consumer unit upgrade

[CUDABOY]

hey peeps, bit of a weather improvment! doing some bits and bobs in house mate is doing extention on, currently two wylex boards,rewirable,a six and four way ....i think. now the fella wants an upgrade, dumb question...as it aint a new build or rewire will a non 17th ed cu be ok? ie is it only rewires and new builds that rq 17th.i dont want to be separiting bathroom lighting for rcd protection etc.​

 

[tony.towa]

Realistically you are going to have to install a cu to the 17th Edition. If the bathroom lighting is on the upstairs lighting circuit this will be protected by the incoming RCD, as will the rest of the circuit. You will no doubt have to upgrade the main earth bonding, but that's a natural.
Test and inspection will be on a new installation certificate but specify exactly what work has been done.
As I have said on a couple of other threads, before you have change the board, check if your landing light is off the downstairs lighting circuit and if it takes the neutral from the upstairs circuit. If it is disconnect and make safe the existing neutral and run up a neutral feed from the downstairs lighting circuit otherwise the RCD will keep tripping out. If it is an old property with just one lighting circuit for upstairs and downstairs you will not face this problem.

 

[CUDABOY]

ta man, is that from a legal standing as im guesing theres a lot of people still selling split rcd but just the one rcd, ? i know you can rccb but they are selling these "16th"boards,aint that ilegal???

 

[Shakey]

ta man, is that from a legal standing as im guesing theres a lot of people still selling split rcd but just the one rcd, ? i know you can rccb but they are selling these "16th"boards,aint that ilegal???

Hi Nathan, its nothing to do with 'legal' or 'illegal' - BS7671 is non-stautory.

However, as you know, any work designed after the 1st Jul has to be designed to the 17th.

Of course, there is no such thing as a '16th' or '17th' edition board. Is simply a matter of using the correct combination of RCD protection to satisfy the current requirements.

They still sell '16th edition boards' because you could have surface mount cables, sockets for skilled/instructed persons etc, particlarly when you move away from the domestic market with no bathrooms etc

To satisfy the requirements of the cuurent regs, there is nothing to stop you using a single RCCB board and RCBO's to comply with 314.1

why would you need to seperate bathrom lighting? Just put the upsatirs lights on an RCD

 

[CUDABOY]

hey mate, thats exactly what im going to do,must get used to correct terminology, i know what im thinking..... just wording it ha! ketchup soon man

 

[Shakey]

hey mate, thats exactly what im going to do,must get used to correct terminology, i know what im thinking..... just wording it ha! ketchup soon man

ha ha, you will get there matey!

 

[sparky1ste]

you did say it was designed before 1st july !!!!!YOU DID HONESTLY????---16th edition board?????--what 16th edition board!!!!!doesnt time fly?its nice to read about sparkys taking their TIME to DESIGN before commencing.

 

[Shakey]

you did say it was designed before 1st july !!!!!YOU DID HONESTLY????---16th edition board?????--what 16th edition board!!!!!doesnt time fly?its nice to read about sparkys taking their TIME to DESIGN before commencing.

I know of at least 2 jobs underway at the moment that i have ...ahem...'advised on' that were erm.......DEFINETELY designed before the 01 Jul, - nothing to do with a batch of single RCCB's CU's lying about

 

[sparky1ste]

Nothing at all shakey!

 

[salisbury spark]

Read septembers P.E.- consumer unit advice and 17th ed.
Even got diagrams. -shows fully compliant -partially compliant and non compliant installations of consumer units
Another interpretation of regs and CCUs...

 

[aaronstuart]

Sorry for this dumb question....
What would be the easiest way of testing to see if you have a borrowed neutral?

Disconnect neutrals in cu and do a continuity test?

My apologies in advance....

 

[CUDABOY]

cool, just digging out some quotations for jobs i quoted for last year........funny the ink still wet!!!