Condition of enclosures in terms of fire rating

[Risteard]

I think it's way off the mark to say that there's a very real risk of fire from plastic consumer units.

I certainly won't claim that I know better than the London Fire Brigade and JPEL/64 when they considered the evidence. I don't believe my insurers would advise such a course of action!

So I can only assume that there is a risk of fire, and therefore it's not something which I would not highlight during periodic inspection and testing.

 

[Risteard]

The only difference is that domestic installers don't do commercial work.

It's not the only difference though. Probably much more relevant is the degree of maintenance in non-domestic installations.

(Anyway, who uses plastic domestic-type single phase distribution boards is non-domestic installations? Typically proper steel distribution boards are used.)

 

[davesparks]

The regulations are not retrospective. Therefore if it complied with a previous edition of the regulations, and is not unsafe for continued use it is not coded. This is why an in depth understanding of previous editions of the regulations is essential for anyone carrying out EICR's.

Not quite, there is a subtle difference in that anything which is safe for continued use but could have an additional degree of safety added is given a C3.

Knowledge of previous regulations isn't necessarily all that important as the standard of safety for an EICR is the current version of bs7671. Where people go wrong is treating an EICR as if it was an initial verification, or just learning regulations parrot fashion without actually understanding them.
Even if an installation was carried out under the current regulations with non-compliances which do not warrant a code based on safety it will get a satisfactory assessment on an EICR, this is why an EICR cannot be used for certifying new work.

For example if I was to complete an installation in my friends shed tomorrow using red and black twin it would not comply as the core colours are wrong. I could not issue a valid EIC without listing it as a deviation, but if someone was to carry out an EICR in a weeks time then it would pass as satisfactory with no code for the core colours as there is no danger or safety improvement to be made.

 

[davesparks]

So how do the ESC justify the C3 then for the "old" CU's under wooden stairs?

Just wondering!

I think it has something to do with around 3/4 of the ESC's funding coming from Certsure (their financial reports are available online)

 

[pcam1984]

I would agree maintenance is less prevalent in domestic situations, but I also find it too much of a coincidence that there has been a surge in fires since people were allowed to do short courses and qualify as domestic installers! I think that just using non combustible boards or enclosures was suggested by London Fire without them knowing the full situation regarding training or installers. I don't know about you but it's very rare to get a call out to a board that's gone on fire.

As for plastic boards in commercial, there's thousands out there! Shops, pubs, nursing homes. It all comes down to the design of the install and what architects, customers etc want to have installed.

I'm required to install non combustible in domestic but if a commercial customer wants a plastic board I won't tell him that it's unsafe or a fire hazard! I have full confidence in my own ability, training and more importantly experience to be happy leaving a job knowing that my connections are fine and have been checked. I also make a point of returning to board changes a couple of days later to recheck the connections after the cables have 'settled' so to speak. How many domestic installers have the experience to know that there may be a bit of movement especially on the bigger cables?

I'm not slagging off domestic installers either, the majority of these guys genuinely believe that they are paying for good qualification, the problem lies with the training providers and scams for encouraging the courses. It all boils down to the top brass lining their pockets!