RCD

What does the EICR actually say?


One might argue that it is a legal requirement because the flat's electrical installation should be up to date. On the other hand, the report needs only to be satisfactory in terms of suitability for continued use and lack of RCD protection does not invariably lead to an assessment of unsatisfactory.


Have a search in this forum - there has been quite a lot of discussion!

Go on be a Devil, have it fitted, it will afford greater safety.


Z.

Are you the landlord, the tenant, or the owner/occupier?

Kenneth


Depends if you value your own and your families safety? Or if you are a landlord do you want to comply with the law?


In the current regulations 30mA RCD protection is required on the following circuits in domestic premises.


1. For all socket outlets.

2. For circuits supplying mobile equipment outdoors.

3. For lighting circuits.

4. For unprotected cables buried at a depth of less than 50mm in a wall.

5. For cables that are unprotected in walls or partitions containing metal parts regardless of depth.

6. For all circuits in a bathroom.

7. For cables passing through the Zones of a bathroom. 


All of the above are for shock protection and in addition will give a significant level of fire protection.


You could have all that with a consumer unit change for less than a months shopping at Tesco (other makes are available)!

This depends on how the flat is used - if it is to be rented out then since earlier this year there is a need to meet the current wiring regs before  it can be let out - almost always that will mean you need RCD protection on some, possibly all circuits depending how it is wired.

If however just you and family live in it, then you are free to take as much or as little risk as you like. Now  30 years ago an RCD was only required for things that supplied outdoor equipment, so there may be one RCD protected socket for a lawn mower  and not the rest, and not even that if you are upstairs.

Generally the regs now require all domestic sockets to be RCD protected with very few exceptions.


In a 30 year old (1990 or so) installation there may be other things to watch for, lamp holders deteriorate with heat, UV light attacks plastic, switches may get scratchy so I suspect there will be more to it, and just fitting an RCD may find it trips and will not stay on, as there are further problems to be fixed further down,

Equally it may be in 1st class condition, and no need to do much at all.

Mike.


Edit.

I think John eats quite a lot, or only caviar and lobster or something, asr a good job may be a bit more than that.

Hopefully however the job will last many years, long after the food has left the building.

Mike


FYI I don't each fish as I am allergic. The wine tops up the Waitrose order? As you know Tesco was invented to keep the Riff Raff out of Waitrose. Overheard at the till in Waitrose, " Mummy disaster they have run out of avacardos"!


Out of interest which domestic sockets do not need RCD protection.

I'm sorry about the fish, I did not know. I do know how much we spend on food in a month, and there are 4  of us.


Re sockets I imagine we might make an exception for safety of life equipment though most of that will be happy on an RCD these days,  that would be a reasonable BS7671 departure.


Thinking of shops I do recall the onset of lockdown bringing various shortages,

round here Aldi were limiting customers to so many loo rolls and a certain alcohol ration, the the Coop were limiting loo rolls and hand sanitiser among other things, I was told that  Waitrose were having to ration oysters and humus..


And for about 2 weeks we could not get condensed milk...

M.

Out of interest which domestic sockets do not need RCD protection.

I guess the obvious one is one for shavers fed from a safey isolating transformer (although if it's in a bathroom the circuit supplying the primary will likely still need 30mA RCD protection). I guess if anyone has any d.c. sockets (off-grid) or ELV systems they wouldn't be covered either (USB sockets?).


I could be provokative and say a socket supplied by a length of loose flex - but I guess you'd say that doesn't meet the definition of a socket so is a trick answer.


   - Andy.