Manual switching of mcbs

[Mr Mark Sparks]

I am in the middle of a series of eicr for a car dealership there's about 9 branches to do

in one of the branches they turn off the lights in the workshops every day with the mcbs as there are no light switches
now for one thing the markings on the mcbs have worn off so I'm unable to verify type and rating, but I can't find a blk n whi reg to say switching mcbs under load daily is wrong

 

[chopper76]

Mcbs are not functional switching, and on the sides of the mcb should be information to the what's n wherefores of breaker ( usually )

 

[Mr Mark Sparks]

Verification of mcbs will have to go down as needing further iinvestigation
bgb says
some breakers suitable for frequent switching and some not , breakers are memsheild 1 20 yrs old so prob not suitable

 

[Guest55]

its C3 at worst.

 

[Guest55]

Mcbs are not functional switching, and on the sides of the mcb should be information to the what's n wherefores of breaker ( usually )

60898 , 60947 & 61009 mcbs are acceptable to be used for functional switching ( table 53.2 )

 

[Richard Burns]

General purpose MCBs are usually designed to operate infrequently and will have an electrical and a mechanical service life based on the number of operations and this is usually less than for a switch designed for operational switching.
So although there should be no danger with using the MCB you will find that the MCB will fail fairly rapidly, which could then cause a danger.
I seem to remember being told about a company that, for safety, tested their RCDs push buttons every day and found that they had a very high bill for replacement RCDs because they were worn out!

 

[NDG Elecs]

Yes agree with Biff...I remember reading in one of the IET's lovely books that MCB's can be used for functional switching....I still personally do not like it though! Why a separate 'proper' switch could not be fitted adjacent to a CU is beyond me.

 

[Engineer54]

60898 , 60947 & 61009 mcbs are acceptable to be used for functional switching ( table 53.2 )

Yep, MCB's can and have been used for functional switching (normally lighting circuits) for as far back as i can remember!! It was quite normal to see commercial premises and workshops, utilising the MCB's for switching lighting...

 

[Mr Mark Sparks]

Btw these are bs 3871 memsheild 1 circa 1995

 

[Mr Mark Sparks]

60898 , 60947 & 61009 mcbs are acceptable to be used for functional switching ( table 53.2 )

Not 53.2 that's all about surge protection


53.4