Cooking Fumes in Consumer Unit

T

twisty

New Member
Our consumer unit is mounted high up on the cavity wall adjoining our neighbours property. Every time she cooks our hallway stinks of her cooking, somehow, her cooking smells are leaving her property and going down the wall cavity and exiting into our property via the wiring hole in the wall behind the consumer unit.

We have had a surveyor look into this but no conclusive explanation could be found, It is obviously going to take more (and expensive) investigation to find the underlying cause, although I believe it legally will eventually fall on our neighbour to correct the fault.

I have stuffed as much cavity wall insulation as I could into the space around the wiring within the wall, but still the smell continues. I am reluctant to use expanding foam as the surveyor suggested as this will prevent movement of the wiring if any electrical work needs to be done in the future.

The consumer unit absolutely stinks when our neighboour is cooking, Cooking fumes contain grease content etc.

Is it possible that this is going to eventually cause problems with the circuit breakers themselves and maybe even intermittant tripping and/or a fire hazard?

knowing this will help me decide what to do next.

Thanks

Graham
 
your surveyor is a *******, if you pump in cavity wall insulation it will break down the cable insulation and become dangerious.
your cables should not be run in cavity, best bet is to pull them out and run them surface!then fill in the hole
 
I have the same problem - most noticeable when I had my CU off the wall exposing the hole. Normally it is not too bad. One suggestion - I'd pull out the cavity wall insulation, 'cos that won't do any good at all with the smell. Leave the wiring in the wall, but try to get an airtight seal around the CU. Makeshift some gaskets if you have to - obviously there is a hole into the cavity in your neighbours house - it doesn't take much to get into the cavity and then once there - through your CU is the only way out.

Make sure that whatever you do use to try to seal it with though isn't going to cause a problem with the electrics. Personally I'd chop up a bicycle tyre or equivalent and use that.

Someone's probably going to come along with a much better idea, but there's my 2p worth.

TAngo
 
You don't think there's a possibilty that a cooker hood has been vented into the cavity from next door because the cooker is on an inside (& Party) wall?
 
You don't think there's a possibilty that a cooker
hood has been vented into the cavity from next door
because the cooker is on an inside (& Party) wall?

No-Our surveyor checked our neighbours property, she has no cooker hood and there is no obvious holes or gaps.
 
Hi

you need some intumesent foam Ive probly spelt that wrong but its what you would use as a fire barrier around cables it exspands when it gets hot sealing off the cable duct I would think if you filled the hole where your cables exit the cavity it would be ok incidently I assume its only the meter tails that are in the cavity or someone has been a bit naughty
 
Hi

you sure about that
Ive a tin here say you can fill cable chases with it not that I would but I do use it for sealing swa cable ducts
 
Thanks to all for the advice so far,

However; what I must know: If the cooking fumes coming into the rear of the consumer unit via the wall cavity continue, due to the grease content all cooking produces, could this eventually cause a fire within the consumer unit or problems with the circuit breakers themselves?

Incidentally, all wiring from the unit goes out of the back and up into the cealing which is about 20CM above the unit, only the meter tails are within the cavity and connect to the meter at floor level.

Thanks

Graham
 
just read southernsparks reply. are you really a spark? do you run all cables surface even if there is a cavity?i dont think the surveyor is the *******!!!!!
 
I think what SNs is saying you run 'em on the surface then bury 'em and protect 'em in the building mats.

We Never run cables in cavitys as SNS says.

sf
 
i dont think the surveyor is the *******!!!!!
well he is, joined by you, nice pair you make

unless you want ur insulation to chewing gum you dont put expanding insulation near cables, it leaches the plasticiser

i think you are worrid...something you dooftern is it?

ss
 
Going back to your original question - yes I have NO doubt whatsoever that it IS a fire risk if there is grease residues and this in turn will almost certainly ruin the MCB's as well (if the fire doesn't first). I would get a sparky in to remove the CU, dig out behind and get to the root of the cause then refit a new CU (or the old one if OK). The lives of you and ya family are surely worth more than a few hundred quid.
 
ok this might be a bit left field, but are you positive it is the neighbors cooking, just wondered as nearly all types of thermosetting plastic seem to give off a decidedly fishy smell when hot, had a customer who asked me to replace a socket outlet because it smelt of fish every time they used the kettle, turned out to be a poor connection heating up the surrounding plastic.
 
What about an extractor fan near to the CU,
exhausting into the cavity to pressurise it a little?

B-A-S - Not sure if venting into a wall cavity is a good idea - Building Regs?
 
We Never run cables in cavitys as SNS says.

Doubtless you don't, but I had some central heating controls put in by the gas board last year and their sparky put all the wiring through the cavity. Admittedly it was an internal cavity between the main house and the extension, but it's still connected to the outside cavity gaps so any foamy insulation would flood it.
 
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