Convert Ring Circuit to 2 Radial Circuits?

[whazza22]

Hi there,

Whats the best way to convert a Ring Circuit which feeds all the sockets in the house, to 2 Radial Circuits.

Its an 1960s house so only has one ring circuit. Would like to know the easiest way of doing this without lifting floorboards if possible. Im unsure where the 2 legs of the ring are going from the Dist. Board.

Thanks

 

[roukel01]

Do some testing to roughly find the mid point of the ring circuit. Take off a socket and disconnect one of the feeds. Make safe and then connect the two ends in the CU to a couple of 16amp MCB's. Hey presto a couple of radials.

 

[GaryM]

Find an appropriate position between two sockets where you want to break the ring then then in an ideal world you would remove the cable that goes between though in the working world you would probably just cut the conductors off right up to the backbox.
Test and inspect the two radials then supply each by a B20 MCB.

 

[Octopus]

Do some testing to roughly find the mid point of the ring circuit. Take off a socket and disconnect one of the feeds. Make safe and then connect the two ends in the CU to a couple of 16amp MCB's. Hey presto a couple of radials.

Hum, so in every socket except the one you've now changed you've got 2 cables connected. Me think's you should find the "other end" of the now disconnected cable (i.e. at the next socket/fcu) and disconnect that too. Also you may be able to use 20A MCB's - especially so if one of your "new" radials has a dishwasher and washing machine on it.

Why do you want to split the ring in the first place?

 

[roukel01]

Hum, so in every socket except the one you've now changed you've got 2 cables connected. Me think's you should find the "other end" of the now disconnected cable (i.e. at the next socket/fcu) and disconnect that too. Also you may be able to use 20A MCB's - especially so if one of your "new" radials has a dishwasher and washing machine on it.

Why do you want to split the ring in the first place?

Disconnecting the other end of the leg would be better, but makes no difference, you still have two radials, just an extra live cable made safe in one of the back boxes.

 

[Knobhead]

So you would be happy to leave a live cable from a separate circuit in the back box? Nice when you’ve isolated your radial, tested the socket is dead and then get a belt off the other radial.

I’m baffled why our OP wants to split the ring. (No smutty jokes please).

 

[Engineer54]

I can't understand why exactly, your splitting this ring?? Is there a fault on the ring that you can't get to or something??

Splitting a ring for no particular reason is just pure folly!! If the property needs another circuit, then fine install one, a Radial if you like. Better still, split the ring and bring a new leg back to the CU from each, to create 2 ring circuits....

 

[ackbarthestar]

If, lets say, a RFC had a line of spurs connect into the ring then splitting the ring where multiple spurs had been connected would be a logical solution.
A tree circuit fed from a 20A radial would be a quick solution to having to rewire the whole RFC, don't you think?

 

[Engineer54]

Why fix what's not broken would be my first question!!

 

[Knobhead]

Who planted the trees?

 

[ackbarthestar]

Who planted the trees?

A gardener with a pitch fork, I suspect !

 

[roukel01]

So you would be happy to leave a live cable from a separate circuit in the back box? Nice when you’ve isolated your radial, tested the socket is dead and then get a belt off the other radial.

I’m baffled why our OP wants to split the ring. (No smutty jokes please).

Ok ok, find the other end, disconnect that too. However, if it is made safe as I suggested, any competent person would check to see whats going on before getting a belt!!!

 

[Chivers]

What about an incompetent person? Much better to disconnect both legs. We live in the real world where some people have a little knowledge to make this situation more dangerous than it should be.

Don't seem the point of splitting a ring final unless one part serves an upstairs floor and another "the return" downstairs and you want to be able to isloate either floor for maintenance work.

 

[1shortcircuit]

I must admit I would not be happy leaving the cable disconnected at just one end.

There are a few scenarios as to why this is not safe, a couple have already been mentioned.

If you are splitting to separate circuits for a new consumer unit then you'll have to be 100% sure that there are no points on the "Wrong "circuit. I have not seen it personally but I have been informed of installations where the circuit supplying an entire property snaked from one floor to the other in numerous places which would make it near impossible to divide into front/back or up/down.

Regards

1SC

 

[topquark]

I must admit I would not be happy leaving the cable disconnected at just one end.

There are a few scenarios as to why this is not safe, a couple have already been mentioned.

If you are splitting to separate circuits for a new consumer unit then you'll have to be 100% sure that there are no points on the "Wrong "circuit. I have not seen it personally but I have been informed of installations where the circuit supplying an entire property snaked from one floor to the other in numerous places which would make it near impossible to divide into front/back or up/down.

Regards

1SC

It used to be quite a common way to wire the one RFC for the house. Still possible to find the approximate mid point for a split by checking resistances.