Ring or radial please?

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Hi,

Many thanks for your suggestions Sidewinder which make a lot of sense; Having a socket that could be used whilst the ring is isolated would be good but I'm concerned about a future owner of our bungalow in years to come; if the owner is a novice to all things electrical then in this instance perhaps would think isolating the sockets in the kitchen could be done at just one mcb when in fact two circuits are involved; I know I'm very picky and I know how to test for live but not everybody does; I'm possibly making a big issue of this but when I isolate sockets in a room I like to know they are all isolated. However much safety is introduced someone will bypass it?

Thanks roys; I go back to the sixties when kids couldn't afford new cycles so cycles were made up of whatever could be scrounged; the first ever cycle I rode was in a pit yard on tarmac; my chums and I had found this cycle; it had wheels but no tyres and no drive the chain missing; we would push it up the pit yard and whiz back down making a heck of a lot of noise dragging our feet as brakes which did our shoes a power of good; whip and top plus skipping rope was the high fashion of toys assuming parents could afford them; I well remember when food was a luxury; we only had gas and water until electricity was brought in; I sure am a dinosaur and can vividly remember how tough our lives were in those days but surprisingly people smiled and rubbed along well together; kids played out until dark and our door was never locked; what a revelation Radio Luxembourg was and of course no mobile phones in fact no land lines either; very few owned a car and we could play in the middle of the road apart from the odd bus. 

I enjoy woodworking and the furniture I make is made out of proper materials with proper joints unlike the flat pack stuff so loved these days; our hardwood kitchen is made of mostly offcuts but will never age it being stained and varnished in the traditional manner; I still live in the past when high quality came before profit and this is reflected these days as we compare machinery; companies like Wadkin and Dominion made very heavy cast iron machinery designed for decades of daily use with minimal maintenance and not a circuit board in sight; now its all CNC and electronics; of course CNC has brought huge benefits in speed when it comes to long production runs but how many these days can turn a one off on a lathe to fine tolerances; looking at some of the youngsters I see on TV these days it baffles me how they manage to get out of bed unaided. When I see tradespeople along our street I wonder how they ever get any work done because both hands are fully occupied with mobile phone and cigarette; our neighbours have tree surgeons in this morning who were sitting in their vehicle smoking which makes a change from wandering around with mobile phone welded to their ear? Yes I'm old fashioned but I'd be the useful one on a desert island after a ship wreck.

Back to the plot though; I've had a frustrating morning with this single socket in the kitchen so I'm going about this job the wrong way; my intention was to get everything ready for replacing the CU but I think the best way forward is to install the new CU then take my time with all the circuits; everything is working fine as it is; I'm trying too hard to do everything at once whilst working on my own. After dinner I'll drill the new CU for the new glands adding spare glands whilst access is so good; I think the knockouts are 32mm and 20mm but I need to install 25mm glands which are the Wiska ones accepting double cables. It's better than being bored.

Kind regards, Colin.

 
probably a bit late now but, I would not be fitting a split board.....you get an Earth fault and lose half the house!

i prefer individual RCBOs for each circuit and if the customer will pay then I would use a double pole RCBO board as supplied by @SBS Dave

also it is is very rare for me to install ring mains (RFCs I think they are called this week ). Almost always radials

just saying

 
Hi,

Many thanks kerching for your information; yes a bit late now because I'm committed to installing the ring circuit although its good to hear all your views on the subject of radial circuits for future reference. I also thought I was doing the right thing in buying the up to date metal clad split CU; I am connecting though so that if one half dies then either the lights or power remain on.

I must enjoy making life as difficult as possible for myself; I've finally sorted out the socket in the kitchen; the 2.5mm T&E came out of the CU up into the garage ceiling and under the floorboards in the built in wardrobes; this meant clearing out the bottom of the big wardrobe to access the floor; then the cable disappeared into the wall cavity; the cable was installed first then the bungalow built around it; it emerged under the joists running diagonally to the furthest corner of the kitchen with central heating pipes in the way; I use the space under the bungalow as my stores so I've had a fun day and I've just knocked off with the end of the cable ready to be connected into a double socket making it a spur from the ring; the remainder of the cable is now coiled in the bench. I used a very long stick; string and rope to get this cable just were I wanted it about a yard away from the socket? I'm too stupid to know when to quit but this sort of thing is better than TV anytime and keeps me active. I'm now making progress at last. The cable tracer has been of immense help and is well worth the money. Our bungalow is built on a steep valley side; the garage is beneath at one end whilst from the garage there is an access door to the entire under floor area; this slopes considerably from about 5' 0" to about 1''0" front to back and of course I'm working in the lowest part. 

