18th Edition Amendment 2. Plug-in RCCB. Single phase with fully shrouded terminals. Contact position indication on dolly handle. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

Wylex 80A 30mA DP Type A RCD - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. 18th Edition Amendment 2. Double pole DC sensitive RCD. Features test button. Multi-wired connectable conductor cross-section: 35mm². FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

I'm able to see the similarities, yet am also aware of the fact that Wylex devices more often than not aren't compatible with their own boards.

The Starbreaker devices you link will fit boards going back a considerable number of years.

For obvious reasons Wylex and Starbreaker are incompatible, no matter how much bashing or cutting from the most determined spark.

 

[oscar21]

I know, I couldn't find decent pictures of the loadstar stuff but its identical to the wylex stuff, even the actual consumer units are identical.

 

[nicebutdim]

I know, I couldn't find decent pictures of the loadstar stuff but its identical to the wylex stuff, even the actual consumer units are identical.

Loadstar and Starbreaker are both identical to current Wylex products?

Seems unlikely, but I only deal with Loadstar as and when I come across it. I have very little knowledge of the Loadstar range. In general Fusebox is what I use on the basis of a combination of price, availability and devices- Starbreaker is comparatively expensive and not widely available over here, but I prefer it where quality and devices are concerned.

 

[oscar21]

I think so, here is the Crabtree CU I have with the non removable bus bar. (forget about the axiom SPD, thats another story).

Here is the latest Wylex unit

 

[nicebutdim]

I think so, here is the Crabtree CU I have with the non removable bus bar. (forget about the axiom SPD, thats another story).

View attachment 111508

Here is the latest Wylex unit

View attachment 111509

So where does Starbreaker fit into all of this?

 

[oscar21]

Well the starbreaker MCB's and RCD's are essentially the same unit, just with a different way of connecting them to the bus bar. A star breaker RCD will still have all the same insides to it as the loadstar ones and also the Wylex ones. So they are essentially all the same.

 

[nicebutdim]

Well the starbreaker MCB's and RCD's are essentially the same unit, just with a different way of connecting them to the bus bar. A star breaker RCD will still have all the same insides to it as the loadstar ones and also the Wylex ones. So they are essentially all the same.

The same, other than the fact none of the points you raised seem to apply to them.

I'm going to leave it at that as there's no merit in arguing with you on the basis of supposition. When you've bought and fitted a Starbreaker board I'll be happy to discuss their merits, or perhaps lack of if that becomes your informed opinion.

 

[mainline]

I find the BG fortress a very substantial enclosure, so much so that I use it to stand on when fitting the Fusebox range.

 

[nicebutdim]

I like the Fusebox boards and would fit them if I got to choose, my mate reckons the newest Chint board he fitted the other week was the best he's used in a while, plenty of space and all the MCB's line up perfectly. As for the din rail in the new Wylex boards, they are riveted in and there is now way of removing them. Its a pain in the arse if you are fitting a dual RCD on as you have to remove all the tails to get them out of the way instead of removing them all in one go. Here is what I mean about the din rail. (Crabtree and Wylex are the same with this model)

View attachment 111498

View attachment 111499


You probably could get it out if you bent the case enough but its not designed to be removed really.

O/T but I'm stuck with that board now, I was in a rush and the spec said Crabtree board so I found a Toolstation that had one in stock and bought it, it wan't until I was halfway through fitting it that I realised it had AC RCD's in it, I wasn't even aware they still sold that version. There was no way I was uninstalling it all and a new type A board was the same price as separate RCD's so I just got one of them, swapped the RCD's over and carried on. But now I'm stuck with something I cant take back as all the model labels and box are wrong. What can I do with it.

Didn't see this yesterday - seems to have been posted while I'd been replying to the previous comment.

Not sure why they'd design a fixed din rail and it seems a bit daft. Hope they don't go that route with Starbreaker, although it would be difficult to assemble as it would get in the way of the plug in busbar. The board in your images doesn't even appear to be that recent - even Screwfix have been advertising Crabtree stuff with Type A RCDs for at least two years.

 

[oscar21]

Didn't see this yesterday - seems to have been posted while I'd been replying to the previous comment.

Not sure why they'd design a fixed din rail and it seems a bit daft. Hope they don't go that route with Starbreaker, although it would be difficult to assemble as it would get in the way of the plug in busbar. The board in your images doesn't even appear to be that recent - even Screwfix have been advertising Crabtree stuff with Type A RCDs for at least two years.

It was a few months ago, it was related to a post I put up about a different make SPD in a consumer unit if you remember it, where the council official wouldn't accept it. I also assumed it was a board with type A's in as Toolstation definitely sold them at the time but they must also have been selling the older stuff off as clearance or whatever. Because I was in a rush I just wrote the number down of a 10 way board and purchased it without looking too closely at it, it wasn't until after I had done the knockouts and mounted it that a realised they we AC. I simply popped back into TS and purchased a dual type A board as well and just swapped the RCD's over. I couldn't even take it back as I'd ripped the first box up to write my readings down on it.

I could have just boxed it all up, said nowt and returned it as not wanted but then some other poor sap would have bought it as type A board and ended up with AC RCD's. So I thought there must be somewhere I can use it up but its still sat in my cupboard.

 

[Timbo]

I believe (don't hold me to it) that it is LVE stuff.

The other good thing is you tell them the order you want the breakers in and they assemble it that way, so it's ready to go.