consumer unit

[Macca]

can I add another consumer unit next to my current house 1? Seen some on flea bay that will take 4 circuits. Any good? And if there anyone local that can wire one up to mains. I am ok with ring circuits etc but not confident in wiring to direct mains.

[MR Teee]

Will fall under the new regs mate, so you will need a certificate for the work,from a qualified electrician.

[TerraC]

which rules out all guvvys or DIY's unfortunately.

unless u use the "it was already there honest" approach :D

[Macca]

ok I know a qualified electrician, is it feasible thou?

[MR Teee]

Dunno, drop michael. a pm, hes a trician IIRC :D

[poz1966]

Hi James,Dave says you might as well get one with a RCD and 12 brakers if you are paying for one fitted and then you have always scope for anything else to add at a later date, we bought two from Bnq £60/£70.

Paula

[lr85ninety]

all works carried out now must be 17th edition compliant which means it'l be expensive james but yeah in theory its possible although i think it'd be cheaper to replace the board you have and get your installation certificated at least you then know its safe would have done it for you mate if you were nearer!;)

[Macca]

thought it would be good to have it on another board. When I had the tanks in the garage last year someone tripped the board with the toaster. Lucky I was home as it was on the same board / circuit as the fish tanks.

[Macca]

Hi James,Dave says you might as well get one with a RCD and 12 brakers if you are paying for one fitted and then you have always scope for anything else to add at a later date, we bought two from Bnq £60/£70.

Paula


sounds good if its passes the test. :D

[mazza]

rcbo's are the way to go then you won't have several circuits on one rcd or at least but the tank on one.

[lr85ninety]

rcbo's are the best way without doubt but it is the most expensive way

[michael.]

can I add another consumer unit next to my current house 1? Seen some on flea bay that will take 4 circuits. Any good? And if there anyone local that can wire one up to mains. I am ok with ring circuits etc but not confident in wiring to direct mains.


you can yes, however 2 things need to be noted, firstly you need to feed the new consumer unit, if you connect it to the existing 1 then complications arise, if you feed it from the existing meter blocks then you would also need to add a isolator labelled main switch, this is because there has to be only 1 main switch per installation, you need to be able to isolate the whole house from 1 swich to comply with regs, if you feed the new unit from the existing 1 then that problem is overlooked, however as mentioned earlier this can cause problems, to comply to new regulations socket outlet circuits need to be protected by rcd and the problem starts when the existing db is the old wylex type and you end up having to change the whole existing board, depending on your existing installation you could end up with every circuit being protected seperately and it gets expensive, adding a new 4 way is probably a good way but each circuit will need rcd protection and dont forget the main switch, would you feel confident and competent to start messing around with mains tails, and also to comply with the new hip package for houses you would need a certificate from an electrician, best then overall to seek proffessional help, basically he would let you know the cheapest option, even lighting circuits if some of the cabling is installed in partition walls need rcd protection now and they cant be linked to a main rcd either they need seperate protection so designing a dist board today with seperate rcds on each circuit can cost several hundred pounds, get you electrician buddy to help out, you may then save a bit of money, if you want any other more in depth info on the seventeeth regs or part p of building control , or want to let me know what your planning, just pm me and hopefully i can try to help

[reefergeek]

we had to get another consumer in the outhouse for the 12kw pool heater, connects to the main board but bypasses the rcd 16mm feed to second consumer and then 10mm armoured to pool heater and 2hp pump we had to get the main fuse of the house upgraded though lol