I have had similar thoughts, I watched one a few days ago with the twin and earth cable sheath stripped off back into trunking above the distribution board, the CPC sleeved then heat shrink applied over the end of the sheath with the now single insulated conductors tightly tied in bunches with cable ties.

It did indeed look very tidy, but I’m still questioning myself asking it it over the top and possibly detrimental?

Interestingly, I had a conversation with a forum regular a short time ago where we were discussing the benefits of using the IET's Wiring regs forum over many of the other forums for electricians (not going to mention any specific competitors here but I'm sure you'll know where I mean ) . 

For me personally, I've always thought that if you want to get the word from the horses mouth, then you go to the stable. So why would you ask questions related to BS7671 Wiring Regs on another forum rather than going directly to a forum provided by the organisation that publishes the Regs? We have forum regulars answering questions on here that are members of the JPEL 64 committee that produces the Regs so surely you can't get more 'horses mouth' than that? There are certain regulars on here that I know if they've provided an answer it can be relied upon to be the correct one 

Also, in forums and social media networks you can never be sure of someone's credentials. In EngX you may have noticed that we have profile badges so you can be assured that you're talking to a member of the IET if you see one of our membership badges on their profile page. We also badge for qualifications too, CEng and IEng etc so again if you receive an answer from someone sporting an FIET badge and a CEng  badge then you know that they are a Fellow of the IET and also a chartered engineer. 

Their answer to any engineering question I may have will carry much more weight with me than that of a random stranger on Facebook or YouTube.... 

On the plus side, if people post videos of this kind of thing it does bring it out into the open and encourage discussion about it. 30 years ago we probably had the same sort of people doing the same kind of work, probably passing the technique onto their apprentices and probably a few others who came across their work and thought it looked neat - but it would mostly have gone unchallenged. I recall pictures of 3-phase DBs with "loomed" wiring.donkey's years ago.

   - Andy.

It is (Very?) common practice now to install as described, with the cables all a short as possible and lives cable tided together, neutrals cable tied together and earths cable tided together. Very neat. 

The next time that DB is changed nothing will reach and everything will need to be extended. 

The cable tied cables may well get too hot. 

I'd prefer to see longer loops of cables and no cable ties at all. Perhaps I'm a dinosaur though. 

On the upside - the you tube videos do promote neatness which is a good thing; often neat translates to care and a better installation than an untidy installation.

tattyinengland said:

I'd prefer to see longer loops of cables and no cable ties at all.

Nothing worse than a cable which has been cut too short for a CU change! I wouldn't say NO cable ties - a small one around the two legs of a ring is not out of place.

I must admit that I am an untidy rascal in consumer units. Leaving plenty of length for re-terminating and testing/alterations and additions does not bode well with neatness and leaving spaces between conductors for ventilation adds to that messy look. I do like the look of a neat job though amd it makes it easier to trace what actually goes where,

I think that those who inhibit air movement by bundling/tying cables within CU's, are not conscious of the harm that can be caused. On the other hand, if finding this, a subjective time after a working installation and there is no apparent damage, I would tend to walk on.

It is a common loooming practice within industrial control panels however, where circuit currents are low and adds to the cable security and aesthetics.   

Jaymack   

Whilst some may think this can be passed over if the cables haven't melted yet, I cannot agree. This attitude suggests that any massive grouping of cables is satisfactory, at least on day one, and is therefore to be condoned. In my view it requires an immediate C2 at inspection, and even the slightest cable damage would be a C1. It is usually OK inside control panels and electronics, but I have come across electronic equipment where serious damage has resulted from this kind of practice, that is the entire equipment being fire damaged beyond repair.

I have had a recent instance whereby an old square D 3 ph board had a C32 KQ type RCBO feeding a ring final. The neutral tails of the RCBOs had been ty-wrapped together and this had resulted in heavy scorching along the length of one of them, leading to a complete melt-off at the termination end - which was not a loose connection. The adjacent leads had similar marks but not as severe.I swapped it out for as new B32A version, but given the cost of these things it could have been avoided.  I am a messy CU wirier who believes that time dressing something up to the nth degree is just wasting customers money given the extra time having to be taken to do so.

If it is a problem of not will depend on if things are simultaneously nearly fully loaded  - it may be possible to look at the incomer rating, and the bundle going out and decide that there are cases where it can never be a problem.

I have mentioned temperature indicating stickers and periodically looking at them in cases where cable heating is suspected , and I will again - a really useful tool to being certain rather than hopeful.

Mike.