No consumer unit ( circuits on individual sw fuses)

[ianphilip007]

hi there

went to a customer today about replacing an exisiting shower that is broken. i asked where the consumer unit was located and to my surprise there was no actual cu or fuse box. each of the 5 circuits were supplied via individual switch fuses, including the shower.

now is this arrangement still acceptable/safe, i have never seen this in a domestic property before. if it is would it be possible to repace the shower sw fuse with a rcd/mcb shower enclosure and replace the shower.

or is a new cu a must for this customer ?

manythanks

 

[ianphilip007]

too add sw fuses are not recent looks like 60's from design

 

[Sickmick]

I've seen these before, and they had double pole fuses. If that's the case then definitly not OK.

 

[telectrix]

you are responsible only for the work you carry out, not the rest of the installation ( with the exception of the earthing and bonding. if not up to standard, you have to fix them) . a RCD/MCB for the shower will be fine.

 

[Knobhead]

Young pups again!

 

[ianphilip007]

not been able to look inside at actual fuses yet. again not sure as to weather bonding/earthing is ok but from what ive seen i doubt it.

 

[ianphilip007]

this looks like a potential can of worms

 

[Octopus]

Have you got a photo?

 

[ianphilip007]

no sorry no pic. main incomer to meter then there is what appeared to be a main isolator sw which fed 5 individual sw fuses for the individual circuits. did not look too inviting but did not really have a good look or remove any covers.

 

[ianphilip007]

if they are DP sw fuses on the individual circuits should these now be replaced ? or in this case customer advised to have new CU fitted.

 

[telectrix]

a new CU is the best option. esp if the sw.fuse units are d/p fused.

 

[ianphilip007]

is dp fusing illeagal on the circuit side ?,for future ref, first time ive come across this type of install. many thanks

 

[ianphilip007]

​one of them looked very similar to this

 

[telectrix]

if the neutral is fused at the origin and that fuse fails, then the neutrals of the circuit/s it feeds then become live as there is no current flow in the circuit, hence no volt drop across the loads.

 

[Sickmick]

Another thing you'll probably find once you start digging is no cpc on the lighting circuit.