New fusebox necessary?

I don’t follow that line of thinking?

What possible issues are there that could prevent the fuse board being replaced with a new consumer unit, that could be safely ignored if you don’t?

 

New fuse box due to fire risk no, but we need to consider are the electricial products we use today of a nature which requires more protection?

And also are our children using socket outlets in a way when we were children we never did?

I fitted RCD's around 1994 when my son passed his RAE exam at around 14 year old. Now at 45 year old, so it worked, he is still alive, but can I as an electrician look at my children and think others peoples children are the same?

 

There very quickly becomes a point where it is better to replace that to keep adding on, particularly when the original is outdated.

 

I said fuseboxes have not been installed this century so YOU are the one who is looking DAFT.

They offer no superior protection. Less inconvenience, yes, but protection is no different.

 

Are you suggesting he would not be alive today if you had not done that? Both you and I grew up without RCDs and lived. How many times did he trip the RCD with his amateur radio activities?

I'm not saying that RCDs are not a good idea though.

 

Because when you change a consumer unit it is classed as a new installation so everything else within the property has to meet regs and you can’t have anything wrong with the property

 

be aware changing the consumer unit classes it as a new installation so anything wrong anywhere else would beed to be rectified before issuing an eic for the property (not saying there is anything wrong)

 

According to who?

 

Actually, more likely it would have been me who had died, I got a fridge freezer which had a cold water dispenser, to work it needed a cold water supply, the toilet was right above the fridge/freezer, so a 10 mm pipe from the loo to cold water supply seemed easy. So two hacksaw blades with a spacer, and I set to making a channel down the wall.

Unknown to me, the two-way lighting cable went around 4 corners to reach the second switch, and I sawed through it. I actually knocked me out, and I woke up later on the floor, however the time had been limited to 40 mS by the RCD. Had I not been an electrician, likely would not have happened, as I know safe routes, and knew there should have been no wires there, so did not check.

If my son had tripped the RCD, likely he would not have told me.

In this house, the RCD may have stopped a fire, the roof was leaking, into the flat under the main house, not occupied at the time, the sockets tripped out, on the roof being repaired would not reset, found the plastic at back of socket warped, clearly been some serious arcing, socket changed and all OK, as to if the power had not tripped what would have happened I clearly don't know, since all RCBO I could leave the power off until faults corrected.

 

That’s not quite correct from a Regs perspective. However, on a practical basis, if you replace a fuse board with a new one that will have RCBOs or RCDs, it is likely to highlight any issues that exist in your wiring, and they’ll need resolved to make it safe and not trip the new RCDs etc. That’s why I always do some testing before I start pulling old boards off the wall, as many customers don’t appreciate that a new board can lead to other remedial work needing done.

 

Obviously there cannot be any issues that warrant a C1 or C2 on an EICR, but are you always going to insist on rectifying all C3’s?

 

Think you are mixing up periodic and initial
Verification

 

it is because you have to verify it meets the requirements of bs7671.

if you have ANY codes it doesn’t meet the requirements.

134.2.1 initial verification

 

Would apply on to NEW work only. ie the CU. If you where to take a literal interpretation of the reg you could end up having to check things like cables are inside permitted zones and/or no inaccessible JB,s, both of which are regs breaches. You could end up hacking off plaster or ripping up floorboards to find out that kind of thing.

 

Of course it applies to the whole installation. It is an eic. It IS a new installation the moment you change the ccu. You have changed every characteristic of the installation.

How are you going to pass an eic if you have codes on it? (That’s what i don’t understand from your point of view). If you do then the eic is invalid.

hence i suggested earlier getting an eicr done first.

 

no you wouldn’t check cables in prescribed zones as it is not reasonably practical to do so.

 

@CBE

Replacing a consumer unit in an existing installation is an alteration to an existing installation, not a new installation.

Look at the model EIC on page 510

There is a box for comments on existing installation, it says “in the case of an addition or alteration see Regulation 644.1.2”.

Regulation 644.1.2 For an addition and/or alteration to an existing installation, any defect or omission that will affect the safety of the addition or alteration that is revealed during inspection and testing shall be corrected before the Certificate is issued.

For example, earthing and main bonding needs to be suitable and upgraded if required to ensure ADS in the event of a fault with the circuit protection in the new consumer unit operating correctly.

You are confusing the requirements with those in the preceding Regulation 644.1.1 which doesn’t allow any errors or defects to be recorded on the certificate for new installations.

 

Probably my wording mixed with trying not to write an essay. “Classed as new” I'm getting at the fact (for the benefit of the op) that there is not much difference between a newly completed building and replacing a ccu. You have to comply with 7671 on both. Schedule of inspections/test results etc on both.

If you have codes or issues on any circuit how are you complying with 7671?

changing a ccu you have to apply it to the whole installation like it were new because you have altered every circuit.

 

What If this were a large installation with thousands of circuits and you replace one six way board do you see if the entire installation is compliant?