View the thread, titled "Shower upgrade on a very old consumer unit" which is posted in UK Electrical Forum on Electricians Forums.

S

sparky in training

Hi all

Came across a situation today where somebody was enquiring about upgrading their shower from an 7.5kw to a 9.5. Apparently he had a very old consumer unit with only 4 circuits. lights up and down, sockets up and down. cooker and existing shower. I wanted to know how you guys would tackle this job? I'm aware of the requirements of ADS and cable sizing etc however how would you have dealt with he old fuse box, this contained the rewireable fuses.

Could you upgrade one of those fuses to say 45amp and then go into a new consumer unit with a MCB / RCD or RCBO or would you recommend a new CU?

Would the regulations see this as an alteration to an existing circuit seeing as the cabling will require upsizing? If it is classed as a new circuit can the existing CU be used as it is metal and just put an RCD in?
 
Replace the whole thing adding a garage board by splitting the supply is the house basher option.
It seems you are motivated by unnecessary board changes, a recent thread on multiple cables in an MCB had the same result. ££££'s I guess.
Not your money though is it.
 
IMO, going for the CU upgrade does make good sense, however if the budget is tight then additional small 2 way will do the job. Lets remember all of us, that remembers countless switch gear for lights, power etc, we were all encouraged to condense such arrangements into one unit a long time ago.!
 
Replacing the whole board would be the best option but if they don't want to pay for it use a 1 way board protected by an end or just use an rcbo. Cable may also need changed to 10.mm depending on how far away shower is.
 
I have no issue fitting a 2 way if needs be, however a 10mm cable in a Wylex 2 way with RCBO/s, is a horrible job, it's a real struggle to get everything to fit neatly. Stoopid things.
 

Reply to the thread, titled "Shower upgrade on a very old consumer unit" which is posted in UK Electrical Forum on Electricians Forums.

Best EV Chargers by Electrical2Go! The official electric vehicle charger supplier.

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc

Advert

YOUR Unread Posts

Daily, weekly or monthly email

Thread Information

Title
Shower upgrade on a very old consumer unit
Prefix
N/A
Forum
UK Electrical Forum
Start date
Last reply date
Replies
25
Unsolved
--

Advert

Thread statistics

Created
sparky in training,
Last reply from
dmxtothemax,
Replies
25
Views
9,894

Advert

Back
Top