Prosecution

[tigerpaul]

We had our ECA assessor visit today and while we were chatting he mentioned a case in London where a contractor had done an apartment block. There was a fan in a bathroom which had gotten stuck and the motor had caught alight and caused a major fire. Everything he'd done was as per BS7671, except however he hadn't fused the fan down to 3A as per the fan manufacturers instructions. Now this contractor has been prosecuted.
Now how many times have you seem a bathroom fan fused down to 3A? I haven't at all, it's always just the 6A Mcb providing protection.

 

[Robert Turnbull]

True 2 fuses lol

 

[Robert Turnbull]

How would that work though?....there's two lives.

On that note even a fused spur would be useless unless you fuse down the lighting for the room before you do the switching.

 

[Toonlad]

We could also try and instal a rcd socket, and chuck a 3A fuse in a plug and flex to the fan. Should more or less comply. Lol

In all i have never done a 3A fuse down on a bathroom fan, but what was the prosecutions findings and what was the fine ?? I know he didnt mention the company, but normally you get a tidbit of how much etc.

 

[telectrix]

i think most fans' instructions call for just the perm. L to be fused, not the s/l.

 

[richy3333]

On that note even a fused spur would be useless unless you fuse down the lighting for the room before you do the switching.

Sorry?

 

[richy3333]

Now you mention it my NICEIC assessor was banging on about fusing fans at my last assessment. When he asked me what I did, I just said I followed BS7671 and manufacturers instructions. He accepted that and then mentioned the fused switches, others have also highlighted.

 

[Robert Turnbull]

On that note even a fused spur would be useless unless you fuse down the lighting for the room before you do the switching.

Sorry?

If you've got a 3 core t+e a fused spur isn't going to help is it. As you can't fuse down live and switch live

If you fused the feed into the room down then it would be.

Not that I'm saying that's a good idea.

 

[Fin170]

Time to invest in 3amp MCBs i think, although if everyone did that I guess they would change the game and insist on 1amp fuses to make sure they've got another get out of claim card

 

[kingeri]

I always fuse down to 3a where specified in the instructions. Many actually call for local DP isolation. Easiest way to do this IS to fuse down the whole of the bathroom lights, thus encompassing the switched and perm lives. Nobody can argue then. It's a ballache if the fuse blows of course, cos it takes out the lights as well......but hey ho. The fusing down is a bit of a mystery to me, cos the circuit is protected at 6a anyway! And would a 3a fuse blow before a 6a MCB operated?

 

[electric will]

A total load of rubbish! If you stall one of them tiny fan motors, there's no way it could cause enough over current to start a fire Come on get real!

 

[morph]

just use a 3 A cb

 

[markc123]

Just had a quick scout on the good old google, apparantly MK make a 3A MCB? really? i never knew 3Amp MCB's even existed, where the F have i been living all this time!

If it is true about fans needing 3A, then if its a new build you could take it from its own circuit...i fear for this though, wont be long before literally everything will have its own dedicated circuit.

 

[Rampantchilli]

just looked on the IET forums, and low and behold, its mentioned on there, via an NIC inspection, but from 12 months ago, and story says its from recent years, seems like a bit of NIC fore play before they s***w you

IET Forums - Fuse protection for extraction fans

 

[morph]

Just had a quick scout on the good old google, apparantly MK make a 3A MCB? really? i never knew 3Amp MCB's even existed, where the F have i been living all this time!

If it is true about fans needing 3A, then if its a new build you could take it from its own circuit...i fear for this though, wont be long before literally everything will have its own dedicated circuit.

u only had to ask lol

 

[markc123]

I honestly never ever new that 3A MCB's existed hahaha oh my days.

Isit just MK that make them?