IPXXD Consumer Units

[D Skelton]

And so it came to pass
the electrical industry jumped back in time to 10-15 years ago when boards were all metal
without main switches and devices made out of chocolate I hope.
there was electricity before the 17th came out believe it or not.
how many 15th or 16 th edition boards do you see fail,not many I bet
i just install decent gear to start with that has been proven over time not to fail.

And you think metal boards made the slightest bit of difference?!

I think it has more to do with the fact that fuse carriers were ceramic and flash guards were asbestos. The material housing them makes no difference.

Fires do start however when five week whizzers can't do up a termination correctly! Lol

 

[Dcf]

I'm talking about mcb's not rewireable fuses
the skillset to actually turn a screwdriver seems to be lacking these days as you rightly point out though.
back in the day you never got to do a board until roughly your 4 th year , it was always your journeymans job
kinda felt like you had made when you got the royal invite to do the board!

thats because you had to roughly know what you were doing as it came as a board& devices.
fast forward to the present day and the current trend for populated boards and that's where the problem lies
its all in already just hook the wires up job done....not quite by some of the howlers I come across.
anothe factor is the cost control due to far eastern manufacture.
as an example
how many mk sentry boards from the 80s 90s do you come across burnt to a charred crisp?
very few I would think as the boards were made by seimens in the 80s and merlin gerin in the 90s for mk
not chint or British General or any other rubbish that can be picked up for peanuts these days
the recent mk boards are absolute junk
im neither for or against plastic domestic boards.
i am all for using quality equipment and properly trained personnel installing the most important part of the installation though.

 

[Engineer54]

Eddy currents don't magically start appearing at 200A, it's just the effects which become more noticeable at those kind of currents.

Plus i think there is a regulation which says they can't pass through different holes in a ferrous enclosure.

There's a lot more behind the reasoning or not allowing single core conductors to pass through separate holes, one being that all the losses and heating of cables caused by these circulating currents have to be paid for, it doesn't come for free!! lol!!

 

[D Skelton]

i am all for using quality equipment and properly trained personnel installing the most important part of the installation though.

Here here

 

[stevethesparks]

Its about time the high street were banned from selling CU's, that might solve a few problems.

 

[Engineer54]

Here we go again, the elelectrical police are knocking at the door again.... lol!!

 

[Octopus]

Given how many Fire Brigade members are part time sparks they would realise that the main problem is the crxp products being sold and installed.

 

[netblindpaul]

All the "scams", the IET & LFB all admit that it is down to poor installation.
However LFB have persuaded JPEL/64 to put a requirement in place to "contain" the fire, rather than the "scams" have to ensure that the installer is competent.

 

[D Skelton]

All the "scams", the IET & LFB all admit that it is down to poor installation.
However LFB have persuaded JPEL/64 to put a requirement in place to "contain" the fire, rather than the "scams" have to ensure that the installer is competent.

The LFB work with what they have. It isn't down to them to ensure that installers are competent. It is however the job of the ESC to promote competence! Hmm, I wonder why they might not be so keen on the idea! Lol

 

[Guest111]

All this talk about metal CU's got me thinking,when I first started out there were quite a few metalclad units,then plastic became the norm,now we're heading back to metal again,given all the concern over things catching fire I can't help but wonder if lead sheathed cable will make a comeback.lol

 

[Engineer54]

Seems like everyone and their dog now has a say in the electrical industry, apart from the actual fully qualified electricians that is...

Never seen a fire retardant plastic CU that has caught fire persay, seen the odd few that have been reduced to a melted blob on the floor though!! I'm sure there are numerous types of plastic or other similar material that would resist/delay even melting. Might cost a bit more mind, ...The end of the 50 quid fully loaded CU's me thinks!! lol!!

I can just imagine the butcher jobs that will be done to metal CU's by the wannabe whizzers if they do become the norm!! God help you ALL!! ...lol!!