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Advice Please - Mains cartridge fused Isolator switch or MCB and isolator Switch.
Former Community Member
I manage a residential mobile home park with homes that individually have mains supply TT coming to a meter box recessed into a breeze block shed. The tails then come from the meter into the shed and into an old style bakelite rewireable 40a fused isolator switch. There is then an outgoing 10mm SWA cable running from the isolator switch underground from the shed to the home and then into the consumer unit for the home (total run approx. 8 to 10 metres). Having had an EICR for one of the homes I have been adviced that these isolator switches will need to be replaced as the swa cable is not properly terminated (it is not glanded in to the isolator switch and the wire stranded sheathing is twisted together and connected to the earth block.) My question is can this isolator switch be replaced with an 18th edition 3 way metal enclosure with double pole isolator switch and 40a mcb or should it be replaced with a 60a (or 40a) cartridge fused double poled mains isolator switch. Additionally would it a be a good idea to put a 60a RCD into the shed and either use a five way enclosure (in place of 3 way enclosure) or a 2 way enclosure fed from the cartridge isolator switch. All the homes have a standard consumer unit containing either a 60a or 80a RCD and 3 to 5 suitable MCB's (32a, 16a, 6a).
When I had my competence assessment last year my assessor asked me some specific questions about TT installations, in particular regarding the choice of consumer units, he passed comment that there are a lot of electricians who do not understand the requirements for TT installations.
If the installation is TT and there is not any RCD protection upfront of the SWA cable to the park homes and the homes have dual RCD consumer units with a main switch then the consumer units are not adequately protected as the internal tails and busbars are not RCD protected.
So a fault on the SWA cable or within the consumer unit could cause major issues in a TT installation without an upfront RCD.
When I had my competence assessment last year my assessor asked me some specific questions about TT installations, in particular regarding the choice of consumer units, he passed comment that there are a lot of electricians who do not understand the requirements for TT installations.
If the installation is TT and there is not any RCD protection upfront of the SWA cable to the park homes and the homes have dual RCD consumer units with a main switch then the consumer units are not adequately protected as the internal tails and busbars are not RCD protected.
So a fault on the SWA cable or within the consumer unit could cause major issues in a TT installation without an upfront RCD.