Consumer Unit Change Argument - Any suggestions?

[meow2222]

heh. Theyre more awkward to reset than an mcb tho

NT

[John Rumm]

Emergency lights are very DIYable. Screw to ceiling, take a power feed from the nearest ceiling rose. All the time there is power they stay off charging their batteries. Cut the power and they turn on.

can get "maintained" types as well - these can be switched on and off manually as well)

[John Rumm]

Hope it helped a bit!

Chances are it won't. If you do some testing as you go, then it ought to make it safer.

That was kind of the point. If you are seeking to improve safety, then getting rid of any glaring faults along the way is well worth doing. Just because it has "always been like that", don't assume it is right. (its probably fine - but you have no way of knowing for sure)

I have a small maintained emergency light in the cupboard with the CU, powered from the circuit that lights the room it is in. That way if you are ever unable to turn that room light on, you don't need to anyway.

and boiler....

Some tests are better than nothing at all (by a *big* margin). If you have PVC wiring throughout, then one could argue that insulation resistance is far less likely to be an issue. If you still have rubber insulated wires, these really want replacing anyway.

An RCD test can be done using a leakage plug as described in the RCD article on the wiki:

long as it appears to trip "instantly" then you have good confirmation all is well - even if you can't time it exactly.

A plug in socket tester will verify polarities and connections to existing sockets. If these then have RCD protection that would mitigate the presence of more subtle problems like a slightly high earth loop impedance at a socket.

It sounds like you would benefit from an upgrade. Although you did not mention any specific risks that would add to the urgency...

Most nuisance trip problems are associated with appliances rather than circuits (with modern wiring anyway). Finding faults resulting from just the fixed wiring is not usually too difficult, just by isolating sections.

Well it helps to have a watchful eye and someone to hold the torch or fetch and carry when you are wedged into a meter cupboard. ;-)

[Owain]

Obviously a lack of discrimination. The most expensive device is supposed to blow first :-)

Owain

[EricP]

Many thanks for that. I will investigate this weekend. :)))