Re: RCD or not to RCD ...

Nice to know that the standard of help on this group has deteriorated, it seems whoever asks a question now, gets insulted. I am neither deluded, and MILO consider myself completely competent to undertake this project - I have wired out many installations, all I asked was a best practise question - at no time have I suggested anything dangerous ort contrary to the regs - so why do you feel it necessary to resort to insults ?

Thanks to those who did give valuable comments.

Rick

Yes, I never use them because the protection I choose for a cooker is not the same as the protection I choose for a kitchen worktop socket outlet.

It's what the regulations say. In practice it's usually interpreted as meaning that an upstairs ring circuit doesn't have to have RCD protection (accordong to the regulations) but that a circuit supplying

On 11 Aug 2004 22:55:34 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@cucumber.demon.co.uk (Andrew Gabriel) strung together this:

Thankyou, I know that. I'm not saying you can't 30mA RCD protect everything, if anyone wants to RCD protect every socket in the ir entire house then that's fine, I'm just saying you don't have to.

Well the one and only very severe shock I had before RCD days, was from an upstairs 13 amp point:(

In article , Andrew Gabriel writes

Well thanks be for that!.....

So someone plugs a (faulty?) power sander into a bedroom socket, puts it beside the open window, goes outside and climbs the aluminium ladder to sand the window frame before painting it ....

But then, even with a RCD, perhaps the initial jolt would throw them off the ladder anyway so I suppose it's a lose - lose situation.

I didn't say it was actually a good idea to do things this way, I was just saying what I believed to be the normal interpretation. Personally I try and RCD protect all socket circuits, preferably with an RCD/RCBD per circuit.

You're coming at it from the wrong direction though. Owain was trying (IIUC) to point out that you would often have (for example) an electric cooker on the end of some 6mm2 cable protected at 32A, drawing close to that current and rated under installation method 6 at just 32A. This is what he means by having circuits "operating at close to maximum capacity for extended periods of time."

Compare this with normal lighting circuits where 1mm2 cable is rated to

There is, to use one particular phrase, much more "headroom" on the lighting circuit.

Hwyl!

M.

On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 15:19:48 +0100, Mike Clarke strung together this:

The term is "reasonably expected to supply portable equipment outdoors". The keyword is "reasonably", if it were "possible" instead then yes, every socket iin the house would require RCD protection.