Under what circumstances is a new consumer unit needed

[Tim S]

ARWadsworth coughed up some electrons that declared:

I looked into those (Earthshield, flexishield, XL-Shield etc). IIRC, they have some constraints, such as Prospective fault current being

[robert]

The washing machine is in a different location and he was not aware of its existence however I suppose that he could have assumed that there was one somewhere on the circuit.

Could the existing 32A cooker supply (used only for the 13A cooker) be utilised for anything else without major surgery?

(Main Bonding section) is it permissible to link from the earthed gas pipe to a nearby water pipe? As previously mentioned the gas pipe is immediately adjacent to the CU but the nearest copper water piping is some distance away.

I agree entirely that this would be a sensible move if there is a need for an additional circuit but I am still unsure whether or not there a regulatory/advisory/technical requirement for an addition.

[Owain]

Yes. it can be used as a 32A radial circuit supplying an unlimited number of 13A sockets (or fused connection units) if wired in 4mm cable and subject to a very limited floor area (can't remember what, it changed recently).

Owain

[meow2222]

yes, no problem. It would be a 4mm^2 radial circuit.

there isn't.

NT

[John Rumm]

Yes, see Owain's response.

Yes, with the proviso that the cable should be unbroken at the first pipe clamp. Note also that the connection to the service pipe should be done as close as possible to the position where the service enters the house (although on the consumers side of any metering equipment).

There is no regulatory regulatory reason for it. The technical requirements would drive any advice obviously.

There are a few aspects to consider:

Loading

When considering if a circuit is too heavily loaded you need to asses a number of things. Its not just as simple as adding all the power consumptions of the connected appliances together either since you need to allow for diversity - i.e. the statistical probability that they won't all be used together, and that the quoted loads are often maximum loads that may reduce significantly at times during normal operation - say under control of a thermostat. If you find that you may be running above the nominal design load of the circuit for prolonged periods (say an hour or more at a time), or your peak load is significantly above the circuit design load (say 2x or more), then you probably need another circuit.

Discrimination / partitioning

The wiring regs require that circuit protective devices discriminate - such that only the one electrically "closest" to a fault trips, and that the system is partitioned well enough to minimise side effects of trips. i.e. you don't lose power to completely unrelated things as a result od a fault in another part of the system. Your system is obviously poorly configured to meet these needs in that if you trip one circuit, then that is your lot - you lose heating, refrigeration and all appliances in one hit. Only you can decide if this is a problem. If you don't have many appliances and gadgets about, don't often if ever get RCD trips, rarely leave the place unattended for days or more then it quite likely does not matter.

[ARWadsworth]

The prices are vertical not steep.

You do know that the low smoke and fumes are just there to help pikeys burn cable

Adam

[robert]

John, meow, Owain et al, many thanks for your advice.

[<me9]

If there is a long run of pipe before the meter where should the bonding be to?

A friend has recently had his service pipe replaced, and it now terminates on am outside wall of his garage. A stopcock is fitted just through the wall fron this, and the service was run by transco or a contractor (in 22mm copper) from this up the wall, along the length of the garage, across the end wall, half way along the other side of the garage, half way down the wall, through two elbows and into another stopcock and into the meter.

Personally I think they should have moved the meter, but where should the bonding be as is?

1 Where it enters the garage. 2 On the exit side of the meter. 3 Both.

[John Rumm]

The latter according to the letter of the rule...