Any electricians? - Replacing household consumer unit

[Wez]

Hey All,

 

I have a wiring fault downstairs which means I had to isolate one of the downstairs ring mains, bit of pain but luckily I have two other sources for kitchen appliances and the TV. Now while fixing the original ring main I thought it would be a good idea to replace the very old and dated consumer unit with a new split unit with dual MCBs. You can get a fully loaded MK unit for approx £100, I have a mate who is a spark who is happy to install the unit but I will have to get a P certificate after.

 

It now turns out that if I wanted to do this and get it certified it would almost certainly require a full re-wire as everything connected to the consumer unit would have to be 17th edition certified.

 

In short, it looks like I cannot replace my old dodgy consumer unit without spending over £1k when all it really requires is £100

 

Fapping great.

 

Any sparks on here that could shed a little more light on this?

[JamieP]

Pm coming your way.

[danny1987]

I don’t think you will need a full rewire unless the cables are made of rubber or badly deteriorated, what I think you will need is the place fully tested, then you will get a list of remedial’s needed to be change to bring it up to stranded e.g. bonding, RCD protection on sockets etc.

[kjgreen3]

I wouldn't recommend doing the upgrade unless your sparky mate insists on it. It only makes sense if you are selling the property in the near future to get it up to today's 'modern' standards.

 

The problem is that 17th edition electrics sometimes require quite a lot of work on an existing installation especially if its quite old. Its nice to know that everything needs to be on an RCD but its not fun when a blown bulb on a split load board trips out every breaker on that busbar and your computer/tv etc loses power.

 

If you want to do it for peace of mind then maybe you can and for insurance purposes I would recommend you get all electrical work 'part p' however in this day and age who says you didn't already have a split-load mcb consumer unit already installed when you moved in

As long as all work is carried out and tested by a competent electrician I cannot see any problems. Just be glad it doesn't need to be done to the 16th edition what a PITA that was, for any other electricians reading this faraday cage anyone?

[Wez]

I actually only need the downstairs ring main fixed which we can do without any hassle I just thought it might be useful to have the consumer replaced since they retail at £100, looking like more hassle than its worth

[dangerous brain]

I'd have the main fuse board replaced by a competent electrician if its a 1 ring upstairs 1 ring downstairs, 1 lights upstairs, 1 lights downstairs affair and waive the certification. A new board will afford you significantly more electrical safety than you currently have if your system is as I said at the start and can split the system down into much more individual circuits and as stated further up the board was there when you moved in please prove otherwise. Also the newer stuff is heat/time breakers not just a straight trip as older stuff is.

 

Its not actually rocket science either. I replaced the main supply boards in both my previous homes myself (they had actual fuses as opposed to breakers) Apart from the final connection of the live line its all very safe lol.

[Wez]

If the house has had a hips pack done in the last 2 years would this list what wiring was installed?

[ScottC]

Check out the N.I.C.E.I.C website here bud, lots of useful information for home owners. While your there have a look at there detailed guide 'Consumer unit replacement in domestic premises'. It won’t tell you how to do it but it will tell you what’s required.