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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

  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    davezawadi (David Stone):

     I suspect the EICR very much. Could I have a copy please? davezawadi (at) yahoo.co.uk. Thanks very much for the several received this week!


    David


    Despite the inspector telling me that the report was confidential between him and his client I sent you a copy on the 12th.  Did you not receive it?


  • 0
    dcbwhaley:

    What do you mean "note the value of the main fuse seal"?.


    I assume Mike is suggesting that (while the CU main switch is off, so there's no load), withdraw the main fuse to see what rating it is, i.e. 60/63/80/100A. By law the DNO have to tell you its value upon request, but in practice they'll always just shrug and say "sorry we don't know".


  • 0
    wallywombat:
    dcbwhaley:

    What do you mean "note the value of the main fuse seal"?.


    I assume Mike is suggesting that (while the CU main switch is off, so there's no load), withdraw the main fuse to see what rating it is, i.e. 60/63/80/100A. By law the DNO have to tell you its value upon request, but in practice they'll always just shrug and say "sorry we don't know".




    Or call in, have a look, and tell you. You can ask them to measure Ze whilst you are about it.


  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    wallywombat:
    dcbwhaley:

    What do you mean "note the value of the main fuse seal"?.


    I assume Mike is suggesting that (while the CU main switch is off, so there's no load), withdraw the main fuse to see what rating it is, i.e. 60/63/80/100A. By law the DNO have to tell you its value upon request, but in practice they'll always just shrug and say "sorry we don't know".




    According to the report it is 100A


  • 0
    dcbwhaley:
    davezawadi (David Stone):

     I suspect the EICR very much. Could I have a copy please? davezawadi (at) yahoo.co.uk. Thanks very much for the several received this week!


    David


    Despite the inspector telling me that the report was confidential between him and his client I sent you a copy on the 12th.  Did you not receive it?




    No I have not unless it is sent from an account name seriously different to your one here. Please try again. Not in my spam or deleted either, so odd. davezawadi@yahoo.co.uk


  • 0
    Presumably he pulled it to see the 100A rating then. Or maybe read the holder, but the 100A fuse holders often have something lighter fitted inside, the exact value depends on the DNO load balancing strategy, a complex sum involving street main impedances and cable lengths, and most importantly what was in the box of bits in the back of the truck on the day if it is a replacement.

    Or just very occasionally it reveals a total horror like a larger one with the lugs cut off to make it fit,  (seen once in a lifetime to be fair ) or a blown one jumped with 2  or 3 strands of 30A fuse wire. (more common, but still in single figures  I think.)

    I suspect however, looking at the meter that the seal fairy cast it's rather dodgy spell to make them vanish after the meter was changed to allow the new consumer unit to be fitted. It is quite common for that to happen, and round here (SSE) if it is obvious that it is not abstraction they just re-seal and leave a standard warning notice reminding you that the fuse is the DNO property and not to play with it.

    If they see things that do look dodgy, like odd bits of wire where they should not be or unexplained scratches, burns, or holes in the unmetered  tails, then it gets a lot more serious very quickly.

    (example pics)


    I'd have expected the condition report to say 'seals are missing, contact supplier to have them replaced' or something equally bland, as that too is an example live parts that can now be exposed that should not be, as to line up with the seals the screws are not tight, and can often be  finger undone without tools. I guess in all the enthusiasm he missed that bit..

    Mike.

  • 0
    mapj1:

    If they see things that do look dodgy, like odd bits of wire where they should not be or unexplained scratches, burns, or holes in the unmetered  tails, then it gets a lot more serious very quickly.

    (example pics)

    Ooh, a handy guide to ways of abstracting electricity! Although some of the methods do seem a bit overly elaborate.

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