Old re-wireable fuse board change

[bonn1ett]

Hi everyone,

I am fairly new in the trade and wondered if anyone can throw some advice my way. I recently went to a fairly old property as all the lights had gone off due to a lamp blowing in one of the light fittings which in turn blew the 5amp fuse wire in the board. Apparently this had happened a few times with the lamp blowing/popping out of its fitting?

There is one lighting circuit and hence one 5amp fuse for the whole house - upstairs and downstairs. I recommended to the customer (elderly lady) that the fuse board needs updating and that two circuits are needed for the lighting - upstairs & downstairs. The customer is happy to have a new consumer unit put in but does not want any re-wiring done - obviously if there is any faults found on the existing wiring then i will recommend strongly that the work be carried out.

My question is this, with regards to only having the one lighting circuit, could i perhaps use a 10amp breaker as opposed to a 6amp to cover the whole house - as long as the cable rating is higher than this (not sure if its 1mm or 1.5mm being used, need futher investigation).

any advice would be great

 

[tuckermot]

Hi
if you look at it this way if you have 20 x 60watt lamps all running at the same time that eguals 1200 watts which = 5.21 amps which is under the rating of the 6amp fuse at present apply diversity and its very unlikely the the little oldlady is going to light up her home like blackpool iluminations so i would go for a 6amp type c mcb which allows for ahigher start up current ect which should stop the tripping !

 

[Deleted member 19807]

The fuse blows because of the current draw of the arc inside the lamp as it blows. tell her to fit energy saving lamps.

I have been told that good quality lamps have an internal fuse that stops the trip from going but i have never seen them.

 

[bonn1ett]

thats brilliant, thanks for all your help guys, got a better idea of what to do now.

cheers

 

[Octopus]

How many lights has she got????

 

[bonn1ett]

i didnt go round checking all the lighting at the time as it was getting late...and dark!
she has a lounge with 2 light fittings, kitchen, hallway, landing, bathroom and three bedrooms so doing on this approx 9 - 10 fittings.

 

[Octopus]

So you're looking at about 4.4 amps on the basis each fitting has 100w which, these days is very unlikely.

 

[tuckermot]

Its quite common for lamp to trip a mcb when it blows but not all the time . I would certainly have a good visual of the original installation before upgrading the board i know this subject has been covered many times but i personally do not go over board with testing ect before board changing because these new boards will still throw things up even after testing i just make the client aware there could be problems with extra cost ( be truefull ) then if there are remedials works just crack on mate

 

[bonn1ett]

yeah will inform her that it may cost more if problems arise. Just want to do a good job and have it comply with the regs and keep the customer happy, just starting out so want to build a good reputation!

thanks for all the help.

 

[Deleted member 19807]

i tell my customers that fixing faults is not optional and i will only fix faults that are dangerous as i am not willing to do half a job.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

and on what basis are you condemning this board?....You can get MCB upgrades for BS3036s....yes i understand about all the lighting being on only one way but that isn`t a basis for condemning this board.....as long as its in good condition and fit for continued service then its a 4......

 

[dingledong]

i agree with glennspark completely .. a little old lady i'd go for the mcb upgrades myself .and keep the costs down

 

[GLENNSPARK]

i agree with glennspark completely .. a little old lady i'd go for the mcb upgrades myself .and keep the costs down

exactly my point mate.....just condemning something because its not to the 17th edition......thats the idea with PIRs innit.....noticed no mention of a PIR from the o/p n all....talking about the lighting arrangements.....had a look at the wireing for those?...cpc present?...class 1s?......PIR first here mate.....

 

[dingledong]

i'm gonna make a complaint thats the 3rd time i've agreed with you . is it some form of hypnosis over the web and ok i shall give you all my bank details master

 

[Knobhead]

and on what basis are you condemning this board?....You can get MCB upgrades for BS3036s....yes i understand about all the lighting being on only one way but that isn`t a basis for condemning this board.....as long as its in good condition and fit for continued service then its a 4......

At long last the voice of common sense.

All to often we get threads along the lines of it’s not 17[SUP]th[/SUP] so it’s got to be ripped out.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

and on what basis are you condemning this board?....You can get MCB upgrades for BS3036s....yes i understand about all the lighting being on only one way but that isn`t a basis for condemning this board.....as long as its in good condition and fit for continued service then its a 4......

Only on the basis that the single circuit is occasionaly blowing when a lamp fails...which is hassle for the homeowner as a fuse has to be repaired.
Plug in MCB's are normally type B...which would offer no advantage other than an easy reset...a CU change would enable a type C which should reduce or prevent nuisance tripping.
I dont think anyone is condemning the 3036 CU..simply that there are better options.