Your preferred brand of RCBO

[Mr.Si]

Hi All,

Now I'm in my new house with its very dated wiring I'm thinking about which brand of CU and breakers to get. I was going to go with Hager, as it's a Brand that Sparky friends of mine recommend, but I thought I'd ask advice in terms of which devices are easiest to fit / least hassle.

I ask this as I've read before, probably on here, that certain brands a really fiddly to fit.

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I look forward to your replies.

Blessings,

Simon

 

[scotsparky]

Mr Si if your doing a D.B change get a spark in and he will sort it out for you.

 

[High Tower]

I'm with scots on this one a ccu replacement is not a diy job and before u say you are going to get someone to fit it, sparks have their own preference they like to fit and will not offer any kind of warranty on anything u supply

 

[ezzzekiel]

you can run into a lot of problems when fitting new split load boards, but even with that aside without having the correct test gear and the understanding how to use it then you will have no idea wether or not the shiney new box full of rcd and breakers will do the job its designed to do when it counts.

 

[white armour]

Hi Mr Si, can only agree with what has been said above regarding replacing your con unit. Not a Sunday morning job to do if you do not have the knowledge & understanding of how to test existing circuits & interpret the results. Lots of older installations can have latent faults on existing cabling that will only emerge when testing is undertaken. How to rectify these faults requires a little bit more know how.

Like to use Hager boards myself as they are good to work on and don't look too shabby. The Niglon range of CCUs/MCBS & RCBOs are almost identical to Hager and a little bit cheaper, can get a fully loaded 10 way dual RCD board for around £80.00.

If in any doubt get a competent qualified electrician to do this job.

Regards WA

 

[ian]

I am with everyone else on this. You should really be getting a qualified spark to change a C.U for you. Things like this are only easy if you know what you are doing. You could run into loads of problems by doing it yourself.

Ian

 

[Spudnik]

I think you will find he is/was in training chaps.

 

[Marvo]

I'm a big fan of Merlin Gerin, they're not the cheapest but they're robust, reliable and generally well designed. Hager are a sensible cheaper option, I have found they are less likely to nuisance-trip in high ambient temperature applications and I've used Hager specifically for that reason in the past....... but all said and done, if it was my house it would be Merlin Gerin.

 

[TPES]

If it where my house I would be installing crabtree board with RCBO's all in.

Nice solid unit, plenty of room. Everything just has that quality feel.
I have always been a hager fan aswell

 

[Mr.Si]

Thanks for coming to my rescue Jason!

Yes, I've got through my levels 2 & 3 2330 and am just trying to find time as and when to do the necessary for the practical side of things to complete the NVQ3 part. (Amongst working FT in the IT Support industry)

I have my Fluke 1652 and my Fluke Approved Voltage Detector (for my safe isolation) and I have all my regs, inc GN3 and OSG so underpinning knowledge is there.

Thanks for your concern though, to all those that were thinking I was just one of those random people that comes on here to ask a question and then leaves without giving full responses etc

I shall investigate the Merlin boards and RCBOs - safety is paramount to me so the better devices, the better!

 

[white armour]

Well in that case best of luck as & when you make the leap of faith.

Your shiny new CCU should look nice for your assessment to one of the Part P bodies, and remember to notify job to LABC. Mind you this could always be done the day after your assessment.

Finally remember to issue yourself with the relevant paperwork upon completion.

Regards WA

 

[nickblake]

Me Crabtree Wylex ,sector, volex , Merlin geran and squared D nice curly leads can be a pain to work with

 

[cbw]

Merlin Gerin is far to dear to put in a standard domestic property, I am a great fan of the Wylex/crabtree brand, the new RCBOs for Wylex look good to! I have a couple of fully loaded RCBO wylex boards here ready for next weeks jobs!

 

[Mr.Si]

I have been looking on sites I know, such as Kew Electrical (in portslade, near where I live (Lancing, W Sussex) ) for example. However, whilst the RCBOs are OK price wise (as what I had expected) the Consumer units seem a little too industrial for my liking... I don't want or need metal clad ones, which are all I can seem to find... I do presume that they can fit into other boards, but as to compatibility, I've not got the product knowledge to know which would work best with which.

Noticed a few have been fans of the Crabtree / Wylex brand(s) which I found were less expensive and thus put me off - my theory has always been you get what you pay for...

Should I think differently here?

SquareD were and still are a brand that interested me, as I'd not heard of them before, but when I used to work alongside a Horticultural (mainly) sparks, albeit a few years ago now, I never came across the name - are they a new brand?
We did use a lot of Legrand stuff though... seemed nice. However, since most of what we did was panel building for motor-gearbox control, that was a completely different ball-game.

Sorry, went on rambling a bit there...

 

[High Tower]

Hager all the way for me