Tripped Switch But Now No Power

[johnb2713]

Lights off the house circuit??

Nope, MCB #4 in the SqD consumer unit.

 

[Andy™]

IF the OP ever comes back to this thread……

That brown RCD is in it’s mid (activated) position,,,, it just needs pulling down and pushing back up

nope. if they turn the lights MCB in the same board off the lights go off. so the RCD is on and supplying power to the busbar

 

[NozSpark]

Did they ever say that the light are supplied off that garage board??
Just because there’s a breaker in it doesn’t mean that it’s connected to anything

 

[UNG]

And how likely is a catastrophic failure fitting a BG MCB into an Schneider Consumer unit assuming they're mechanically matched.?

How do you assess the mechanical attributes and internal design of an MCB to decide they are mechanically matched.
While an MCB may look identical the most important thing to consider is the heat dissipation and possible thermal effects of mixed and matched MCB's and RCBO's, I've seen a few welded together over the years

Makes you wonder how anyone survived with electrical installations 60 years ago, no RCD's, no MCB's, Wired Fuses, Cables insulated with rubber and amazingly a single colour for the earth cable.

Would that be the installation with at best 6 one gang sockets in the whole property and very little to plug into them so minimal load and the green cable you speak of was missing on some circuits of that era
Also back then I think people had a lot more respect for electricity than they do now

 

[Fleeting]

Yes it does.


And how likely is a catastrophic failure fitting a BG MCB into an Schneider Consumer unit assuming they're mechanically matched.?

Makes you wonder how anyone survived with electrical installations 60 years ago, no RCD's, no MCB's, Wired Fuses, Cables insulated with rubber and amazingly a single colour for the earth cable.

I don't know if you have been sniffing the cork but your posts are totally unprofessional for a forum which should be giving sound advice. I suggest you stop posting.

 

[Andy™]

Did they ever say that the light are supplied off that garage board??
Just because there’s a breaker in it doesn’t mean that it’s connected to anything

yes... all the way back in post 12

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

As a side note...
for anyone who is a bit bored and wants to read about what the general opinions on mix-n-match MCB's were like just over 10years ago...

Try this link back into the bowels of the forum...
https://electricianforum.co.uk/threads/mix-match-mcb-s.19150/

A few familiar names can be seen...
and a few old regulars who have since drifted away..
and some who sadly are no longer with us..
(RIP to our virtual colleagues, and a few moments of thought and respect for their loved ones).

 

[Fleeting]

As a side note...
for anyone who is a bit bored and wants to read about what the general opinions on mix-n-match MCB's were like just over 10years ago...

Try this link back into the bowels of the forum...
https://electricianforum.co.uk/threads/mix-match-mcb-s.19150/

A few familiar names can be seen...
and a few old regulars who have since drifted away..
and some who sadly are no longer with us..
(RIP to our virtual colleagues, and a few moments of thought and respect for their loved ones).

Not really that bored.

 

[johnb2713]

I don't know if you have been sniffing the cork but your posts are totally unprofessional for a forum which should be giving sound advice. I suggest you stop posting.

As I said if it were me it's what I would do, not necessarily what you guys would do or anyone else..

Thank you for your advice and suggestions, I will file it in the appropriate place.

 

[jones_t_w]

I note the various comments about mixing different manufacturers components, yes they might fit, yes they may work well, BUT, BS7671 536.4.203 covers this area - components must be declared suitable for that purpose by the manufacturer of the assembly. Which means ok use different components, but make sure you have (I would suggest) written permission first.
Just bare in mind we live in an age of litigation and insurance companies looking for loopholes not to pay out, or reduce pay outs. In the event of, for example a fire, (which may be nothing to do with the new component at all) any deviation from recommendations would be exploited.
It's called covering your back.

 

[johnb2713]

I note the various comments about mixing different manufacturers components, yes they might fit, yes they may work well, BUT, BS7671 536.4.203 covers this area - components must be declared suitable for that purpose by the manufacturer of the assembly. Which means ok use different components, but make sure you have (I would suggest) written permission first.
Just bare in mind we live in an age of litigation and insurance companies looking for loopholes not to pay out, or reduce pay outs. In the event of, for example a fire, (which may be nothing to do with the new component at all) any deviation from recommendations would be exploited.
It's called covering your back.

Yep, totally agree in the theory, the practice in my experience is very different. Just in the same way the people that do the preaching and scare mongering I doubt inspect their tyre pressures and tread depth, damage along with all of the vehicles fluids before they drive off daily, travel below every speed limit, park on hills with wheels pointed into the kerb, know their stopping distance, these are of course all part of the highway code and would be covering your back.

