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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.
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Is aluminium close enough?


    I am not convinced on the BG unit.

    It is doubtful it is pure aluminium.

    It is apparently die-cast, and one of the alloying materials added to aluminium for die-casting is magnesium.

    Building regulations do not allow the use of magnesium.

    There is no specification in the building regulations information for a percentage of magnesium, it's a blanket ban.

    So, how much is in the BG CU, if any, nobody knows.


    I'd have no qualms in using a plastic CU personally if it was the right part for the job.

  • 0
    Still off topic, but to answer a few comments:

    Yes it has gone a little feminine - perhaps a chinz or gingham border for future developments?



    Great idea Legh Richardson! I've passed that on ?


    ...you can't read the support forum pages unless you are already successfully  logged in



    Good point mapj1‍ but you can read the 'Feedback and question' pages so feel free to post in there if you wish ?


     ...I don't like the new logo (the one the browser puts on the tab or window title) - it seems to be black (and a bit of purple) on transparent - which looks OK on when the tab is active (and the tab label has a white background) but on an inactive tab (at least on Firefox) when the background goes black it's almost invisible...



    Thanks AJJewsbury‍  I've passed this feedback on although I can't guarantee it will be be changed.


    Now, back to plastic consumer units...


  • 0
    Also you can't read the support forum pages unless you are already successfully  logged in, so not much use for anyone who cant find the buttons, and it is only slightly less of an abandoned back-water for dead topics than 'Calvin Asks'.
  • 0

    Lisa Miles:

    ? We're going a little #off-topic here...


    If anyone wants to give us their thoughts re the new branding colours etc please feel free to pop your feedback in the Online Community Support forum.


    Oh and it's not pink, it's purple... ?




    Wether it be pink or purple its a b***** awful colour, so much so I now have a seperate browser for this site with the text colour changed. Also I have not bothered going to the Online Community Support forum as I am not one for surfing through loads of different pages on a single website.

  • 0
    ? We're going a little #off-topic here...


    If anyone wants to give us their thoughts re the new branding colours etc please feel free to pop your feedback in the Online Community Support forum.


    Oh and it's not pink, it's purple... ?
  • 0
    On the "purple" theme - I don't like the new logo (the one the browser puts on the tab or window title) - it seems to be black (and a bit of purple) on transparent - which looks OK on when the tab is active (and the tab label has a white background) but on an inactive tab (at least on Firefox) when the background goes black it's almost invisible - making it tricky to find the IET tab again... The old one at least had a white square around the IET bit so you could see it whatever the background.


      - Andy.
  • 0

    R.Davies BSc(UMIST) AMIMechE CIEH:

    Crikey just logged in again and this forum seems to have been taken over by the 'girlies' or in certain circles known as the 'purple mafia' or the 'pink mafia', although the pink is generally the girlies and purple is associated with somewhat gay, shocking colour though somewhat painful to navigate for a red blooded male.?.


    Rob 




    Yes it has gone a little feminine - perhaps a chinz or gingham border for future developments?

    I have always thought that fires in consumer units, meters, switchgear are primarily caused by loose terminations associated with the supply intake and nearby. It would help if the people responsible for making these terminations were experienced and not part-time 'meter readers' - that's just a generalization.....


    Legh

  • 0
    Is this a colour blindness test? I've gone from light brown, to light green, to purple!

    Anyhow, back to the rant!

    How is it that it has taken so long for the RCD thing to be highlighted? Type A/Cs have been banned for some time in certain European countries.

    Another thing which came to light this week.

    Certain manufacturers are recommending that mains smoke/heat alarms be fed from their own mcb due to spurious switching events.

    Extractor fans have come on in the middle of the night, smoke/heat alarms are being 'nuisence-triggered.

    Manufacturers are claiming the root cause to be the mass uptake of LED lamps by the Public.

    What does the IET have to say about that?

    Source of info was from my independent wholesalers, who are fed up of exchanging perfectly sound goods from the likes of AICO, Manrose etc because they seem to have minds of their own!
  • 0
    Purple Mafia is an exciting five-piece indie rock band of teen classmates from North Yorkshire, England. Brilliant musicianship and clever, cheeky lyrics make these guys stand out as original and fun.


    THE PINK MAFIA. There's more to gay Dallas than Cedar Springs and drag queens. Behind the scenes is an upper-class network that is conservative, churchgoing, white-collar and well-connected. They have made Dallas' gay community the most successful in the nation.



    Had to look them up out of interest. Good plug.
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Crikey just logged in again and this forum seems to have been taken over by the 'girlies' or in certain circles known as the 'purple mafia' or the 'pink mafia', although the pink is generally the girlies and purple is associated with somewhat gay, shocking colour though somewhat painful to navigate for a red blooded male.?.


    Rob

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