Certification Questions

[Paul Webb]

I have just replaced an old style wired fuse board with a modern consumer unit.

When removing the old unit, the 32 AMP wire fuse that supplied two 2.5mm cables to the dining room and lounge sockets I assumed to be a ring main but found no continuity between any of the wires and on further investigation found that it was in fact two radial circuits connected to the single fuse (naughty!)

I don’t want to have to re-wire to install a ring main, so is it within regulation to separate these two radials and supply them from a 20A RCD? Certainly looks safe on paper as 2.5mm is rated at I believe 27amps?

Another frustration is that the layout of the two radials is not consistent, one feeds the dining room and part of the lounge, the other feeds only two sockets in the lounge. I was thinking these should be labelled as “Lounge and Dining Room Sockets (partial)” in the consumer unit. Again, is this allowed?

There is a ring main that supplies the upstairs and the kitchen – odd considering the radial design downstairs – which some bright spark has taken a 2.5” spur off the back of one of the kitchen sockets to supply the downstairs toilet light. Again – how does this stand from a regulatory point of view. I don’t see a safety issue as long as this is labelled up in the consumer unit.

Also in the kitchen, the original 45 amp cooker wire has been fed into a 13A fused spur and the under cupboard kitchen lights & a double 13A socket (ran with 1.5mm twin and earth) has been fed. When I installed the consumer unit it made sense to radial this off the kitchen/upstairs ring main at the unit itself. Doesn’t look regs, but don’t see any danger here as the 13A fuse in the spur would protect from overload of either the sockets or lighting.

I plan to get the installation inspected and signed off. Would all/any of this pass, or is remedial work needed?

Many thanks

 

[Midwest]

haha. reminds me of t'other week. stopped at traffic lights, 2 lanes. car next to me in other lane. i chucked my smoke end out and he went ballistic. yelling and bawling " cigarette end.litter... blah, blah, blah. "

so i wound down my manual window winder and yelled back at the pratt.....

" if you're quick, there's still a couple of drags left on it "

don't think he was amused.

Advise against chucking things out of windows or this could happen

WATCH: Driver throws rubbish onto the street but suffers instant karma when THIS happens - http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/838397/Upload the image directly to the thread-viral-video-karma-driver-litter

Edit after the F in adverts!

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Paul have you tested the circuits you've connected to your new CU so that you'll sure they were safe to energise?

Without Sorry for boring the pants of other members, pictured below is a socket I discovered when a new kitchen had been installed in a house. It was a socket on a ring final, that had been plastered over when the house was built circa 1960, the ring was changed to two radials in 2011 when someone replaced the CU. The cables were still live, until hacked out the plaster to reveal this old fossil, and disconnected from the radials.

View attachment 38701 View attachment 38702

All very well, but in truth lets assume during a board change we discover the ring is actually not a ring, and IR tests are good....then how many of us would have discovered that hidden horror? Particularly if it's an old installation where wiring is not always text book. Suspicions might be aroused if the rest of the wiring was text book and it was clear the kitchen had been altered, and you'd expect those ends to drop the IR through the floor.
Otherwise, without any obvious problems I doubt very much I would of found it during a board change. I'd have made it two radials.