Why aren't ring circuits banned?

[chronyx]

Doing a lot of EICRs in London at the moment and I'd say every other C.U. has a ring circuit with no continuity on one of the conductors.

Seeing as the IET see fit to tinker around the edges constantly with the regs, I struggle to understand why these potentially extremely dangerous circuits are still permitted. Yet bonding and earth conductors have almost doubled in size because, well, they said so.

It's not 1949 anymore. Ban the damn things.

 

[chronyx]

I wouldn't know about that, but I do know that my commercial customers have ring circuits installed for the output of static inverters and central battery systems to reduce voltage drop and give redundancy, especially on lower voltage DC circuits.
Car park lighting or large area lighting also utilises ring circuits to limit volt drop and cable size.
Distribution circuits, both LV and HV, utilise various forms of ring circuits, mostly for redundancy.

You would sure as hell see a lot more power cuts if a universal ban on ring circuits was applied across the country

OK fine. For the sake of clarity/pedantry I was referring to a 32A ring final circuit, with 2.5mm live conductors and a 1.5mm CPC, in a domestic/unsupervised situation.

 

[7029 dave]

I like them, because it's ours.Do we really want to go back in time, when 15amp radials were about, with the electric tree growing off it.?
But the modern radials do have their place in some situations. Just MO.

 

[westward10]

Ring final circuits are here to stay like them or not what I really love when testing them are the people who save £5 a year but putting two cpcs through one sleeve, maybe even twisting them together at the same time.

 

[Wes1000]

Ring final circuits are here to stay like them or not what I really love when testing them are the people who save £5 a year but putting two cpcs through one sleeve, maybe even twisting them together at the same time.

Man I hate that!!

 

[andyb]

OK fine. For the sake of clarity/pedantry I was referring to a 32A ring final circuit, with 2.5mm live conductors and a 1.5mm CPC, in a domestic/unsupervised situation.

That's my favourite type of ring circuit.

 

[Hellmooth]

Ring final circuits are here to stay like them or not what I really love when testing them are the people who save £5 a year but putting two cpcs through one sleeve, maybe even twisting them together at the same time.

That is the worst, well that and trying to find both legs in a spaghetti junction mess!

 

[Dave OCD]

It's often much easier to do the end to ends and R1+R2 tests at a convenient socket rather than disconnecting within a 'busy' CU.

 

[valleybilly]

Found an immersion heater on a ring this week with only 2 other bedroom sockets on it . The load was 3kw for the heater and all tests are good so as it was an old install and it was an CU change only . Rings Rule !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! . PS Did reduce the rcbo to 20 amps

 

[davesparks]

Found an immersion heater on a ring this week with only 2 other bedroom sockets on it . The load was 3kw for the heater and all tests are good so as it was an old install and it was an CU change only . Rings Rule !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! . PS Did reduce the rcbo to 20 amps

What's wrong with an immersion heater on a ring? It's been pretty common for decades. I wouldn't do it on a new installation, but see no issue with it as an alteration to an existing install.
Why reduce the size of the ocpd? Was there something wrong with the circuit?

 

[Pat H]

Immersions on rings should be less of an issue nowadays. With modern Central heating people us a lot less electric heaters so ring loading is often less than it would have been when elec was cheap.

 

[westward10]

Is is not ideal to have immersions on a ring final but they are nearly always on the lightly loaded bedroom circuit. Can only assume the 20A was put on because it wasn't switched through a FCU?

 

[westward10]

Immersions on rings should be less of an issue nowadays. With modern Central heating people us a lot less electric heaters so ring loading is often less than it would have been when elec was cheap.

I have two family members who rely on the immersion for hot water.

 

[Midwest]

If your bored, this link debates RFC; The domestic Ring main is it outdated ?Should it be replaced by Radials? - http://www.gadsolutions.biz/electrical-services/ring-main-good-bad

 

[Midwest]

Awhile ago I watched a vid from the Learning Lounge, by Dave Austin (no it's not out on Blue ray) demonstrating testing of a RFC. There was a footnote, that the EU were going to phase out RFC's, can't find a citation for that. But now we have Brexit, we can forget about that

 

[chronyx]

If your bored, this link debates RFC; The domestic Ring main is it outdated ?Should it be replaced by Radials? - http://www.gadsolutions.biz/electrical-services/ring-main-good-bad

Good read, thanks