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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
  • Afraid that I tend to agree with Andy.


    C1 = danger present e.g. live conductor of tail is exposed.

    C3 = improvement recommended e.g. tails identified using old colours.


    C2 = potentially dangerous i.e. somewhere between C1 and C3.


    What we do not know is whether the basic insulation was visible at the time of installation or only afterwards: the OP suggests the latter. At the very least, I would have a good look at the route of the tails within the CU and their terminations.


    If the tails have been moved by a meter operative, they should not have been; but they do take liberties. A few days ago, I was checking my installation prior to annual assessment. The earthing conductor and CPCs to the two DBs were wonky. The meter operative who had installed a smart meter had moved the MET. ?
Reply
  • Afraid that I tend to agree with Andy.


    C1 = danger present e.g. live conductor of tail is exposed.

    C3 = improvement recommended e.g. tails identified using old colours.


    C2 = potentially dangerous i.e. somewhere between C1 and C3.


    What we do not know is whether the basic insulation was visible at the time of installation or only afterwards: the OP suggests the latter. At the very least, I would have a good look at the route of the tails within the CU and their terminations.


    If the tails have been moved by a meter operative, they should not have been; but they do take liberties. A few days ago, I was checking my installation prior to annual assessment. The earthing conductor and CPCs to the two DBs were wonky. The meter operative who had installed a smart meter had moved the MET. ?
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