CU replacement

Chris Pearson:

This begs the question, "why do you want to change the CU? Surely it must be on the recommendation of an EICR.

Consider a homeowner who looks at their rewireable fuse board and wants a consumer unit, with CBs, just like they've seen elsewhere , so they don't have to fiddle with bits of fusewire - and don't know anything about eicrs.

Farmboy:

Chris Pearson:

This begs the question, "why do you want to change the CU? Surely it must be on the recommendation of an EICR.

Consider a homeowner who looks at their rewireable fuse board and wants a consumer unit, with CBs, just like they've seen elsewhere , so they don't have to fiddle with bits of fusewire - and don't know anything about eicrs.

If it's that ancient, is the rest of the installation likely to be satisfactory? Best to know in advance if a complete rewire is required!

ebee:

I always insist on doing an EICR prior to CU change. It`s only fair both to me and the customer

Exactly as ebee says.  An EICR is a snapshot in time. The greater the period elapsed the chance that something has changed increases. If for example, it is a "distress change", then perhaps go ahead and inspect/ test as is needed, but for your own protection do a Report first. Things that are a deal breaker you do not want to deal with once you have ripped the old one out. You are then at the point of no return.


Perception is everything in contracting and whispers become "fact. Many customers view a Consumer Unit change as a cure for all ills, many then presume the whole install is "new" and all sins have been "absolved". At the end of the day the same erroneous perception can be derived by simply replacing all the accessories for new ones........builder stylee. The murky part of the electrical industry uses a new CU as a whitewash for a badger install, very much the case in rental for example.