Consumer unit live parts accessible without use of a tool

On Thursday 18 July 2013 23:35 snipped-for-privacy@gowanhill.com wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Bit dicey, but still needs a deliberate effort to open up?

Not as bad as the 1950's bakelite light switches in my great aunt's house that could have their cover unscrewwed trivially exposing live parts...

As also seen in my village's local church hall - not sure if they are working or not.

Sounds like a job for screwlock of some kind. Maybe its the Spanish Version. grin. Brian

And the screwless five amp plugs where the top came unscrewed and it just fell to bits. Brian

How come it would have passed the compliance testing though? Isn't the tool thing a prerequisite?

On Friday 19 July 2013 08:34 Brian Gaff wrote in uk.d-i-y:

What about all the new style junction boxes with clip on lids?

On Friday 19 July 2013 09:16 Lobster wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Is it done like a CE mark - ie the company says "god enough for government work" and shoves a label on?

FCC testing OTOH is actually quite hard...

A consumer unit would normally be sited out of the way of prying little fingers. That is can be opened without a screwdriver doesn't mean much to me - after all most households will have these available. Unless you think it should have tamper proof fixings.

Don't know about that - in my home it's right by the cable entry point inside a cupboard by the front door, 18" off the ground (yes I could lock the cupboard if that were an issue). Thinking of all the properties I've lived in, renovated, rented out etc over the years, the CU has always been similarly accessible in all but one, that I can think of. All old buildings though.

That is can be opened without a screwdriver doesn't mean much to

I don't know what the regs are here, but 'use of a tool' seems to be a common 'safety feature' - eg I can't imagine the innards of any 13A plug or socket being accessible by just pressing with your fingers on them?

I really don't like these modern CUs which are made of such flimsy plastic you can warp it by just pressing on it. Give me a nice solid Wylex box.

JGH

Well, if prying little fingers haven't found out how much fun it is to switch the house off - perhaps they'd also not be bothered trying to remove the cover?

But would prying little fingers have enough strength to release the fixings?

Don't need to be! Two at work (other people) and one at home (me) of the sort of plug with a single screw just came apart when being unplugged. The fingers make contact with the terminals inside, resulting in scratches at least. Fortunately the switch was off in all cases.

Bedside lamps have exposed live parts if the bulb is removed, without the need for tools.

And for many years the pins have been dead once the bulb has been removed - I think that that's a requirement in the UK, but I'm not certain.

SteveW

On Friday 19 July 2013 17:42 SteveW wrote in uk.d-i-y:

I'm not certain either. Hager-Ashley make a point of declaring it a feature on their BC lampholders which makes me wonder...

Lampholders are excluded from the general requirement to meet IP2X, because there aren't any cases of death or serious injury from contact with B22d pins. Whilst such a new design would never be approved today, there is no justification for changing it. (There are electrocution cases from ES lampholders though, but probably not in the case of correctly polarised supplies to them which we require in the UK.)

It's called foreplay:-)

I am sure it is not a reg in the UK for either bedside lamps or pendants.

How many cases of 'death or serious injury' are there from someone who doesn't own a screwdriver opening up a CU? ;-)

The ones I've seen that you can actually open with your fingers (e.g. Wago) seem to have provision to add a cable tie.

Not very often used, of course...

Cheers,

Colin.