regs and rcbo,s

[wire the world]

hi all got a cracker for you to solve............. single phase board in cellar supplying 9 bedsits all bedsits have 4way board with rcd protection. question. client wants certificate but as regs state all cables in walls ov domestic installations insist on sum sort ov rcd or rcbo protection ????????????? how can this be achieved as if i put rcbo in the cellar the client will be called to reset the bedsit from cellar everytime it trips??? time delayd rcbos????? or what else do yous think cheers kev

 

[Johno]

i would personally give it a code 4 without hesitation

 

[scotsparky]

As its a PIR thats being done then the inspector cannot garantee that any burried cable is in the requiered zones or below 50mm deep without some sort of intrussive searching. therefore i would code 2 "requieres improvement" as it errs on the side of caution.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Interesting different opinions on this....I'd code 4 as I said in previous posts...not least because thats the recommendation made by the ESC .But i'ts a good point made by scotsparky about not being able to verify if a buried cable is in a safe zone.
I guess those on the recieving end of these PIR's might be justified in making noises about lack of consistency in the trade!!

 

[uksel]

luck of the draw for the punter i suppose then.

just to clarify - you'll be failing an installation unless the owner installs RCBO's on every circtuit??

though if you do HMO's you may have been there only a year ago and signed the same installation off as safe??

safe a year ago, not safe now?? didn't require work a year ago, does require work now??


still, your name on the paper, your call at the end of the day eh

 

[scotsparky]

luck of the draw for the punter i suppose then.

just to clarify - you'll be failing an installation unless the owner installs RCBO's on every circtuit??

though if you do HMO's you may have been there only a year ago and signed the same installation off as safe??

safe a year ago, not safe now?? didn't require work a year ago, does require work now??


still, your name on the paper, your call at the end of the day eh

Its not "luck of the draw" hopefully an experianced tester can make his own judgement and not follow blindly the recomendations on accreditation athoritys.Its not them going to jail if it goes wrong.

A PIR is not pass or fail it is a REPORT of the condition on the installation. There is no set standarrd but there are strong guidelines. it is up to the tester to make a lot of judgemnent calls.Its not them going to jail if it goes wrong.

(sorry late sat night and had a few rums.)

 

[uksel]

Its not "luck of the draw" hopefully an experianced tester can make his own judgement and not follow blindly the recomendations on accreditation athoritys.Its not them going to jail if it goes wrong.

A PIR is not pass or fail it is a REPORT of the condition on the installation. There is no set standarrd but there are strong guidelines. it is up to the tester to make a lot of judgemnent calls.Its not them going to jail if it goes wrong.

(sorry late sat night and had a few rums.)

for a lot of installations this is pass or fail, lots of local authorities now will not accept a code 2 on a PIR for HMO's. which is a good thing in my view, but not when people are banging em out left right and centre. when the coding affects someones business or income, you have to be realistic and make judgements as a competant person regarding the safety of the installation.

so while you're right, a code 2 to the guy buying a house, and a code 2 to a landlord have entirely different repercussions, this should be considered.

though in retrospect, why any landlord wouldn't want to install RCD's is beyond me, so it's six of one again...

 

[scotsparky]

Hiow the coding affects a bussiness or if the client doesnt like them should not affect testing. As a tester its ure respencibility using knowlege of current BS7671 to decide. If the instalation requieres improvement (code 2) then it should be stated.