Kind regards, Colin

 
Would you still do a ring in the utility room and or kitchen?

i am definitely swayed towards mostly radials as well.
Right.....bearing in mind I do not like domestic ( having done it for over 20 years I saw the light 20+ Years ago)

kitchen/utility separate ccts for

fridge/freezer radial

sockets on 2 radials unless a big kitchen, then 3 radials

island unit radial

washing machine and dryer....radial

utility seperate additional ,radial

most radials being 4mm on a 25A RCBO subject to,the usual constraints

probably a bit OTT but my customers are fine with it

I agree about the 25A RCBOS....like rocking horse faeces

 
I'm concerned about a future owner of our bungalow in years to come; if the owner is a novice to all things electrical then in this instance perhaps would think isolating the sockets in the kitchen could be done at just one mcb when in fact two circuits are involved


2 things about that, first off it's not really your problem what someone may or may not do 20 years from now, and if someone in 20 years just assumes that flipping a breaker off means all the kitchen sockets are off and they can start prodding and poking where they like then they deserve to get electrocuted.

 
The rocking horse must have been round to my place; I've 7 x 25A B type Compacts on the shelf.

If anyone is interested in doing 25A radials, let me know and I will work some kind of deal to promote the idea.

I don't normally stock 25As, but if there is further interest in them, I will start to stock them.

SBS Dave

 
I like this thread, loads of interesting chat, workshops, tools, electrics and even some life stories :)

A good example of how a friendly forum thread should be.

 
Hi,

Thanks Lurch.

2 things about that, first off it's not really your problem what someone may or may not do 20 years from now, and if someone in 20 years just assumes that flipping a breaker off means all the kitchen sockets are off and they can start prodding and poking where they like then they deserve to get electrocuted.


I understand what you mean but it goes against all my training to leave something I feel unsafe for someone else to fall foul of; I could never do it. I was taught strict safety rules in the pit as an apprentice and I still stick with this training; possibly I'm over keen but I don't take chances; as kerching says though its difficult to allow for stupid. It's taken a day to sort this one socket out and would have been so much easier to simply reconnect into the new CU but I'm my own worst enemy doing everything the hard way.

I couldn't agree with you more roys; I'm a new kid on the block but I like this forum for its friendliness and helpfulness; decent bunch of guys.

Kind regards, Col.

 
I understand what you mean but it goes against all my training to leave something I feel unsafe for someone else to fall foul of;


So now you're saying something I do regularly, and others do too, is unsafe?  I work with someone who does things like this a lot, but it is mostly pointless. There's bigger to worry about. 

It's taken a day to sort this one socket out and would have been so much easier to simply reconnect into the new CU but I'm my own worst enemy doing everything the hard way.


Then why not just connect this socket into the kitchen circuit at the CU?

 
Hi,

Sorry Lurch; absolutely no offence meant nor intended to you personally or anyone regarding safety. Yes I agree it would have been very easy to reconnect the socket directly into the new CU but as I stated I always do things the hard way; perhaps there was a reason when the bungalow was built to run the single cable all the way from the garage CU to the furthest point possible in the bungalow the cable taking a torturous route weaving under floor boards and into the wall cavity; the bungalow must have been built around it. I'll now connect it as a spur into a nearby double socket on the ring; I know I go over the top but I'm not in a hurry and I'm not having to do this to earn a living. I'm treating this as an interesting project not being under any pressure to complete it and a bonus is I'm learning so much from you experts regarding materials; tools and working methods. 

