Consumer Unit Change

[Nickj]

Hi All,

I am tomorrow going to be changing a consumer unit ahead of my Elecsa assessment next week.

Just wanted to check that I'm not missing anything with regards to amendment 3.

I'm going to be using a BG consumer unit supplied with RCBOs.

It has a cut out at back for cable entry and so I am going to pass all cables through that using a grommet strip around the metal edges. Do I need to seal the entry hole? I believe not however I have heard arguments that it needs to be sealed. Passing all cables through the rear entry may require de-rating cables due to grouping however the cables enter the current board (3036's) through the rear. Can i therefore assume ratings are fine?

I am going to attach the consumer unit to the wall using dewalt wall dogs which require no anchor in wall meaning I don't have to worry about plastic wall plugs falling out in the event of a fire.


If the cables are too short (I sincerely hope they won't be) I'll use an adaptable box above the board to mount a din rail to extend wiring. Does this adaptable box need to be non-combustible too? (associated switch gear covers this possibly?)

Thanks in advance

Nick

 

[Nickj]

Dpg I'm worrying about everything right now. absolute bag of nerves

 

[Midwest]

You'll be wondering why you did tomorrow. Get the tea on first. Good luck.

 

[Pat H]

Good luck for tomorrow. Sure it will be fine.

 

[mattg4321]

Don't sweat it. You seem like you've been pretty thorough and conscientious. Some of the sh** I've come across done by sparks that are part of a scheme - you'll sail through.

Don't forgot that its in their interest you pass and they will normally do what they can within reason these days to help you to. They want your money. It's not like it was pre financial crisis!

 

[westward10]

Dpg I'm worrying about everything right now. absolute bag of nerves

Nowt wrong with worrying, good luck but I don't think you will need it. Tell us how you get on.

 

[Nickj]

It's done! I'm very impressed by the assessment, I felt it was thorough and he really did check all aspects of the install and asked me plenty of questions.

 

[DPG]

Nice one. That's a weight off your mind! Daz

 

[westward10]

Top man.

 

[Pat H]

Well done. Its good to know the assessment actually means something. And even better that you were more than up to the job. What was his view on the earth route?

 

[Nickj]

He was absolutely fine with it. I mentioned it to him (citing the regulation) whilst he was closely examining the install and he said that it was fine as the tails are considered seperatly.

Thankfully I took a lot of photos of the install in varying stages of completion otherwise he would have wanted to check inside the trunking for fire clips. A photograph sufficed and he was happy to see them saying they are very often forgotten/not known about.

 

[Pat H]

Good tip about taking photos. It also uses up some of his time while he looks at them.
The more you fill his time on your terms the less he can grill you.

 

[Midwest]

Congrats' Nickj, are you having that beer now? Re the photos, its a useful thing to do. The Elecsa on-line certs (probably the other schemes do) allow you to upload pics, notes etc, to store with the certificate. You can add the pics to the cert, if you so wish, or just keep them there for whatever reason. Just useful to cover yourself sometimes. I always take a pic for example of the inside of a CU when I do a change, just in case someone else comes along after me

 

[TheCodboy]

Hi Guys,

Attached are my forms. Would appreciate it if you could check to see if I've ticked the correct boxes and my results look ok.

One other cause for concern is item 7.7 on the schedule of inspections.

The earthing conductor present before the board change was 6mm and so it needed to be upgraded to at least 10mm (tails are 16mm). I upgraded to 16mm.

I did not realise at the time that the tails and earthing conductor were 3 core.

It was not possible for me to bring the new earthing conductor along the same path as the 3 core cable without a lot of chasing.

I opted to bring the new earthing conductor into the house by a different route aided with trunking and fire clips where needed.

All circuits and tails were chased when installed (some 40 years ago) and entered the old fuse board through the back. I have brought all those cables through the back of the new consumer unit however I could not (without chasing and running the risk of damaging the already installed cabling) bring the new earthing conductor in through the rear.

I have read varying opinions on this with some saying it is ok for the earthing conductor to enter through a separate hole of the consumer unit (with some saying niceic advise that it doesnt apply to meter tails and earthign conductor so long as meter tails L & N enter same hole) and some saying it's not ok and should be noted as a deviation from the regs.

What would you guys do for assessment purposes? Would you enter it as a deviation? Would an assessor accept a deviation like this?

Sincere thanks to you all for the help so far

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I realise this thread is a few months old,but im going in for my Stroma assessment soon and was wondering a few things. If its just a CU,tails and earthing change,on the form "comments about existing installation" should some reference be made about your prior checks and testing to the exsisiting circuits before you started the CU change?

 

[Nickj]

Hi thecodboy,

Firstly good luck with your assessment! Stressful times.

There is no requirement to test the circuits before you change the board. I absolutely always do but only to find problems before the board change and be properly prepared.

You will be testing all circuits before connecting them to new board and as long as the results are satisfactory then you have all the information needed for the eic.

If you did a pre board change eicr I see no reason not to show and discuss wth assessor however the information will be duplicated in the eic.

Nick

 

[Wilko]

Comment about existing might be - estimated age and general condition of the installation, last inspection (hah), location of any drawings (hah) any faults and fixes.