Are you replacing type AC RCD's with Type A?

[Markyd]

I think amendment 1 will be withdrawn on 28th September, so AC still valid for the time being

Yes

 

[Markyd]

Been fitting type A for a good 18 months now

 

[Mike Johnson]

Why would you fit anything else now days, and while where at it, fitting non fire rated downlighters, why would you, just to save a bit of money.

 

[Welchyboy1]

Why would you fit anything else now days, and while where at it, fitting non fire rated downlighters, why would you, just to save a bit of money.

Obviously reasonable new works it’s a no brainier but there is a huge issue ahead with small works/alterations and additions to existing installations

On older boards and obsolete brands already installed with a/c type RCDs its going to have massive pain and cost implications for customers and installers

Even matching compatibility with mcbs Is a headache in this regard, but at least you have old ones floating about you can get hold of with a bit of effort

Not so with type A rcds or rcbos, it’s gonna be alot of ‘satellite’ mini consumer units or rcd spurs added around existing consumer units again like when RCD protection became the norm for most circuits

I can do three or four small jobs in a day where additions to one or two circuits on each job at least is fairly usual

There really needs to be some allowance for this!

Then the next update will be for afdds to be protecting every circuit and the whole merry-go-round starts again!

 

[Mike Johnson]

Old ones floating around, and I still fit Cross-ply tyres to my car.

 

[timhoward]

Why would you fit anything else now days, and while where at it, fitting non fire rated downlighters, why would you, just to save a bit of money.

Anything new I've fitted has been type A double pole with SPD for a long time. I think the focus of this thread is minor works, which are set to become major works if compatible CU devices aren't available.
Customers (rightly) don't view a consumer unit as something that needs changing every few years to keep up with latest views of an IET committee [that has a lot of manufacturers represented on it including Hager, Chint, Surge Devices....].

 

[pc1966]

Anything new I've fitted has been type A double pole with SPD for a long time.

Given the small cost for doing so now it makes sense just to do that.

I think the focus of this thread is minor works, which are set to become major works if compatible CU devices aren't available.

I guess that really the the OP's point - what to do there?

Strictly speaking the addition should have type A but if that is impractical (given many folks simply can't afford £500-ish for a new socket) what should be answer be? Leave it to Dodgy Dave or DIY attempt?

A pragmatic approach is what someone already said, if you add a new socket to a room with a couple too few, are you increasing the risk? Probably not, far safer than multiple extension blocks and the use of the new socket is no different to the old ones. But if it were an outdoor socket then I would be a lot more cautious as there the need for additional protection against shock is very high so something inside blinding an AC RCD would be a known risk. However, a type A RCD socket (or FCU feeding the outdoors side) would be a solution even though it leaves the original sockets on type AC.

I also wonder about what really would leak DC, the obvious cases are PV and EV systems where there is a lot of DC volts and a potential fault path to the supply with the added joy of being outside in the wet. I guess a washing machine with DC drive is another likely case, but I can't see anything leaking DC without a fault condition being present, after all it would fail any PAT test on IR immediately!

Also for any high DC fault with a TN system you are likely to disconnect on the OCPD soner or later anyway, so I would be more worried on TT systems where you depend on the RCD for fault protection.

 

[Mike Johnson]

I had contact from a local charity to ask if I could help a local lady with electrical problems, she could not afford to employ an electrician through the normal route as she is on supplementary benefit and use's a food bank, I attended the house and noticed that her three children where using mobile phones and watching the Disney channel on Sky, I left without doing any work.

 

[Markyd]

I had contact from a local charity to ask if I could help a local lady with electrical problems, she could not afford to employ an electrician through the normal route as she is on supplementary benefit and use's a food bank, I attended the house and noticed that her three children where using mobile phones and watching the Disney channel on Sky, I left without doing any work.

Had one of those as well.....just poncing off everybody else

 

[Mike Johnson]

But you are not allowed to say anything as they are of an ethnic minority and it may be construed as predigest and I would guarantee they would be offended and have the authorities jumping up and down all over you, I know someone in the charity and I did tell them what I had found, they said the person concerned met all the criteria to be on the register and they could not do anything about it without seemingly breaching discrimination laws and causing themselves major problems, so that's fine then just leave them to it letting everyone else pay for them. Rant over.