The latest tool !

[phil d]

So my half brother who is a works in a psychiatric unit and has nothing to do with electrics decided to buy his own house shortly.He's been on fleabay buying up all kinds of gear,anyway he saw a house that he liked for 65K,only trouble was it needed a rewire and apparently it was about 2K or so he reckoned.I offered to give him a lift if he bought the place and said we could do it for well under a grand,anyway he spat his dummy out,he doesn't need me to sort his wiring,etc,etc etc! So leave him to it,then he's telling the old chap that he's going to do it himself as it isn't rocket science,the old chap then asks about testing and paperwork,apparently he's not going to bother,it'll be right  no need for testing!

Well at the weekend he's showing the old chap a new cu that he's bought,apparently it's a 12 way split load and was reduced from around a hundred quid to sixty,it's a lovely white plastic one with a drop down front! The old fella points out about amdt3 and the use of non combustible cu's,he's seen the article in a magazine I gave him a few months agur kid then goes into a rant about how the old fella knows nothing and I know even less!,he storms off in a huff,then 10 minutes later he rings him up all apologetic like,apparently he's just had an email and the old chap's right after all,now given he has no contact with any electrical organisations or anything remotely of that nature what's the odds on him getting an email telling him about amd3 ten minutes after having an arument about plastic cu's?

Anyway I'm going to leave him to it and laugh when it all goes wrong,I just hope nobody tells him that you can use a plastic cu if it's in a non flammable enclosure,otherwise he'll be on fleabay or somewhere looking for an ammo box or something he can cover it with.

 

[ProDave]

His best bet is sell the plastic CU again on ebay to the next fool someone who wants to use it in a commercial premesis.

 

[Andy™]

or someone who wants to install it last year

got any red & black to go with it?

 

[ProDave]

As long as he "designed" the install last year it's still okay to fit isn't it?

 

[binky]

as I understand it yes. Can't stand the metal boards, cable entries are ****e.

 

[thebight]

with a drop down front!

Drop down fronts are okay in AMD3 AFAIK so long as they have a catching mechanism to keep them closed. Just most boards choose the top hinge method because it's probably cheaper to manufacture.

 

[Essex1]

There is nothing in the regs to stipulate where the hinges need to be. So they can be either at the top, bottom or left or right. 

 

[SBS Dave]

There is nothing in the Regs to stipulate HAVING hinges at all!

The Regs often tell you what to achieve, without telling you how to achieve it.

Since Fire Containment is a Safety Issue, the AMD3 box can be considered a "Safety Device".

Safety Devices are usually designed to be "intrinsically fail safe", which means the default position is towards safety.

A top-hinged, gravity-closing cover is IMO, the best default arrangement.

SBS Dave

 

[Sidewinder]

If, you look at the specific wording used in the regulation, and, look up the definitions of these words in the IEC vocabulary, then you will see why I agree totally with SBS Dave.

 

[kerching]

There is nothing in the Regs to stipulate HAVING hinges at all!

The Regs often tell you what to achieve, without telling you how to achieve it.

Since Fire Containment is a Safety Issue, the AMD3 box can be considered a "Safety Device".

Safety Devices are usually designed to be "intrinsically fail safe", which means the default position is towards safety.

A top-hinged, gravity-closing cover is IMO, the best default arrangement.

SBS Dave

Well, I have heard (and even experienced first hand) clients forgetting to shut boards on Consumer Units etc..  Cannot remember the last time gravity failed though

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

With the 'old' plastic boards i find 85% have the lids left open  except when they are on display say over a front door or like most new builds, in the downstairs loo.