Ring vs Radial

[imago]

you can reduce load by balancing across several circuits, a no brainer IMO.

Hmm, you mention balancing loads and no brainers in the same sentence where a single word would do. Customer.

 

[MDJ]

please explain, IMO that makes perfect sence as I though I was talking to electricians.

 

[imago]

Sorry, I was being sarcastic. Your statement is perfectly true for electricians. When it comes to customers though they will find a way to bugger up your nicely balanced loads.

 

[MDJ]

oh okay my apologies.

 

[slimsim60]

From a humble Domestic Installers point of view, i'm happy to use ring or radial and am quite happy to test either. Both have good and bad points. So i guess i'm in the both catagory.

 

[SYKRAPS]

Whilst I was on my 17th course when it first came into power our tutor told us that it was more than probable that when the 18th is introduced the ring main will be no more for new installations.........has anyone else heard this?

 

[MDJ]

My God I'm hoping the 18th is at least 18 years away, I can retire then and not worry about taking it haha, I was brought up on the 15th or was it the 14th lol, and keep going back to college to retake the latest amendments, on the radial note, IMO I think the more circuits the better, I would rather have 2-3 sockets on a 4mm2 radial than 12 on a 2.5mm2 ring, the advantage with this is when RCD protection is evident, a 30 ma RCD is less likely to give out to nusience tripping due to a collective earth fault if socket outlets are limited and indeed also there is less likely an overload situation, I think and it is just my view the more power circuits the better, providing you can fit a 20 way DB in your house of course hehe.

 

[sedgy34]

Has this thread really got legs
who cares how you wire it you have to sign it off.

 

[Fin170]

Whilst I was on my 17th course when it first came into power our tutor told us that it was more than probable that when the 18th is introduced the ring main will be no more for new installations.........has anyone else heard this?

Rings being phased out soon has been rumoured since their introduction, as for rings being phased out for new builds? I'd say the opposite, new builds are the easiest place to set up a ring and shouldn't have any faults develop for many years...assuming it's being done to a decent standard



Just because standards are dropping elsewhere/ being made less safe/ whatever you want to call it doesn't mean you have to drop yours to suit somebody else

 

[SYKRAPS]

Rings being phased out soon has been rumoured since their introduction, as for rings being phased out for new builds? I'd say the opposite, new builds are the easiest place to set up a ring and shouldn't have any faults develop for many years...assuming it's being done to a decent standard

I did not say new builds I said new installations



Just because standards are dropping elsewhere/ being made less safe/ whatever you want to call it doesn't mean you have to drop yours to suit somebody else

My standards are very high, always have been and always will be.

I was asking the question if anyone else had heard what my tutor had mentioned to me whilst on the course and for the record I prefer ring mains............

 

[Fin170]

My standards are very high, always have been and always will be.

Sorry bud didn't mean you personally, in relation to earlier discussion in the thread :wink5:

 

[SYKRAPS]

Sorry bud didn't mean you personally, in relation to earlier discussion in the thread :wink5:

No poblemo

 

[MarkieSparkie]

Whilst I was on my 17th course when it first came into power our tutor told us that it was more than probable that when the 18th is introduced the ring main will be no more for new installations.........has anyone else heard this?

Read my post #102 mate, the doom mongers are always predicting it's imminent demise, purely conjecture rather than evidence based fact.
The last hiatus over it's demise, it was speculated that the UK representatives on CENELEC were prepared to trade the RFC for agreement on harmonised cable colours, in reality nothing was traded and the UK proposal for cable colours was adopted by all member countries without a whimper. Later it emerged from the minutes of the UK proposal strategy meeting that they had a number of other items which they might have traded if pushed, but the RFC was definitely not part of that UK agenda.
It seems that the other member countries of CENELEC are not really interested or that bothered about the UKs RFC or the BS1363 fused plug. Therefore as long as UK doesn't try to coerce them into adopting the RFC and/or the fused plug, it's not in anyone's interest to rock the CENELEC boat, because it turns out that most of them also have country specific exceptions which they wish to preserve.

 

[Engineer54]

Funny how it always seems, that it's the lectures and tutors that are the doom mongers on ring circuits... Perhaps it's because they aren't up to the job of explaining the structure and make-up, or the process of fault finding on ring circuits??

Going by some of the daft and also incorrect statements that have been given to students by their lecturers and tutors, ...and then conveyed here on the forum, i'm beginning to think that may not be too far from the truth these day's....

 

[Adam W]

multiple radial circuits are far better than a couple of rings, obviously the negative side is a larger consumer unit, the positive side is the fact you can reduce load by balancing across several circuits, a no brainer IMO.

I disagree - plug everything into a ring and it balances itself. Customers don't care about balancing circuits and will plug everything in where they want.