My First Cu Installation - Newbie

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Correct me if am wrong the wiring regs says that if the cable isn't buried then it doesn't need an rcd with the exception of sockets but it covers an FCU for a burgular alarm system.

Other final circuits in the house are buried in the wall < 50mm from the surface/ are in special locations hence YOU MUST have RCD.

The cu is hidden within the cavity of the wall at the bottom of the stairs. The burgular system is underneath the stairs so I have ran the cable underneath the floor boards. I hope am correct otherwise I may have to resit my exam.

 
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EDIT,

it doesnt look so bad at all, and, I wasnt even convinced that he would get it into the gap it was supposed to go into,  :eek:

Ive seen a lot worse,
Yes I was determined to prove steptoe wrong. :slap   However steptoe is the man  and he's qualifed and am not. I refused to be defeated by a plastic box and some copper.

 
amateursparky, apologies if my "spider" comment upset you I wasn't going for that at all. It was meant to be half humorous, maybe I should have added a smiley? However, I'd equally have said it to your face as probably any mentor would on site etc. I was trying to be helpful ref the natural lay of the cables. You said it was a "mess before, with the cables tangled and had now been tidied up" - as it's really NOT tidy in the photo I assumed that was the before photo. As the wires were all new colours I assumed you had started with them fresh so to speak. As a little tip get yourself a bit of nylon like cloth. If you half wrap it round and draw it long a kinked cable then the friction creates a bit of heat and makes them easier to straighten. You can achieve similar by "drawing" along the insulated section of an old screwdriver or similar. By the way, the consumer units they had for us to work on in my 2330 were the OLDEST, meta clad jobs you can imagine. No split load boards etc etc so I know where you're coming from there. Again, didn't mean to upset you.

 
This, with the utmost respect to the OP on this thread: On my car forum one of the lads posted this up under the title "Electrician People": He too is apparently doing the 2330:

Hi. 

About to start a re wire on my sisters new house, I'm an apprentice electrician but haven't done houses. 

This is her current set up


8D1B2A71-AD00-4C73-B637-C251532F5A21-4342-000005BE0E4182CE.jpg

Can I just rip the old rewireable board out, stick some new tails in the main switch and fit a dual rcd jobbie?

Thanks.


Needless to say he was soon put right by myself and others. One of the other members then posted up a picture of the cu change he has recently had done. Thought I'd post up the pictures. Looks bang tidy IMHO! All certs seemingly present and correct. 

I'm no expert but I've just had mine renewed to a new circuit breakers by a electrician, here is a couple of pics of during and after, I should have taken one before, but is a lot better and tidy, 

544cbbd05e1f5dc415389d57ef4c2792.jpg

5b790891411d87b018171be0e0bb6d50.jpg

 
Looks some nice attention to detail, again IMHO.

 
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damn it same qualifications yet his is some much nicer and neater. I must gain more experience at this stuff.

But to be fair he's an APPRENTICE. He see's people day in day out doing this kind of stuff. he may have done one onsite as well perhaps.

Hmm the guys oviously knows what he's doing but am curious are the big holes at the bottom allowed? I thought he mean't to seal around your

cable entry holes? Or is that only applicable to the top edge?

 
yes, he has numbered them, just for the amount of work put into it, surely he could have put the in the right place!

top has to be IP4x, bottom & sides IP2x

 
very neat. only complaint about that is the neutrals in the RHS bar - they are not all where they should be, be the LHS looks OK
Actually on the subject of the neutral bar............is the link still in? I can't zoom in on this pc.

 
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damn it same qualifications yet his is some much nicer and neater. I must gain more experience at this stuff.

But to be fair he's an APPRENTICE. He see's people day in day out doing this kind of stuff. he may have done one onsite as well perhaps.

Hmm the guys oviously knows what he's doing but am curious are the big holes at the bottom allowed? I thought he mean't to seal around your

cable entry holes? Or is that only applicable to the top edge?
Sorry, my mistake! One guy on my car forum posted up the photo of his sisters old metal cream coloured cu. HE's the one doing the 2330. A number of people put him "right" as to his comments "can I just rip out the old & stuff the tails in a new one".

THEN another forum member happened to post up a picture of the neatly wired Wylex cu.

So TWO DIFFERENT people's cu pictures!

 
Sorry, my mistake! One guy on my car forum posted up the photo of his sisters old metal cream coloured cu. HE's the one doing the 2330. A number of people put him "right" as to his comments "can I just rip out the old & stuff the tails in a new one".

THEN another forum member happened to post up a picture of the neatly wired Wylex cu.

So TWO DIFFERENT people's cu pictures!

And it says its pics of a job done by an electrician, not himself.

 
i like to keep my cables long, so i can gain a nice loop over with the lives and a nice top loop for the neutrals and cpc's

 
Ok I have been told I could make the line conductors going to the breakers be a bit tider. I appreciate people on this forum are PROFESSIONALS but when you're a newbie on the block it's just a little hurtful for someone to say 

"looks like a pi$$ed spider, dying in ink!". Especially when you're trying so hard to learn the trade without a mentor which some younger trainees have. Just found a wee but unfair.

Dont take comments like that to heart mate its just abit of banter, the stick I used to get when I got let loose on DB's was unreal the 2 lads I worked with were really critcal of my work but you take it on the chin and make the next one better and the next and so on

for a first DB its not bad, alot neater than my first one but that was a real rats nest to start with and I was fitting 10 rcbos (council job) I do have to say though why is there an unused mcb?

As for next time like its been said, strip the board down mark all your cables up then do all your cpc's keep them all neat and grouped together and in the relevent numbered terminals then same with your neutrals then start building your board up put the main sw and rcds in and terminate them then do your rcbos/mcbs one at a time keep them neat with a nice neat loop into the device and double the ends over on single cores with practice you'll get quicker/neater. On my last job I was fitting cheap rcbo boards (MCG I think the make was) with 12 circuits from scratch in lsf twin in around 2 to 2 and a half hours

 
Thanks alot for that.  Perhaps I can be a little sensitive sometimes lol. Anyway thanks to everyone who has commented on my work.

Just to be fair on the original guy who made the comment he did say he was only joking and didn't mean it really. Since then I've

had some help from steptoe he basically did it properly instead of just shoving it in like I did lol.  Just have to wait till after Christmas

for the contractor to test it properly for me. I did give it ago with my Fluke. I didn't find anything according to my limited knowledge.

 
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