Fusebox consumers units

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On a slightly different angle how do these 'celebrity' sparks get away with filming jobs complete with commentary, it must add a lot of time to the job- and are the customers paying for the added time ?
I just wouldn't have the time to p155 about like that , and do these videos also encourage the DIY brigade to attempt much more than they're capable of ?
That's tonights rant done. :)
 
i would imagine that they would get customers consent to make the youtube video, with a substantial discount offered to the customer on the job involved.
 
@Dave OCD We were talking about this yesterday. It's a days work to test, remove the old board and then install a new one, dress all the cables, final test and record all the results. I've no idea how they manage it with the recording also.

I also think that it dies encourage DIYers. We've had instances of it around here where they try to follow a Youtube video. There was mention on Instagram this morning of a CPS assessor watching a sparky on site whom was watching a Youtube video of wiring up a light so he could follow along!
 
Have fitted a few Fusebox consumer units now over this last year and have been very happy with them with no come backs afterwards from customers. I originally purchased them through Thomas Electrical Distributors although my local CEF can order them in for me at a similar price.
 
Zerax said:
Because you can buy BG at Screwfix round the corner... but you'd need to know about CP Fusebox and search for a supplier. ??
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Yeah, sort of accept that, and expect it for a diyer, but for professionals not to be aware of the market, and sticking with the lowest of the low at the same price as better kit....

I suppose I should have qualified my statement along the professional installer line...
 
Matthewd29 said:
A bit off subject, but does anyone have any experience with m2 boards? I've been offered boards with spds and compact rcbos at a decent price, but I've never fitted any so if anyone has any experience with them Id be grateful.
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I've fitted a couple of m2 boards, off the shelf at CEF. Preferred the rcbo board to the split load rcd board. I don't like the lid fixings as they seldom match up and the units look like something out of a Russian spacecraft. A bit basic. Having said that never had any post installation issues. Would prefer to install a different brand when given the choice i.e. Fusebox, Hagar, etc.
 
Julie. said:
Yeah, sort of accept that, and expect it for a diyer, but for professionals not to be aware of the market, and sticking with the lowest of the low at the same price as better kit....

I suppose I should have qualified my statement along the professional installer line...
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Yeah... I am a professional installer... and getting hold of materials can be a right pain. Anything that has to be specially ordered needs me to carefully plan ahead with full knowledge of exactly what I need... which isn't always the case. Then if anything needs to be delivered... I either need to carefully schedule an office/paperwork day or have deliveries to site, but which site ?

Having a store around the corner that always has everything I want on the shelf, opens early and late, and is keenly priced has got to be the nirvana ?

I'm also working on designing the perfect toolbox... it has every tool in it that you need.. but none that you don't need... is lightweight and easily carried from van to door... and of course never gets stolen !
 
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Julie. said:
Yeah, sort of accept that, and expect it for a diyer, but for professionals not to be aware of the market, and sticking with the lowest of the low at the same price as better kit....

I suppose I should have qualified my statement along the professional installer line...
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It is common amongst all trades to use whatever materials are available from local wholesalers and, where necessary, grumble a bit about quality or price. My work over the years has required me to keep abreast of new products in many industries and that need to know also extends to areas in which I have a personal interest - I'm firmly of the belief that it's not possible to possess too much information.

During my time reading this forum I've been surprised at how often members had been unaware of products that many others take for granted and these instances demonstrate another benefit of the forum. I'd previously posted about CP Fusebox releasing their compact RCBOs as I have a particular interest in TT earthing systems (interest, not knowledge ?) and these offered a significant cost saving for such installations - both to the installer and consumer.
 
I get the use of local wholesalers of course, and indeed use screwfix myself, but I would have thought for planned CU replace or rewires, most would buy in semi-bulk, certainly if I actually do a job (rather than poring over designs all day) I tend to order most everything from chosen suppliers (CEF, Edwards, consumer unit world etc) mainly on-line, and it just gets delivered. (Screwfix good for cable though!) - allows me to get the ordering done in the evening and work in the day.

I don't really do fixes/faults, but in that case I would just use CEF, Yesss, or screwfix/toolstation, depending on the needs
 
I think it's more a case of relying on wholesalers to keep abreast of new products and often accepting whatever those wholesalers present. Obviously everyone is different, but many are creatures of habit. I like to buy local and, where possible, from independent businesses, but in return will expect those businesses to make some effort to retain my custom - in other words, they need to keep up with online competition in terms of product choice and not expect that I'll pay double for local service.
 
Dave OCD said:
I've fitted quite a few too, I'd say they're very good value and decent quality.
Here's one I did a couple of months ago.
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Photo gone?

