Plastic conduit into metal cu

[Curtis Mal]

Hi this is my first post here.

I’m a newly qualified spark mainly working in domestic houses, I got a job coming up where I’m planning to install pvc conduit for some sockets in garage attached to a house.

Would installing pvc conduit affect the fire rating of a consumer unit or would I just be fine putting some fire putty around the conduit bush / cable entry points

Thanks

 

[Wilko]

Hi - no need for fire putty .

 

[westward10]

It is fine but you need to use steel saddles on the conduit to prevent premature collapse in the event of a fire.

 

[westward10]

If you are using white conduit you can get steel spacer bar saddles which are white.

 

[Dustydazzler]

This is the big misnomer with the 18th fire collapse reg , the containerment doesn’t have to be made of metal only the fixings have to be metal (fire proof)

You can still use pvc conduit/pvc trunking but must use something so if in a fire it doesn’t collapse eg metal saddles will do just the trick...

 

[Dustydazzler]

As for the consumer unit entry , no you don’t need to use putty so long as there is no massive gap around the hole

 

[davesparks]

Would installing pvc conduit affect the fire rating of a consumer unit or would I just be fine putting some fire putty around the conduit bush / cable entry points

Thanks

Consumer units do not have a fire rating, they are manufactured from non combustible material. So no you don't need to seal them with fire sealants.

 

[Idpost]

You can also use D-line’s conduit clips
D-line Safe-D Conduit Clip 20mm White - https://www.toolstation.com/d-line-safe-d-conduit-clip/p22342

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Second @davesparks re: the CU being constructed from non-combustible material.

Some of the other advice needs to be taken in context.
Metal clips and fixings are required in some circumstances where cables run horizontally above head height.
Cables run vertically or horizontally attached to walls would not normally require metal fixings.

 

[Midwest]

Some of the other advice needs to be taken in context.
Metal clips and fixings are required in some circumstances where cables run horizontally above head height.
Cables run vertically or horizontally attached to walls would not normally require metal fixings.

I've often wondered about this point myself. Typical examples I've seen when discussing this reg, have been cables etc fixed above doorways or ceilings, which could cause entanglement for fire fighters for example in the event of a fire.

However, wherever a cable etc has been installed on a surface, would it not be subsequently difficult to argue it did not require metal fixings etc? Just because a cable is installed vertically or below head height, doesn't mean it can't be a possible entanglement hazard during a fire.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

I have no difficulty in arguing just about anything.
Different solutions for different situations.
For instance, I would not be overly concerned about a drop in MT2 down to a light switch.
Then again, if the drop was from another length of trunking run horizontally close to the ceiling, I may have concerns.

My point however, is don’t run around using metal clips and fixings willy nilly, assess each situation, and only install where necessary.

 

[westward10]

Can you define head height.

 

[Midwest]

I have no difficulty in arguing just about anything.
Different solutions for different situations.
For instance, I would not be overly concerned about a drop in MT2 down to a light switch.
Then again, if the drop was from another length of trunking run horizontally close to the ceiling, I may have concerns.

My point however, is don’t run around using metal clips and fixings willy nilly, assess each situation, and only install where necessary.

I know you do.

You clearly have never caught your foot in a lain extension cable. However, I've have only knowledge of the 17th, where this only applied to 'escape routes'. The 18th I'm led to believe, applies to all areas?

I have no knowledge of fire fighting, but I'm led to believe they can use the perimeter of a room to navigate a smoked filled room; perhaps they might be on hands and knees to fight the fire. Would it matter in what elevation a loose cable is installed to present a hazard in this situation.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Above is a photo of one wall in my old workshop, that I wired in 2009.
There’s about 12 sockets dotted around, 2 light switches and an FCU for my grinder/polisher. All used metal saddles just as shown in the photo.
This was wired some time before there was a specific requirement in the Regs. for metal fixings.
If I had been wiring something other than a workshop containing flammable gases, flammable liquid and other flammable substances, I doubt I would have used metal saddles.

As for fire fighters navigating the workshop by keeping to the walls, I don’t think so.

 

[Midwest]

Above is a photo of one wall in my old workshop, that I wired in 2009.
There’s about 12 sockets dotted around, 2 light switches and an FCU for my grinder/polisher. All used metal saddles just as shown in the photo.
This was wired some time before there was a specific requirement in the Regs. for metal fixings.
If I had been wiring something other than a workshop containing flammable gases, flammable liquid and other flammable substances, I doubt I would have used metal saddles.

As for fire fighters navigating the workshop by keeping to the walls, I don’t think so.

I doubt their would even enter a garage such as your example; they'd just squirt stuff in there. When a building is smoke filled, feeling by touch is one of the tactics firefighter use to navigate a route, if they are required to enter a building. Which after all is why entanglement is such a danger.

By the way, you can get treatment for Pathological hoarding

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Nah, just get a bigger workshop.

 

[Pete999]

Can you define head height.

Sorry Westy, just kidding the same height as the round thing on your shoulders.