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Its not just USB sockets that can get fried.... Electronic dimmer switches, PIR sensors, LED lights... nothing with electronics like having the 500vDC pumped through it.
 
Let us rewind a moment to the beginning. You say you made clear that you wanted a CU change. It is common practice to check earthing arrangements and leakage as a minimum prior to changing. As if there are earth leaks we all know this will lead to tripping of the RCD and the fault will have to be rectified. They were no doubt essentially assaying the state of your circuits prior to that change and that was the main thrust of their inspection. Having established there was earth leaks I think I would have done IR tests to establish to what degree and where exactly the leakage was. So normally we would test then split the circuit in half and test each half and then a quarter until we had narrowed down what part or maybe all of the circuit is damaged/causing such readings. They did put F.I. for the problem of earth leakage which is saying at a certain point they would investigate. In doing an EICR we are only to inspect and report the condition of the installation. We are NOT to rectify. This means any remedial work or F.I. would be done after the report and reliant on the instructions of the person ordering the work (you) If you are unsure of the skill of the person doing the EICR as I said you ensure probity by getting another party to do the remedials and thus cross check. I personally would give the professional courtesy of the benefit of the doubt and assume the IR testing would be done later in this case when you ordered the remedials. They obviously assumed they would be getting the remedial work and left it as a work in progress. I think that is the best gloss I can put on it.
 
I knew I needed a new CU because the old one has MCBs and not RCDs. Should I have done that before the EICR?

For better or worse, this saga has thrown up the IR/earth leak problem that I didn't know about before.
 
I knew I needed a new CU because the old one has MCBs and not RCDs. Should I have done that before the EICR?

For better or worse, this saga has thrown up the IR/earth leak problem that I didn't know about before.
Thing is, the EICR (apart from the erroneous comment about requiring an RCD for fault protection) does not indicate a new CU is required.
Code C3 just means improvement recommended, not a dangerous situation.
I would be very disappointed with the FI code, as it’s basically saying they’ve conducted an Inspection and now recommend a proper Inspection be conducted.
 
I knew I needed a new CU because the old one has MCBs and not RCDs. Should I have done that before the EICR?

For better or worse, this saga has thrown up the IR/earth leak problem that I didn't know about before.
Disagree with your first paragraph.
 
Should I have done that before the EICR?
No as the contractor must test anyway before putting in a new CU as the possibility of pre-existing faults would trip the RCD and then you are at square on having to do tests to find out the fault. Anyway surely you were due a new EICR?
 
If, and I mean if the IR tests were carried out correctly and showed no appreciable faults then where does the "earth leakage off the scale" come from ?
What I have seen done, is a spark/s with their shiny new earth leakage meter then proceed to clamp the MEC with it (instead of just the tails) especially on a PME system, and see several Amps showing! this however can be normal as PME systems notoriously can have plenty of Amps of circulating currents sloshing around on the incoming Earthing conductor, me and Tony had quite an in-depth discussion about this several years ago.
This is of course separate to other issues with the EICR in general, as others have said get a second opinion.
 
I do always wonder if there is a reason why the SMPS in these sockets isn't fed from the switch. It seems to be a simple solution to the problem and means you're not leaving the power supply permanently on.

Good point,but i have asked this question,and it's down to two reasons. One is,the switched outlet may be an appliance which zeros out,memory wise,when the power is cut,so inconvenient....

Two,is additional moving parts,and tooling requirements,for extra switch...therefore more cost= less profit.

....I wonder which one guided that production decision :rolleyes:
 
Its not just USB sockets that can get fried.... Electronic dimmer switches, PIR sensors, LED lights... nothing with electronics like having the 500vDC pumped through it.
Just been to see my tenant, who reported that after the inspector left, they realised that their fridge-freezer wasn't working. The engineer came and reported that the circuit board was fried. So it seems that the IR tests were done without unplugging everything...
 
Just been to see my tenant, who reported that after the inspector left, they realised that their fridge-freezer wasn't working. The engineer came and reported that the circuit board was fried. So it seems that the IR tests were done without unplugging everything...

I refer you back to post #2
 
You've been given very good advice several times now. Now is the time to act on it.

'off the scale' - I do love accurate information. Were all circuits the same 'off the scale' figure? Presumably they were each different.
 
So there is nothing wrong with the installation, just the appliances?
The initial EICR was possibly spot on, and a recommendation of a CU change was just that... a recommendation.
The "off the scale" sparky should have checked for appliances, but as mentioned before, there are so many things that can affect the readings.
 
Just been to see my tenant, who reported that after the inspector left, they realised that their fridge-freezer wasn't working. The engineer came and reported that the circuit board was fried. So it seems that the IR tests were done without unplugging everything...

Perhaps as well as a refund for what appears an incompetent EICR, you ought to request the "inspector" pays for the fridge/freezer repairs that they damaged while testing.
 
I'll ignore the C3 on cables not buried >50mm, it's nonsense.
It's not nonsense - it is required to code any lack of RCD protection where now required with a minimum C3 observation (which could be given a more serious observation depending on the details).
 
Hi All - @naylorpd was mad kind enough to let me in for a look at the problem.
On arrival, clamping the tails did reveal a standing leakage of 70mA so there was likely to be a problem to solve. It turns out a fried USB outlet and a kitchen RFC fault were the major contributors. Fixing these two has reduced the installation leakage to 10mA with all appliances and boiler running etc.
The installation is 1980 (ish) TNCS PME , controlled by the original Wylex board with push button 5,15 and 30A mcb. There was a new kitchen fitted 10 years ago and one of the wall units has a mounting point in the middle of the cable safe zone. And sure enough probing the bracket through the back of the cupboard showed connection to the ring. Due to domestic practicalities we decided to deal with Kev's Revenge by disconnecting the damaged section for now. The RFC is now 2 radials with 15A OCPB, until a more convenient time to dismantle the kitchen, dig out the cable and repair it.
 

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