Does this fuse board and service head meet current regulations?

[nevroth]

Hello,

I recently moved into an old house (1930s) and I noticed thay the electrics seem very old.
I am waiting for the report of my EICR but the electrician mentioned that it might be an asbestos backed board and also non regulation fuses.
So I got a safety check done by the DNO and they said it's fine. They put some putty on top of the fuses by the looks of things.

From what I've read on these forums, it seems that the DNO often do not follow their own regulations when it comes to replacing fuses?

Thanks

 

[James]

The distribution board is likely to be an issue and would be considerably safer if updated to a modern board with rcd protection.

The service head although possibly nearing 100 years old may well be fine, if the DNO are giving it a clean bill of health then I would leave it alone.
black baculite (the plastic its made of) doesn't deteriorate with age as it is a thermosetting plastic. it can be damaged by excess heat but it is unlikely to have been overheated as the distribution board would go up in smoke well before the fuse holders would get warm.
Remember that back then, we over-engineered things so they would last the test of time, the service head is a perfect example of that.

 

[brianmoooore]

Don't think the service head is anything like as old as you think. Plenty of those on my patch, and we didn't have mains electricity until the '60s.
There's nothing in the regs that prevents you installing a new fusebox identical to that one. The only problem with it that would produce an unsatisfactory EICR is the missing cover/surround for the fuses/MCBs.
Having said that, a modern replacement is, of course, a no brainer.

 

[PS Electrics]

Hello,

I recently moved into an old house (1930s) and I noticed thay the electrics seem very old.
I am waiting for the report of my EICR but the electrician mentioned that it might be an asbestos backed board and also non regulation fuses.

Back board looks wooden to me.

I would wait for the report that should explain things more clearly. If you have any further concerns when that comes just reply here.

So I got a safety check done by the DNO and they said it's fine. They put some putty on top of the fuses by the looks of things.

From what I've read on these forums, it seems that the DNO often do not follow their own regulations when it comes to replacing fuses?


Thanks

 

[littlespark]

The DNO could have arranged for an isolator to be fitted while they were checking it.

Would make changing the fuse board a lot easier

 

[DefyG]

Back board looks wooden to me

I agree with PS it looks wooden, in fact when enlarged looks like cheap(chip) board unlike the 'bevel edged' 'varnished' ply board the DNO used back then!

The moisture resistant, insulating putty has been around for a long time and still used often in that very situation.

Agree with your electrician and others a new consumer unit (to current regs - RCBO's AFFD's (if necessary) SPD etc) will eliminate many of the non-compliances brought to light with the EICR.

 

[westward10]

Think he is referring to that board the consumer unit it mounted through.