Found this thread as I was looking for info about the devices, rather than the CUs - registered initially so I could see the photo. ?

Anybody had any issues with FuseBox RCBOs?
 
The picture in the Avatar is just a little dual RCD Hager board, I'll attach the Fusebox one again. ?
 

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I've found the fusebox boards to be very good, I've fitted probably 10-12 over the last few months and they are good for space, compact rcbo's excellent, surge protection great! Can't fault them really and not had 1 faulty item or call back so can't grumble on that front either, and the price is excellent compared with Hager Schneider and wylex. Still Hager always sits high on my install list as they were the first board I ever installed and they are still excellent imho
Sy
 
the problem I'd have is brands seem to come and go, and now mixing of components is expressly banned you're stuffed if you need a new circuit or replacement part. Client of mine had a "magnuss" dual RCD with faulty RCD which was apparently 6 months old at the time, searched high and low and no idea where it came from. Refuses to have to whole unit replaced. Another guy had a clipsal - actually good quality kit, but pulled out the UK market, now he needs a 6 amp MCB but all you have is idiots flogging worn out stuff of dubious origin on ebay etc. Explain to me the QA on that.

This is why I fitted mostly MK/wylex for years but since they went right down the toilet its been hagar.
 
Don't know why people think this mix and match situation is a recent thing as it has been a requirement for years to follow manufacturers guidance and this wouldn't have included fitted non-compatible devices it really is nothing new.
 
Soi disant said:
What's the difference between putting a s/h MCB into a CU and hoping it's OK and moving into a house with MCBs already installed in a CU and hoping that they are OK?
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Your argument doesn't make sense. We're talking about FITTING used devices.

As an analogy, would you pay someone to fit a 2nd hand engine which hadn't been tested to your car?
 
At least with 2nd hand RCBO you can test the RCD side with your MFT, so have a bit more confidence they are not fake.

The underlying issue is folk get a CU fitted which ought to be good for 10-20 years, but then find a couple of years down the line they can't buy spares any more. True, it is not quite as bad as cars that have routine changes of things, but it is quite bad for the folk finding themselves in such a position.

Ideally there would be proper interchangeability in "standard" MCBs, etc, but short of that there should be a legal requirement to offer spare MCB/RCBO for 10 years after a product line is end-of-life at "reasonable" cost.
 
Dustydazzler said:
What’s wrong with re using mcbs , not like they have a best before date
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I think its just the fact that you dont know their history, how they've been stored, whether they have been repeatedly closed on to faults etc. And you can't test them to prove they are good.
 
DPG said:
I think its just the fact that you dont know their history, how they've been stored, whether they have been repeatedly closed on to faults etc. And you can't test them to prove they are good.
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I agree, but apart from storage you can't tell those things, or (realistically) test MCBs which are already installed in CUs in a house you move into.
 
Matthewd29 said:
Don't understand this statement at all. They were new when installed most likely. Suppose your using a 2nd hand boiler then, 2nd hand pipes, 2nd hand bricks as well. Doesn't make much sense.
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If you buy a S/H MCB it was new when first installed, but it isn't now.
If you move into a house with a CU there, the MCBs in it were new when they were installed, but they aren't now.

I'm sorry I've not been able to explain myself properly - it wasn't my intention to start a row.

I just think that people should think about what is the real difference, per se, between an x-year old MCB which was installed in a CU today and an x-year old one installed in a CU x years ago, and if the former device is regarded with great suspicion because it isn't new then why not the latter?

Nobody is talking about electricians installing used gear as a matter of routine, but in circumstances where a new device is simply unobtainable, and the only alternatives to a used one are either no new/repaired circuit or an entire CU replacement, then is a bit of logical thinking around the fact that hundreds of thousands of people insert used protective devices into their lives, and rely on them for their safety, every time they move house, really not possible?

And after I moved in here I was indeed using a 2nd hand boiler for a while.
 
DPG said:
Your argument doesn't make sense. We're talking about FITTING used devices.
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As a last resort.

DPG said:
As an analogy, would you pay someone to fit a 2nd hand engine which hadn't been tested to your car?
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Not a perfect analogy, but we can run with it a bit.

If engines were not repairable, and I had a car which needed an engine, and I couldn't get a new one, and it was a quick and easy job to install a used one I wouldn't rule it out on the grounds that it was used.

In no new car I've ever had have I gone and put a new engine in it, or replaced the tyres just because they weren't new...

These analogies aren't perfect, but the tyre one raises another point. People cavil at the idea of putting s/h tyres on their car, but I'll bet a lot of them buy s/h cars and carry on using the s/h tyres that came with it.
 
westward10 said:
Don't know why people think this mix and match situation is a recent thing as it has been a requirement for years to follow manufacturers guidance and this wouldn't have included fitted non-compatible devices it really is nothing new.
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Well obv they would say that. ?

