Advice yes or no? On RCBO fuse installation?

[billathome65]

Got a duel wylex RCB & RCBO board installed some time back. It has space I think for 3 RCBO's. The spark suggested putting the garage feed and the shower feed on rcbo at the time I stuck with the RCB option as a false saving but am now thinking of doing RCBO for garage and shower a suggested.

Is this the right call as I can't afford a separate fuse board installation in the garage. If so can I replace the fuses myself? This is something I'm more than capable of doing myself as all wiring was tested previously and no issues where recorded. Or do I have to get the spark back to fit a couple of fuses under some regulation?

Cheers

 

[Dartlec]

Is there a specific reason for wanting to change to RCBO now? - If one or other of those circuits is regularly tripping the RCD then switching them to an RCBO may not solve the problem, depending on what the issue is. Separate RCBO circuits is nice to avoid nuisance trips, but an installation with no issues should rarely if ever trip the RCD unless there is a faulty appliance or the wiring has developed a fault due to damage...

Re your second question, although the physical job might be simple, there is lots that can go wrong, so I would always say it's better to get someone who has the experience to do it right first time. A loose terminal on a high power circuit like a shower can lead to nasty consequences, even with a metal consumer unit.

The testing that is necessary to be sure that the work has been completed correctly also needs suitable equipment which very few DIYers own.

The work should also generate a certificate to update your original certificate which may be necessary if you sell the house or need to show that it's been done properly.

I'm not 100% sure on whether such a job would be Part P notifiable (It would depend if the RCBOs were already present in the board and what you consider a 'new circut') - but if it were then you'd need someone suitably registered to be able to do the notification too. In theory you could pay the LABC notification fee and do it yourself but in practise that is often more expensive or more complicated than paying for an hour of someone's time.

 

[billathome65]

Is there a specific reason for wanting to change to RCBO now? - If one or other of those circuits is regularly tripping the RCD then switching them to an RCBO may not solve the problem, depending on what the issue is. Separate RCBO circuits is nice to avoid nuisance trips, but an installation with no issues should rarely if ever trip the RCD unless there is a faulty appliance or the wiring has developed a fault due to damage...

Re your second question, although the physical job might be simple, there is lots that can go wrong, so I would always say it's better to get someone who has the experience to do it right first time. A loose terminal on a high power circuit like a shower can lead to nasty consequences, even with a metal consumer unit.

The testing that is necessary to be sure that the work has been completed correctly also needs suitable equipment which very few DIYers own.

The work should also generate a certificate to update your original certificate which may be necessary if you sell the house or need to show that it's been done properly.

I'm not 100% sure on whether such a job would be Part P notifiable (It would depend if the RCBOs were already present in the board and what you consider a 'new circut') - but if it were then you'd need someone suitably registered to be able to do the notification too. In theory you could pay the LABC notification fee and do it yourself but in practise that is often more expensive or more complicated than paying for an hour of someone's time.

Cheers no issues with tripping the reason originally given was as its the garage that houses the washing machine and freezers if an MCB tripped then it could knock that circuit off. How I see it is if a MCB did trip then I'd be more aware than if the garage tripped as only that would turn off so may not realise. That's why I chose not to have the separate RCBO. Its just something that's had me thinking if I made the right choice. I think I did but was asking just in case I chose to upgrade if I needed a new circuit at some time as the board is currently fully in use except for the rcbo circuit.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.