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Ring Main at Consumer unit

Former Community Member
Former Community Member
My daughter has just had an electrical safety check done and I suspect that the electrician has been over zeleous..

Would anyone care to comment.


There is no grommet where the meter tails enter the consumer unit and the outer insulation stops just short of the knockout.

He has graded this C1.   Now my opinion is that that does not present an  an immediate threat to the safety of personell

It needs fixing but surely only a C2?


More intriguing.  He gives a C3 to the ring circuit because the two legs enter the consumer unit through separate knock outs.  I can't find that in the regs


And finally an old chestnut which has been discussed before.   A C3 because two radial "circuits" are served by a single breaker..  I have always argued that the definition of a circuit is that it is served by a single breaker.  Certainly if both radials were brought to a junction box outside the CU and then connected to the breaker by a single cable it would meet the definition of a radial..


Thanks for your attention

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  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Sparkingchip:

    I now have a mental picture of these consumer unit tails, I suspect that originally they were pushed right into the consumer unit with the inner single insulation completely concealed and the grommet in place.


    A some time the tails have been yanked or dropped due to lack of support dislodging the grommet, exposing the inner single insulation and possibly stressing the terminations.


    Quibbling about if they warrant a C1 or several C2s is being pedantic, maybe it’s not a C1, but the outcome is the same, the report is stating it’s a mess that needs tidying up.


    Your analysis is almost certainly correct.  I suspect that the tails were disturbed during the installation of the smart meter..  And it certainly needs attention.

    But it is not a quibble, he outcome is not the same if the fault is a C1 as it would be if it were a C2


    If the fault is a C1 the family is advised, by the inspector, to immediately move out of the house to a hotel, put their animals in kennels, and not return until the faults has been rectified which could be several weeks.   If a C2 then they can remain in the house, taking care to avoid touching the CU until it is fixed.  Given the difficulty of finding an electrician to do the job that represents a considerable sum of money


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  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Sparkingchip:

    I now have a mental picture of these consumer unit tails, I suspect that originally they were pushed right into the consumer unit with the inner single insulation completely concealed and the grommet in place.


    A some time the tails have been yanked or dropped due to lack of support dislodging the grommet, exposing the inner single insulation and possibly stressing the terminations.


    Quibbling about if they warrant a C1 or several C2s is being pedantic, maybe it’s not a C1, but the outcome is the same, the report is stating it’s a mess that needs tidying up.


    Your analysis is almost certainly correct.  I suspect that the tails were disturbed during the installation of the smart meter..  And it certainly needs attention.

    But it is not a quibble, he outcome is not the same if the fault is a C1 as it would be if it were a C2


    If the fault is a C1 the family is advised, by the inspector, to immediately move out of the house to a hotel, put their animals in kennels, and not return until the faults has been rectified which could be several weeks.   If a C2 then they can remain in the house, taking care to avoid touching the CU until it is fixed.  Given the difficulty of finding an electrician to do the job that represents a considerable sum of money


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