This socket reminded me quite vividly of around 40 years ago whilst at my Father-in Laws; I was a novice and something needed changing on a light circuit which was a very simple task; I didn't then own or even know about a DMM; my FIL assured me the circuit was dead showing me the switch; I was standing on low steps and having gained access to the wires I used my insulated handled screwdriver to bridge the bare conductors; I was greeted with a big blue flash as a lump was blown out of the screwdriver; this was a two way circuit in the hallway of a bungalow; the second switch was still on. I've gone to a great deal of time and trouble to ensure I don't put someone in a similar position to what I encountered; I didn't wire this socket but I'm doing my utmost to ensure everything is safe and as it should be.

I know "Stupid" can't be accounted for but how far do safety warnings have to go; our lane has just be resurfaced with chippings; there are very big signs declaring "NO ROAD MARKINGS" is it me or is the world going mad? 

Kind regards, Colin.

 
The previous supply directly back to the fuse box may have been an old immersion heater supply. The traditional 4-circuit arrangement for many properties was Cooker / Immersion Heater / Sockets / Lights. Often when a new heating system is installed the old immersion heater is taken out and the supply either becomes the boiler fused spur or a socket if the boiler has to be located somewhere else.

There is nothing wrong or dangerous about having multiple circuits supplying items in the same room. All that should be done anyway is appropriate labeling and documentation, either; charts, plans, tables, schedules etc. this is covered by regulation 514.9.1.   It is one of the easiest safety issues to comply with, yet on almost every installation it is often not accurate or ignored completely. A greater number of circuits can also improve compliance with the division of the installation requirements of 314, to minimise inconvenience, providing of course they are all not just connected back to a single RCD!

Doc H.

 
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Hi,

Thank you Doc H for your excellent and informative reply. Bron and I have lived here for 30 years; the bungalow being built in 1964. It is as you describe very possible this socket was installed for a specific reason; my first thought was for tradespeople to plug their saw etc into during construction?

You are also bang on regarding correct identification; I installed the current CU 25 years ago to replace a number of old style fuse boxes; I'm guilty of not marking the CU apart from the lights and garage; what you say though is so blindingly obvious once pointed out; simply identify clearly removing all doubt; this is what I'm now doing and I'm checking all the circuits; the bathroom fan heater is connected as a spur to the cooker circuit? and there is a shaver outlet I need to trace; I want to ensure our electrics are safe and this time I'll also correctly identify everything.

The lighting circuit is fine as it is. For power three ring circuits will be ideal; Garage/workshop; main bungalow and a new ring for the kitchen/bathroom; with only the two of us demand on electricity isn't large.

Kind regards, Colin.

 
greater number of circuits can also improve compliance with the division of the installation requirements of 314, to minimise inconvenience, providing of course they are all not just connected back to a single RCD!
That is my point about a split RCD Board...

It doesn't minimise inconvenience it only HALVES IT

just saying

 
Money is no longer a problem and it would be very easy and a lot less work to get a sparky in to sort out our electrics but old habits die hard and by doing the work myself I buy kit with the money I save on labour; over the last 40 years Bron and I have saved a fortune doing everything ourselves in fact had we needed to pay tradespeople we could never have afforded this our dream bungalow; we even replaced the entire roofs of the main bungalow and two roomed extension ourselves.

Gas and electricity though are not to be messed around with by novices because any mistake could have serious consequences; I've acquired lots of skills by starting off with small projects and working up to more complex projects but I'm very methodical and picky in that I want everything just right; compromise or its near enough doesn't sit at all well with me.


Whilst I can certainly see you are a most capable person in many areas....

Your choice of consumer unit shows you have missed your own standards by picking a dual RCD board.

If I had a picky customer who said "money is no object and they want no compromise, and near enough is not good enough"...

Then there would be no two circuits sharing the same RCD.   

Got to be a fully equipped RCBO board, with as many individual circuits as is practical to fit in.

Guinness  

 
Whilst I can certainly see you are a most capable person in many areas....

Your choice of consumer unit shows you have missed your own standards by picking a dual RCD board.

If I had a picky customer who said "money is no object and they want no compromise, and near enough is not good enough"...

Then there would be no two circuits sharing the same RCD.   

Got to be a fully equipped RCBO board, with as many individual circuits as is practical to fit in.

Guinness  
With double pole rcbo's too. 👌

 
dont forget you still have 1 fuse protecting everything... been to plenty of jobs where a single fault on a final circuit has blown it, sometimes not tripping its own MCB / fuse

 
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