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the problem I'd have is brands seem to come and go, and now mixing of components is expressly banned you're stuffed if you need a new circuit or replacement part. Client of mine had a "magnuss" dual RCD with faulty RCD which was apparently 6 months old at the time, searched high and low and no idea where it came from. Refuses to have to whole unit replaced. Another guy had a clipsal - actually good quality kit, but pulled out the UK market, now he needs a 6 amp MCB but all you have is idiots flogging worn out stuff of dubious origin on ebay etc. Explain to me the QA on that.
This is why I fitted mostly MK/wylex for years but since they went right down the toilet its been hagar.
This is why I fitted mostly MK/wylex for years but since they went right down the toilet its been hagar.
Don't know why people think this mix and match situation is a recent thing as it has been a requirement for years to follow manufacturers guidance and this wouldn't have included fitted non-compatible devices it really is nothing new.
Everyone who moves into a non-new-build house and doesn't have the CU replaced is using second-hand devices.....
They were most likely new when they were installed though. Not really getting your argument here.
What's the difference between putting a s/h MCB into a CU and hoping it's OK and moving into a house with MCBs already installed in a CU and hoping that they are OK?
Don't understand this statement at all. They were new when installed most likely. Suppose your using a 2nd hand boiler then, 2nd hand pipes, 2nd hand bricks as well. Doesn't make much sense.
Your argument doesn't make sense. We're talking about FITTING used devices.
As an analogy, would you pay someone to fit a 2nd hand engine which hadn't been tested to your car?
What’s wrong with re using mcbs , not like they have a best before date
At least with 2nd hand RCBO you can test the RCD side with your MFT, so have a bit more confidence they are not fake.
The underlying issue is folk get a CU fitted which ought to be good for 10-20 years, but then find a couple of years down the line they can't buy spares any more. True, it is not quite as bad as cars that have routine changes of things, but it is quite bad for the folk finding themselves in such a position.
Ideally there would be proper interchangeability in "standard" MCBs, etc, but short of that there should be a legal requirement to offer spare MCB/RCBO for 10 years after a product line is end-of-life at "reasonable" cost.
The underlying issue is folk get a CU fitted which ought to be good for 10-20 years, but then find a couple of years down the line they can't buy spares any more. True, it is not quite as bad as cars that have routine changes of things, but it is quite bad for the folk finding themselves in such a position.
Ideally there would be proper interchangeability in "standard" MCBs, etc, but short of that there should be a legal requirement to offer spare MCB/RCBO for 10 years after a product line is end-of-life at "reasonable" cost.
I think its just the fact that you dont know their history, how they've been stored, whether they have been repeatedly closed on to faults etc. And you can't test them to prove they are good.
If you buy a S/H MCB it was new when first installed, but it isn't now.
If you move into a house with a CU there, the MCBs in it were new when they were installed, but they aren't now.
I'm sorry I've not been able to explain myself properly - it wasn't my intention to start a row.
I just think that people should think about what is the real difference, per se, between an x-year old MCB which was installed in a CU today and an x-year old one installed in a CU x years ago, and if the former device is regarded with great suspicion because it isn't new then why not the latter?
Nobody is talking about electricians installing used gear as a matter of routine, but in circumstances where a new device is simply unobtainable, and the only alternatives to a used one are either no new/repaired circuit or an entire CU replacement, then is a bit of logical thinking around the fact that hundreds of thousands of people insert used protective devices into their lives, and rely on them for their safety, every time they move house, really not possible?
And after I moved in here I was indeed using a 2nd hand boiler for a while.
As a last resort.
Not a perfect analogy, but we can run with it a bit.
If engines were not repairable, and I had a car which needed an engine, and I couldn't get a new one, and it was a quick and easy job to install a used one I wouldn't rule it out on the grounds that it was used.
In no new car I've ever had have I gone and put a new engine in it, or replaced the tyres just because they weren't new...
These analogies aren't perfect, but the tyre one raises another point. People cavil at the idea of putting s/h tyres on their car, but I'll bet a lot of them buy s/h cars and carry on using the s/h tyres that came with it.
Hi everyone,
If...
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