Time to voice OUR opinion

[Octopus]

So its now less than 1 year to metal CU's and fire retardent cable entries.....

So is this a good idea or not?

I think its a ill thought out requirement and needs to be reconsidered...

So please vote in my poll!

 

[baldsparkies]

I totally agree.
Once again good old UK putting political correctness before common sense.
What we need to be asking is has any sparks, installing domestic c/u's, been called up on his board changes catching fire.
I for one have not, and blimey Iv'e fitted enough over the years.
That's why the question has to be asked, where are accurate statistics to support this sudden panic.
If I had even one of my board changes ending up like this, I would be asking serious questions.
And lets face it, being in the trade, the word would spread quickly amongst us.
As said, this all relates to faulty mcb's (which were up for re call) along with possibly poor connections.
Going to metal clad in a domestic environment, is opening a whole new can of worms.

 

[R G]

Theres loads of recall breakers around that haven't been changed , I came across 2 in a board , one had actually burnt out and affected the breakers each side , theres loads of guys bought these boards for cash over the counter , Electrium had actually written to most people who had accounts at wholesalers , but theres a lot that didn't and didn't bother anyway , Main switches are an issue with tails becoming loose due to clearance each side of the screw then the tails can easily be disturbed outside the board causing a loose connection , as bad as it is any loose connections or wiring coming away from breakers etc would be more of an issue in a metal board than plastic. the neutral and earth bars are held in with plastic clips at each end of the bars ,I have seen these come away and leave loose bars not to mention the small size of the bars as well with screws that are small and easily shear..

Has anyone seen the arcing in the casing when testing some RCDs when the board is in a dark cupboard..

These are all things that a qualified sparks looks for and I would think a lesses trained D/I would not really now of , so could easily create the perfect storm..

 

[gutterball]

Being a bit cynical here but I guess the manufactures have had a say in this. its easer and cheaper for them to change to metal enclosures than to retool to produce decent breakers etc.

 

[Engineer54]

Being a bit cynical here but I guess the manufactures have had a say in this. its easer and cheaper for them to change to metal enclosures than to retool to produce decent breakers etc.

I'm trying to work that logic out, but failing miserably!! What has recalled breakers got to do with DB/CU enclosures, be they metal or plastic?? The same breakers are being used throughout Europe, not just in the UK. The next thing will be LSF cables/conductors as a further sticky plaster, until the whole thing get's dumped in the bin at a later date....

 

[gutterball]

I was trying to point out that the problem is with the internals rather than the enclosure. Anyone have any numbers for fuse board fires from Europe?

 

[Adam W]

Comment on existing installation is all you can do, if the consumer unit don't comply with current reg blah blah don't mean the installation is unsafe.

I agree, but it's not going to stop an overzealous DI telling a customer their CU no longer complies with the current standard in order to drum up extra business.

 

[Octopus]

Poor workmanship appears to being highlighted as a major problem on this thread.
I wonder how long it will be that someone gets a fatal shock from touching a live metal CU due to the above?

I think that they (IET et al.) haven't really thought this through properly, but what do I know?!

I would venture to suggest that the muppets who came up with this are desk bound, and haven't installed a CU for many years.

Me thinks they need to visit the "coal face" before they come up with any more mad ideas!!

 

[SPARTYKUS]

I would venture to suggest that the muppets who came up with this are desk bound, and haven't installed a CU for many years.

Me thinks they need to visit the "coal face" before they come up with any more mad ideas!!

Nah that means getting dirty hands.

 

[richy3333]

TBH if the metal CU's do become the norm at the very least the MK units won't be so flimsy!!

Bet they'd use really tin foil to ensure continuity of flimsiness!

 

[Engineer54]

I was trying to point out that the problem is with the internals rather than the enclosure. Anyone have any numbers for fuse board fires from Europe?

The main manufacturers are producing decent breakers, we were talking about a recall of breakers that had a known manufacturing fault that only affected certain rating sizes on a limited manufacturing run.


Not off hand, but haven't really looked too deep. One things for certain though, they aren't going to go down the metal (steel) enclosure route anytime soon. That would require a major, major upheaval to the Continental European electrical industry.... As i say, the vast majority of all electrical enclosures and components are plastic based!!

 

[Maddison]

yeah my opinion is plastic CU's will exist all that will happen is manufacturers will make them to be able to withstand a certain temperatures for a certain duration. as for quality of accessories well thats down to the electrician discretion when designing and quoting... identical Consumer units range in price a hell of alot depending on the brand for a reason