 

[JabbaKane]

What was the actual fault with the lawn mower? Earth leakage...?
or a dead-short overload..?

A loose wire I think - there is a section of the cable that has a bit of black tape around it because of a previous accident (last year) of running the lawnmower over the power cable. Once I fixed that again, the lawnmower worked fine for about 10 mins then just stopped working again. I assumed it had blown again but noticed that the freezer was also off and it was plugged in to the same double plug socket as the lawnmower. (Lawnmower works fine when tested in a plug socket in the house.)

 

[binky]

As I said if it were me it's what I would do, not necessarily what you guys would do or anyone else..

Thank you for your advice and suggestions, I will file it in the appropriate place.

Some years ago we had a major MCB recall from a popular make. Apart from a lot of chaos, we were paid to swop defective MCBs for new versions of the same. Of the numerous MCBs I swopped, only one displayed scorch marks, which oddly enough was the only one with virtually no load on it, it powered a burglar alarm and nothing else. So, you could understand manufacturers never giving consent to mix and match, apart from the reasons given above, ultimately, they can't vouch for the quality of other manufacturers gear when mixed with their own.

Now if I had a board with 2 spare ways on the end of the busbar, so I could leave a gap between one brand and the other, I can see no issues with that, as thermal issues will not arise. Like wise I am quite happy to replace a full set of MCBs in a board made by someone else,(provided the front fits properly) it's only an enclosure, and we use generic enclosures all the time.

It's not usually difficult to get the right MCB, so I just don't faff about these days, even if it's never caused issues in the past

 

[UNG]

Some years ago we had a major MCB recall from a popular make. Apart from a lot of chaos, we were paid to swop defective MCBs for new versions of the same. Of the numerous MCBs I swopped, only one displayed scorch marks, which oddly enough was the only one with virtually no load on it, it powered a burglar alarm and nothing else. So, you could understand manufacturers never giving consent to mix and match, apart from the reasons given above, ultimately, they can't vouch for the quality of other manufacturers gear when mixed with their own.

I remember that recall never found any of the defective MCB's in the few boards I had installed from that manufacturer but it does beg the question did they find all of the bad batch of MCB's or are there some still in circulation even now

 

[binky]

I remember that recall never found any of the defective MCB's in the few boards I had installed from that manufacturer but it does beg the question did they find all of the bad batch of MCB's or are there some still in circulation even now

I suspect quite a few are still out there. I only found the one clearly defective MCB, in a large 20 way board with several others of the same ampage rating. I've always found it interesting that it was the one with least load on it. Almost like the load was insufficient to keep it working properly?

 

[Murdoch]

As usual I have to lay the blame for the use of words at the door of the people that compile and update BS7671

Pass and Fail should be the only options with EICR's IMHO

 

[Andy™]

I remember that recall never found any of the defective MCB's in the few boards I had installed from that manufacturer but it does beg the question did they find all of the bad batch of MCB's or are there some still in circulation even now

there will still be many out there. i got paid to go back to many of my jobs to check / changed the breakers but i know there was some that were missed simply because i don't know everywhere I've fitted an MCB. id expect similar for many others

and then there are those who fitted them but not aware of any recall who wouldnt have gone back to any

 

[UNG]

As usual I have to lay the blame for the use of words at the door of the people that compile and update BS7671

Pass and Fail should be the only options with EICR's IMHO

Is this in the wrong thread?

Should it be here https://electricianforum.co.uk/threads/consumer-unit-location-and-eicr.55497/

 

[UNG]

there will still be many out there. i got paid to go back to many of my jobs to check / changed the breakers but i know there was some that were missed simply because i don't know everywhere I've fitted an MCB. id expect similar for many others

and then there are those who fitted them but not aware of any recall who wouldnt have gone back to any

And if you add the odd diy board change in there could be quite a few out still there
I wonder how many of the faulty MCB's have caused problems over the last 10 years or so since the recall and the fault has not been attributed to the faulty MCB recall and had sparks looking for non existant wiring faults

 

[Bruspark]

Not trying to start an argument, but what would make another unit that fits without modification etc incompatible within any enclosure? I think it was wording by the manufacturers to ensure that only their products where used.

Once it goes wrong you'll know.
The problem is that the manufacturer has tested a board full of their own devices under every possible temperature, load and abuse. If there's a failure in proper use you can reasonably blame them.
If you put 'something that fits' in (maybe like you put some non-brand brake shoes 'that fit' on one side of the car) it may be fine but the only one in the spotlight if it goes wrong is you even if the issue was likely 'unconnected' with your actions.