UK CU Change help

[Tuxornot]

Hi,
Before I begin my tale of woe, I have my tin hat ready!

I'm retired from the trade, I started out just as the 16th came in and had a rather interesting career before being thrown a googly, so I am out of the loop by a few years, yeah I can re-qualify and join a scam but its not going to happen, anyway to keep it short, I would like to replace my CU, a plastic wylex split load that had two 80 A rdc's and nine mcb's and a spare slot, the reasons are as follows:

A) its an ex council house that was rewired in 2010, last periodic was carried out in 2016, a clean sheet except for marking the plastic enclosure as a C3, not had any serious problems until:

B) a few months ago I replaced the shower 45 Amp ceiling isolator with a more robust hager wall mount isolator, the old one had as usual failed, it was while fitting this switch that I decided to check the 4 A mcb terminals for tightness, What I found was that at some point in the past someone must have ripped the head off the clamp screw, cut the hole bigger and fitted an oddball screw, there is a similar situation on a 32A mcb on the other rcd side.

Now I was going to try and obtain direct replacements but they are obsolete, the best wylex could suggest was replace the lot with another series because the bus bar as you know, has been moved a tad so it wont fit the rcd's either, meaning a full change, if I have to do that I may as well swap the entire board and go with rcbo, having one spare way for future expansion.

The problem is I need this doing and need the paperwork, money isn't the problem, getting someone is, I have asked two companies up here in Merseyside and no one got back over it despite the job being free of problems, possibly I picked the wrong people who knows.

I carried out a full test myself after finding the tampered clamps, I can provide the last periodic along with my recent results, no problems , no open rfc's and insulation on 8 circuits is 1000M ohm at 500V and one thats 800M ohm possibly due to moisture in the wall that comes and goes, and every outlet has been replaced with scolmores, either white or steel.

There are no hidden surprises, no damaged cables under the floors and attic and no hidden junction boxes, but I do have two correctly fitted accessible wago boxes in the attic to provide a tap off the lighting for the shower fan and attic lights, its really rather boring really.

Now I know I may get flack and it may be deserved but I believe the conditions are good and it should be on the face of it, a nice clean job, fresh coffee and a little banter and that's it, anything unexpected then it will be resolved no problem.

Finally (and I can hear some say about time), is there any one here who is near Merseyside who would like to take this on or do you know anyone who may be interested ?

One mast thing, three months ago I had the DNO replace the service head and earth ( TN-S ) because I didn't like the look of the earth, rightly so it was in poor condition and we now have a new 100A grey service incomer that match the grey 25mm tails.

Phew, thats it, thank you.

--

 

[littlespark]

Just plead ignorance and get your gear from local B&Q. They sell CU's so it must be ok for joe public to change it without any quals or LABC notification

 

[TJ Anderson]

the recall of a 6amp mcb that was Meany years ago ,
A very small number of Electrium MCBs, sold under the brand names Wylex, Crabtree (Loadstar only) and Volex are not perfroming to the required characteristics. This can lead to a potential risk of burning, in a small number of installations.

Models affected

MCB Rating: 6 Amp
Wylex: NSB06
Crabtree (Loadstar only): 6M1B06
Volex: VB06


MCB Rating: 10 Amp
Wylex: NSB10
Crabtree (Loadstar only): 6M1B10
Volex: VB10


MCB Rating: 16 Amp
Wylex: NSB16
Crabtree (Loadstar only): 6M1B16
Volex: VB16

I remember that Buzz!! I made a bundle out of that recall......good times!!!

 

[Tuxornot]

I'll just leave here, it may help shine a light on my attitude on this matter.

Years ago I asked by a friend to look at his CU with a view to swapping it for a larger one or piggy back a smaller on for a garage. I refused, I hadn't done much in the way domestic switch gear and was'nt a scam member, refusal ended up ending that friendship.

