consumer unit change

[moose man]

hi all

when doing a cu upgrade do you do inspection on the installation first

to be on the safe side when priceing or worn customer it might highlite problems with the upgrade of the cu

thanks moose man

 

[Danny]

If you have an opportunity to do continuity checks and IR tests beforehand then you'll get an idea if there'll be any problems when the new unit goes in ... depends how much time you want to spend on the quote .. others build in 2hrs fault finding to the quote for example and highlight the potential problems being revealed during the post-installation tests ...

 

[Theorysparky]

I dont do any tests before quoting on a cu change

good chance you wont get the job and you have wasted yr time

full testing before cu change which allows you to point out and rectify any faults that you find.

all this should be covered in yr terms + cons.

this way you cant be accussed of causing the fault if u change the cu b4 testing

 

[meady]

When I quote a cu upgrade I always carry out a ze test to make sure the distribution side is all fine, then pick a couple of random circuits and do a ir test. You should be able to determine the cable quality by the ir test and most important a visual check. Word of advice though, check the earthing and bonding and the availability of the services. There is nothing worse than bonding a service at the other side of the property

 

[moose man]

thanks for the advise

Done a visual check ON THE upstairs lights and found the cpc had broken of at to pendents lookeded in the loft and all the circuit had connecter blocks tape up wot a mess

all so all down stairs wall lights also had no cpc to them i have said this need to be adressed before any work is done and the main protective bonding needs to be upgraded

so good advice from all

moose man

 

[Lee321]

the first and foremost issue i would say is crossed neutrals for upstairs / downstairs lighting which will tripout the rcd's causing major head ache and the classic "well it all worked with the old fuseboard" :^O

i think you'd be wasting your time giving a quote without a quick test at the db

 

[Apache]

all so all down stairs wall lights also had no cpc to them i have said this need to be adressed before any work is done

Needs to be done? What if you only fitted class II (double insulated) pendants and switches and noted as a deviation on the cert?

As Sandra would say 'we're not the electrical police'

 

[PC Electrics]

Needs to be done? What if you only fitted class II (double insulated) pendants and switches and noted as a deviation on the cert?As Sandra would say 'we're not the electrical police'

Quite, Apache.

Go to the ESCs website and find the best practice guides - there's one for changing CU where there's no cpc in the lights. Basically there is a cont and IR test regime to follow for each metal fitting and the circuit - provided these are satisfactory you can RCD the circuit (which you're going to do anyway), though better still is to change all class I fittings to class II.

Don't forget to note this on your cert.

 

[PC Electrics]

Here:

http://esc.org.uk/business-and-community/electrical-industry/best-practice-guides.html

you want BPG1

 

[RussellR]

In the ESC Guidance on coding

Absence of a cpc for a lighting circuit supplying one or more items of Class I equipment

Is a Code 2 (Requires Improvement)

Where as

Absence of circuit protective conductors in circuits having only Class II (or Insulated) , luminaires and switches

Is a Code 4 (Does not comply with BS 7671 as amended)

That said of course the regs are the minimum Standard.

 

[RussellR]

http://niceic.org.uk/inc/file-get.asp?FILE=BPG4_08.pdf&RURL=/en/contractor/section.asp||20

Here is a link to what I think is a very useful document

 

[moose man]

thanks again to all very usefull links most helpfull

moose man