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Plastic consumer units/enclosures etc

whjohnson
I have a job where a small former outside toilet is being converted into a hobby pottery complete with water supply and small kiln.

I propose to fit a small plastic consumer unit with the appropriate IP rating for protection against ingress of water.

This will be a home brew job with a generic enclosure and a RCD main switch and mcbs from my spares stock.

I have seen many metal enclosures rusting quietly away in detached garages/w/shops/outbuildings and thought they would be better served by using plastic.


I think there is still a case to be made for fitting plastic consumer unit enclosures in outbuildings in order to prevent deteriation caused by external influences. Moist atmosphere, unheated spaces and the like.


Any other like-minded souls out there?

Comments welcome.
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  • 0

    This has now changed a lot since the introduction of AZ61 a non-combustible MgAlloy



    AZ61 appears to have a melting point of below 610 degrees C - which is considerably below the 1400+ degrees C for steel. Can we have any confidence that such material really meets BS 7671's demands - which only gives steel as an example of what's acceptable? (Regardless of other standard's ideas of what constitutes non-flammable/fire-proof.)

     

    Actually I have yet to be able to find one for sale. A web search yields plenty of BG consumer units, but not of the alloyed variety



    Good point- the IP65 ones I've seen (e.g. https://www.screwfix.com/p/british-general-5-module-3-way-populated-garage-consumer-unit/1926g) seem to be steel, not Al alloy. We're not being led down a tangential wild goose chase are we?


      - Andy.
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  • 0

    This has now changed a lot since the introduction of AZ61 a non-combustible MgAlloy



    AZ61 appears to have a melting point of below 610 degrees C - which is considerably below the 1400+ degrees C for steel. Can we have any confidence that such material really meets BS 7671's demands - which only gives steel as an example of what's acceptable? (Regardless of other standard's ideas of what constitutes non-flammable/fire-proof.)

     

    Actually I have yet to be able to find one for sale. A web search yields plenty of BG consumer units, but not of the alloyed variety



    Good point- the IP65 ones I've seen (e.g. https://www.screwfix.com/p/british-general-5-module-3-way-populated-garage-consumer-unit/1926g) seem to be steel, not Al alloy. We're not being led down a tangential wild goose chase are we?


      - Andy.
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