can different makes be put in different consumer units. Was at a job where the board was of a make that the wholesalers don't sell .as it happened the breaker start working
can different makes be put in different consumer units. Was at a job where the board was of a make that the wholesalers don't sell .as it happened the breaker start working
To be avoided. I do not think that the wholesaler did not stock it is an acceptable excuse - look elsewhere.
However, if the original is no longer available and the choice is between repairing the installation or a new DB, it may be acceptable. As Mike says, it does need to fit properly. DIN rails may be standardized, but busbars are not.
Budget also comes into it. For me, the real question is, "Would I do it in my own home?"
Have to order from UK as I live in Guernsey so new board it is if it carries on .
What brand of board is it? Any ideas as to how old it is? What BS EN number is on the mcbs? Some earlier stuff is fine when used with a so-called 'other brands'. Take Wylex for example, Earlier Wylex stuff was exactly the same as Volex - both made by Electrium who own the Wylex, Volex and Crabtree brands.
Another example is the earlier MK, Square D and Merlin Gerin mcbs, all had the same moulded case and were identical in all dimensions. A cynic might be forgiven for thinking thst they all came form the same factory.............
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the electromagnetic and thermal arguments are spurious and without foundation. This is more about protecting market share and profit.
In these days of design to repair, and green conservation and reuse of materials, one might suspect why the manufacturers have not been brought to heel when it comes to componant interchangability for their products. After all, they are all made to the BS standard.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the electromagnetic and thermal arguments are spurious and without foundation. This is more about protecting market share and profit.
You might think that, you might very well think that... And you may well be right !! But we cannot easily prove it.
The problem is the makers are not prepared to test and give their approval to anything other than their own stuff.
As I noted, in other parts of the world mix and match is common and not usually a great issue in practice - but they do tend to leave more gaps between things.
The other imaginary spectre sometimes incorrectly raised as a blocker is the 'conditional' 16kA rating of a 6kA consumer unit protected by a 100 company fuse. There is nothing conditional or UK specific or breaker brand specific about it. The fact is that it is the physics of the 100A fuse that limits the energy available to damage any stuff downstream once the PSSC is high enough to have to think about it, which is a small subset of real installations anyway.
Mike.
Not sure that Guernsey has the same regulatory regime anyway, a great many UK rules are not transcribed, after all the whole place is plugged into Jersey, and their electrons are generated in France ! More seriously I know it is 13A sockets, but I'd be surprised if there was anything like part P.
Not sure that Guernsey has the same regulatory regime anyway, a great many UK rules are not transcribed, after all the whole place is plugged into Jersey, and their electrons are generated in France !
Same here, Mike!
France usually sends us electrons (which it can do 'cos it is d.c.), but very occasionally, we send them back. https://bmrs.elexon.co.uk/interconnector-flows
France usually sends us electrons (which it can do 'cos it is d.c.),
Interestingly, if it's 50Hz AC, then the electrons never leave their host atoms (assuming all conduction electrons are doing a shimmy), which was a surprise to me when I did the calculation.
I'd wondered how far the fusing coulombs of current (Cu) travelled each half cycle, relative to the Cu crystal lattice size (i.e. atomic width). The AC <-> DC transition frequency is very low by that mechanism (does the conduction electron move to the adjacent atom)
France usually sends us electrons (which it can do 'cos it is d.c.),
Interestingly, if it's 50Hz AC, then the electrons never leave their host atoms (assuming all conduction electrons are doing a shimmy), which was a surprise to me when I did the calculation.
I'd wondered how far the fusing coulombs of current (Cu) travelled each half cycle, relative to the Cu crystal lattice size (i.e. atomic width). The AC <-> DC transition frequency is very low by that mechanism (does the conduction electron move to the adjacent atom)
Philip, it is definitely d.c. else there would not be a huge shed about a mile (1.6 km) from here.
I can see how d.c. transmits power, but a.c. has always been a mystery to me, and probably always will be.
I believe there are currently three interconnectors between the UK and France (IFA / IFA-2 / ElecLink) all of which are high voltage direct current (HVDC).
The interconnector between the UK and the Isle of Man is the only undersea interconnector that I can think of that is alternating current (AC).
- Ross
I can see how d.c. transmits power, but a.c. has always been a mystery to me, and probably always will be.
One analogy I liked was a bike chain. You don't have to move the pedals very far to make the back wheel move (one link doesn't have to go all the way around before anything happens, it just needs to nudge its neighbour) - indeed where the wheel has a ratchet you can make the back wheel turn consistently in the same direction just by moving the pedals forward a little, then back by the same amount, repeat.
- Andy.
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