Discuss Can anyone help with What code on this in the Periodic Inspection Reporting & Certification area at ElectriciansForums.net

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MG201

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Hi all . A question for all . With amendment 2 soon live how do we code. The issue of TYPE AC RCCB’s & RCD’s etc these should now be fitted as TYPE A . With suppliers still offering type AC as standard . Should we all fit type A now ?
 
Hi all . A question for all . With amendment 2 soon live how do we code. The issue of TYPE AC RCCB’s & RCD’s etc these should now be fitted as TYPE A . With suppliers still offering type AC as standard . Should we all fit type A now ?
Practically speaking yes, we should be fitting as soon as possible, in reality Amd2 is not yet in force and theoretically can be completely ignored, what with it being non-statutory.

Wholesalers and manufacturers will still be selling through type ACs for a good while, I reckon 24mo at least before they're completely out of circulation

As with any compliance it would attract a C3 however you could make a case for a C2 if you can account for DC items in the system but in reality Joe & Janet are likely to object.
 
AC RCDs will largely only be useful for things like immersion heaters or purely resistive loads once AMD 2 comes in.

I'm waiting for ESF to update their Best Practice Guide 4 to see what they say about EICRs. My guess is that they will go with C3 where the RCD supplies modern appliances with electronics inside.

However, if the RCD is providing fault protection, perhaps it should be a C2?

I've still seen no figures or clear guidance on how big the problem really is in practise though.

There are signs that the sheds are starting to clear out stuff (I recently bought some AC RCDs on clearance for £1.53 each), though they are still selling cheap/nasty CUs with AC RCD and no SPD, so it will be a while before they completely disappear.
 
There still must be tens of thousands dual rcd AC type consumer units in stock piles at places like tool station and screw fix.
I remember when the 17th came out , the sheds were still selling off old 16th split boards for a couple of years after the fact,
 
At the CEF AM2 talks the guy said the BPG#4 would be updated very soon. Nothing as yet...but a lot of what was said lacked detail.

I would be inclined to go with:
  • Heaters = no code
  • General use = C3
  • For fault protection with electronics involved (e.g. much of any realistic TT setup) then C2.
But best to see what the guidance says.
 
I do wonder if testing with a MFT on 'type A' waveform might be another means of seeing if a given model of type AC is really useless on pulsed DC or not?
I've been trying this - I've actually not yet had one not trip - my main observation is that the trip time is increased (but still within BS7671 requirements)
I've not yet tried it on any really old units, as I've not found one recently that wasn't broken already!
 
Thanks all , seems like we might have the usual £ maker for many eg YOU HAVE A TYPE AC ON YOUR BOARD .. sorry can’t get a type A you need a board change lololol ( yeh it was only 2 year since I changed your plastic board for a metal one lolololol ( with a parting comment of hey see you when next change comes for another board change for whatever reason I can find at that point )
 
I've been trying this - I've actually not yet had one not trip - my main observation is that the trip time is increased (but still within BS7671 requirements)
I've not yet tried it on any really old units, as I've not found one recently that wasn't broken already!
Test current shall be square root of 2 times of test current setting on AC type, due to DC, compare true RMS AC the maximum current is square root of 2.
 
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