I made the mistake of installing a LAP branded dual RCD consumer unit from Screwfix 3 years ago. Now I need a 20 amp mcb to go in it, and surprise surprise, they no longer stock them. Their customer support was predictably useless, so I'm looking for another brand of mcb that fits. Anybody else been here before? Thanks all.
MCB to fit LAP consumer unit
- Thread starter sparky308
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LAP mate unless you are willing to take on the legal liability as the manufacturer of the consumer unit assembly.
Unfortunately, that is the law, and, one of the reasons I never use these second tier brands, stick with the big guys and unless you select MEM, then you will be fine for many, many years.
I mean Schneider & Siemens still provide breakers for 30+ year old boards.
Unfortunately, that is the law, and, one of the reasons I never use these second tier brands, stick with the big guys and unless you select MEM, then you will be fine for many, many years.
I mean Schneider & Siemens still provide breakers for 30+ year old boards.
Really .............................
18th isn't in place yet and absolutely nobody takes any notice of previous suggestions of not mixing and matching....
Murdoch,
This is outside the remit of BS 7671 and is in the statute laws of the land, so if people chose to ignore this, then they are choosing to ignore the requirements of the law and they can be prosecuted for this.
BS 7671 is not the be all and end all of electrical works, there are many other more relevant standards, and real regulations that people can be actually prosecuted for not complying with and fined, even jailed for not complying with, BS 7671 is only a small part of the electrical works that are done in the UK.
Looks like Sparky 308 has various choices :-
1) A new board
2) ebay just looked ...nothing there .
3) Install a 2nd , 2 way board
4) Remove wiring from an existing LAP MCB of the required rating....use it for your circuit .....transfer wires to a rogue MCB and deny all knowledge of it .
5) Or even ..... will this encourage cash in hand / no invoice/ no certs when the solution is a £3 MCB of another make or a board change @ £400
So , wire in new circuit , fit rogue MCB , get paid cash , I was never there guv'ner... all sing along " No income tax no VAT, No test certs no guarantee" and gallop off into the sunset shouting " Hi Ho Silver ...Awayyyy!!!"
1) A new board
2) ebay just looked ...nothing there .
3) Install a 2nd , 2 way board
4) Remove wiring from an existing LAP MCB of the required rating....use it for your circuit .....transfer wires to a rogue MCB and deny all knowledge of it .
5) Or even ..... will this encourage cash in hand / no invoice/ no certs when the solution is a £3 MCB of another make or a board change @ £400
So , wire in new circuit , fit rogue MCB , get paid cash , I was never there guv'ner... all sing along " No income tax no VAT, No test certs no guarantee" and gallop off into the sunset shouting " Hi Ho Silver ...Awayyyy!!!"
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The worst "offenders" are PV installers and car charger installers ...........wonder if they will change their ways .............
Totally Murdoch, I agree, and, they are the ones who do not have to necessarily pick up the pieces, the same way as it's the data, comms etc. installers that are the worst offenders with regard to inadequately supported cables, and they are one of the MAJOR reasons for the recent changes in BS7671, because they do not consider the law applies to them, and, thus they do not consider BS 7671 as applicable either.
This has put me in mind of a time , many years ago in another galaxy .......... working away from home , finishing up on a Sunday night , everything installed etc EXCEPT!!! we are 6 box lids short !
We know the phone call next week , when we are a million miles away doing something else , will be saying , can you send an operative back to fit some box lids that have been missed off?
Solution ....go up 3 flights to a plant room ...remove 6 box lids ... turn them over to hide the painted side . :redcard
We know the phone call next week , when we are a million miles away doing something else , will be saying , can you send an operative back to fit some box lids that have been missed off?
Solution ....go up 3 flights to a plant room ...remove 6 box lids ... turn them over to hide the painted side . :redcard
Tbh I can’t imagine anything will change ....... cowboys will always be cowboys ......
not that many people really read and understand BS 7671 .......... ask the next 10 sparks you encounter and see what they say ......regarding mixing brands .....
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My crystal ball says nothing will change ............................ so the numpties who come up with this carp need to come to the coal face and understand what actually happens ........... the more the regs are written, the more complex they become............... the less people take notice of them
K = keep
I =it
S = simple
S = stupid
Got to add a circuit to this board next week - I'll be adding a Wylex mcb!
Murdoch,
The requirement for not mixing and matching is not new though, and it's not a BS 7671 issue, it's been there for probably 10 years now, and the only reason it has been put into BS 7671 is that the muppets don't realise what laws they are breaking, because, then think BS 7671 is the law, when it is not.
As I have stated above, this is not a BS 7671 "thing", it is a legal "thing" from the UK implementation of the Low Voltage Directive, and has been around since the LVD, and, it is not going to go away post Brexit as it is UK law.
The requirement for not mixing and matching is not new though, and it's not a BS 7671 issue, it's been there for probably 10 years now, and the only reason it has been put into BS 7671 is that the muppets don't realise what laws they are breaking, because, then think BS 7671 is the law, when it is not.
The decision is yours, you just need to realise that you need to be competent to act as the manufacturer, and have insurance to act as the manufacturer of the assembly as you are not modifying it with all the non-compliant kit in it, even though if the rest were Wylex you would be fine.
As I have stated above, this is not a BS 7671 "thing", it is a legal "thing" from the UK implementation of the Low Voltage Directive, and has been around since the LVD, and, it is not going to go away post Brexit as it is UK law.
Just because the numpties do things wrong, does not make those things right, it is called the normalisation of deviance, and is what killed people at Grenfel Tower.
That was not right either.
Jono Pashley
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Jono Pashley
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What a load of bull **** if the council, designers and contractors had behaved in a diligent ethical manner the incident would have been contained to the starting location. They allowed bad practice to become normal practice and it came back to bite them big time.
Murdoch,
Same thing, DCLG are capable of the normalisation of deviance too.
Grenfell is a perfect example of profit over safety and, contractors who care not for safety, and a lack of control ensuring that they comply with the laws and standards.
Same thing, DCLG are capable of the normalisation of deviance too.
Grenfell is a perfect example of profit over safety and, contractors who care not for safety, and a lack of control ensuring that they comply with the laws and standards.
Jono Pashley
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People want a boogie man to blame they should look in the mirror. The whole "looks alright from my house" attitude got us to Grenfell. Now to reason the mcb mixing part came to the regs because like preventing premature collapse of wiring systems you were always supposed to do it but unless some morons have a reg in black and white they won't do anything and if they allowed it explicitly idiots would be wedging mcbs in however they could. Sooner a few more land in front of a judge answering how they satisfy EAWR regulation 16 the better.
Normalisation of deviance ....... what a carp description of people making different interpretations of carp regs, and more importantly regs that are not policed, nor are people punished .......
the he writers of the regs are to blame ...
If mixing mcbs really was a problem then about 10 % of homes would have burnt down by now....
the fuseboard manufacturers are mainly responsible for producing cheap carp ...
sidewinder must be on JPEL / 64
the he writers of the regs are to blame ...
If mixing mcbs really was a problem then about 10 % of homes would have burnt down by now....
the fuseboard manufacturers are mainly responsible for producing cheap carp ...
sidewinder must be on JPEL / 64
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