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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

Parents
  • 0
    Sparkingchip:

    Personally I only strip sufficient sheath to allow the termination of the cable into the main switch, usually 10 mm or less, I cannot understand why some people strip the sheath right back within the enclosure removing the mechanical protection from the insulation for no apparent reason.


    mapj1:

    It is quite common to have a flash of colour on show  for the last cm or so with the  grey tails cut slightly short to identify the polarity of the  core within.

    Not really the way to do it, and personally I prefer a turn of the correct coloured tape, but I am not everyone.

    I agree that the removal of only sufficient outer sheath in order to be able to identify the tails is best, but I fail to see a problem with removing more inside the CU: it does reduce the bulk.  My firm preference is to use a gland so that they may not be pulled outwards and especially for mechanical protection in a TT system, but it does require extra work and a very modest additional cost.
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  • 0
    Sparkingchip:

    Personally I only strip sufficient sheath to allow the termination of the cable into the main switch, usually 10 mm or less, I cannot understand why some people strip the sheath right back within the enclosure removing the mechanical protection from the insulation for no apparent reason.


    mapj1:

    It is quite common to have a flash of colour on show  for the last cm or so with the  grey tails cut slightly short to identify the polarity of the  core within.

    Not really the way to do it, and personally I prefer a turn of the correct coloured tape, but I am not everyone.

    I agree that the removal of only sufficient outer sheath in order to be able to identify the tails is best, but I fail to see a problem with removing more inside the CU: it does reduce the bulk.  My firm preference is to use a gland so that they may not be pulled outwards and especially for mechanical protection in a TT system, but it does require extra work and a very modest additional cost.
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