But we only have to "take account" of m/fac guidance now... ?

The problem with mix'n'match is type approval, but if you use devices with a 16kA short-circuit rating so that you don't have to take advantage of the conditional one that manufacturers rate their type-tested assemblies to then you ought to be able to mix'n'match to your heart's content, subject to physical constraints like bus-bar alignment.
 
Soi disant said:
As a last resort.


Not a perfect analogy, but we can run with it a bit.

If engines were not repairable, and I had a car which needed an engine, and I couldn't get a new one, and it was a quick and easy job to install a used one I wouldn't rule it out on the grounds that it was used.

In no new car I've ever had have I gone and put a new engine in it, or replaced the tyres just because they weren't new...

These analogies aren't perfect, but the tyre one raises another point. People cavil at the idea of putting s/h tyres on their car, but I'll bet a lot of them buy s/h cars and carry on using the s/h tyres that came with it.
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"People" can do as they wish.

As a professional and also as a scheme member you're responsible for what you install, with regard to sourcing genuine parts and observing manufacturer recalls etc, eBay etc guarantees none of this and has also been the source of fake MCBs (mere switches with no coil etc)

same with mix'n'natching components, yes it can be a little annoying when you know many things will work with vanishingly little real danger, and yes its (yet) another example where the idiots on high think over regulating the compliant guys taking care about what theyre doing will somehow address the bodges of those wilfully ignoring any rules, but a compliant solution is rarely more than a little effort and thought away.
 
Teddy Lop said:
"People" can do as they wish.

As a professional and also as a scheme member you're responsible for what you install, with regard to sourcing genuine parts and observing manufacturer recalls etc, eBay etc guarantees none of this and has also been the source of fake MCBs (mere switches with no coil etc)
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Gut feel says that's more likely to be a problem with new devices than used ones. If you're making fake MCBs why go to the hassle of making fake used ones, given the very much smaller market?

Teddy Lop said:
same with mix'n'natching components, yes it can be a little annoying when you know many things will work with vanishingly little real danger, and yes its (yet) another example where the idiots on high think over regulating the compliant guys taking care about what theyre doing will somehow address the bodges of those wilfully ignoring any rules, but a compliant solution is rarely more than a little effort and thought away.
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A compliant solution is sometimes a little effort, thought, and significant expense away.

I wish I'd never mentioned it - I was never suggesting that people should trawl eBay for second hand CUs, or install s/h components without the customer being aware, only pointing out that sometimes a used device is worth considering and that there really is, logically, not necessarily as much difference between using an MCB that used to belong to Fred and using an MCB that used to belong to Fred because you've just bought Fred's house as there might appear.

But I'm obviously failing to explain myself, so I'll stop trying.
 
Mike Johnson said:
But have you seen this price: Fusebox 14 Way Metal Consumer Unit with 10 RCBOs 100A Main Switch RCBO Board | eBay - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fusebox-14-Way-Metal-Consumer-Unit-with-10-RCBOs-100A-Main-Switch-RCBO-Board/254365182423?
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That board is missing the surge protection module, which adds £30+. (they do offer it in another more expensive listing). I assume the RCBOs are also the type AC ones, which are cheaper than type A, again they don't say.

I've looked at this company's prices before, and always found you can do better (e.g. Gil-Lec, or Expert Electrical), but you do need to compare like with like.
 
Soi disant said:
Gut feel says that's more likely to be a problem with new devices than used ones. If you're making fake MCBs why go to the hassle of making fake used ones, given the very much smaller market?


A compliant solution is sometimes a little effort, thought, and significant expense away.

I wish I'd never mentioned it - I was never suggesting that people should trawl eBay for second hand CUs, or install s/h components without the customer being aware, only pointing out that sometimes a used device is worth considering and that there really is, logically, not necessarily as much difference between using an MCB that used to belong to Fred and using an MCB that used to belong to Fred because you've just bought Fred's house as there might appear.

But I'm obviously failing to explain myself, so I'll stop trying.
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You've completely missed my point. Your scheme requires that you have tracable QA for what you buy and install, unless you have an in-date British standards recognised calibration certificate for your guts then how they feel won't satisfy that.

And I don't know how you quantify old is better than new, many old devices will have never operated!

I'm not saying you have to like it but like the 70mph speed limit or the fact you can't deal with knockers and tool thieves on your own terms, thems the rules. I'm not saying I've never sourced a difficult component using "other" but its something you really want to be wary of and try to avoid, rather than settle for as its the easiest fix.
 
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