So this chap, who wasn't short of money found his own electrician to do the work, when I say electrician I use the term loosely, he was in fact a glorified maintenance man. To cut to the chase, some time later there was a electrical fire, caused by burning cable in the meter and CU cupboard that also had boots and coats in.

No one was hurt but, I don't know how the system works his insurance found out the work wasn't notified and refused the claim, I'm not sure what happened after that.

Now back to present day, I have years of experience in industrial electrical work, some domestic as well, I'm a pain in the rear for following the book, no ifs and buts, I can do my own CU no problem but wont because:

1) I no longer have a mft so I cant or wont do live tests, dead tests yeah but those mean little if the rest cant be done if you do not have the gear, do not do the job, simple.

2) if I can not guarantee I will leave the installation in a better condition than I found it I wont touch it with a long pole.

3) All of my work was done to a high standard, I may be a little ocd in that department but I expect the same from everyone else.

Finally I wont put my family at risk, its all I have and wont put them at risk just to shave a bob or two off, I can assure anyone that with my luck, if things go wrong I am first in the queue.

As for the LABC, well I have my views on that, on one hand its supposed to cut out poor workmanship but on the other, its money going to some jobs worth fat **** that's creaming it of another's hard work but the rules are set even if they don't work.

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[Lister1987]

You do realise that you don't need to be a member of a scam to do a CU swap don't you ? It sounds to me like you have the experience to be considered competent to do the work. I suspect your biggest problems will be access to an MFT and the cost of a notification to your LABC dept.

Wonder what would happen if someone just sent them a letter advising work done, included test results and pictures and ending the letter with; if you want to come and inspect it that's fine but I won't pay for your time. ?

 

[Simon47]

1) I no longer have a mft so I cant or wont do live tests, dead tests yeah but those mean little if the rest cant be done if you do not have the gear, do not do the job, simple.

Yeah, that's a bit of a problem if you don't know someone well enough to be able to borrow one.

3) All of my work was done to a high standard, I may be a little ocd in that department but I expect the same from everyone else.

I understand that, it's my approach as well - which is why, at my last job, I didn't get to do a lot of network installation jobs as they were subbed out to people who'd do them in half the time. The problem comes when trying to find a tradesman who can work to the same standards, and who you can afford

As for the LABC, well I have my views on that, on one hand its supposed to cut out poor workmanship but on the other, its money going to some jobs worth fat **** that's creaming it of another's hard work but the rules are set even if they don't work.

I think we have similar views
Having said that, my dealings with the BC inspectors have been very positive. I did some notifiable work at the last house, got one of them to come round in advance, agreed the work to be done (I was opening up a hole in a wall to make a cupboard over the stairs), and once I'd got the new lintel in he came back to check and I got the completion certificate a few days later.

Wonder what would happen if someone just sent them a letter advising work done, included test results and pictures and ending the letter with; if you want to come and inspect it that's fine but I won't pay for your time. ?

I put in a notice at the last house to change the CU - and just sent the lower fee. The inspector did ask about tests and I just said "I'll be providing results" without being any more specific. My plan was to do my own EIC and just send that - I doubt they'd have been bothered as it means they have a magic certificate that protects their backside
We ended up moving before I got round to doing it, so I didn't get to test their attitude. I expect to be doing it with this house at some point.

 

[Tuxornot]

I can borrow an mft if I ask nicely and offer more than its worth in beer, the problem is giving it back, it will have to be prised by my cold dead hands first, buying a new one with a cal cert isnt really an option, it wont pay for its self, unless screwfarce will loan one for day...... ahem.

Had two dealings with our labc. one while having a internal wall removed, the lady was absolutely brilliant and nice to deal with. Other was a friends outside swimming pool, it was a matter wanting so much for the pool filled and chucking him in it then filling it in with concrete and building a house over it.

I missed out on a few jobs because I wanted things doing my way, so it went to someone cheaper, its always the way, annoys me because its a great opportunity to show off your skills, with cabling or networking you can see it, anyone can, not so much in a CU or switch gear cabinet, yeah I like cable p*orn