unsatisfactoy ECIR report opinions welcome pleaese

[matthew999]

Hello all,

I have just got back an EICR report thats unsatisfactory. It has 2 x c2 flags, one is for insuficiant RCD and the other is for supplimentary bonding. We have been told that a new consumer unit is needed and will cost 600 plus VAT. Does this seem right? Googling i came across this forum and one quote i found relating to RCD is

Regs. are not retrospective so all that can be done is 'recommend improvement' - C3."

So why have i got a c2 for this?

Also im a little confused about bonding and what it means so any help on 8.4 c2 would also help. Attached is the report

thanks in advance

Matt

 

[bill01803]

Looks like you want RCBOs on all bathroom circuits and one for sockets that can be used outside and jobs a good un.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

£600 Sounds like a reasonable price for an RCBO board. An RCD will save your life, or the lives of your tenants so is a very good idea and (lack of) would be a C2 in many situations.

 

[littlespark]

You are right in saying the regs are not retrospective, but ultimately it is the individual testers opinion what it is a C2 rather than a C3.

For modern consumer units, it can just be replacement of a regular circuit breaker to an RCBO which would satisfy…. So maybe the board is a bit older, and not so easy.

From what I hear, £600 for a board change in London sounds like a good deal….. if not a little on the cheap side.
Maybe too cheap.??

 

[SJD]

Industry guidance gives a C2 for portable/mobile equipment that can be used outside and missing RCD protection. Typically this means downstairs sockets e.g. by the front/back door, in the garage, etc. Assuming there are such sockets that can be used for outdoor equipment with no RCD protection, the C2 is correct.

Supplementary bonding is required for bathrooms unless certain conditions are met - one of which is all the bathroom circuits have RCD protection. Again, missing RCD protection e.g. for the bathroom lights, can then get you a C2 for the missing bonding, and often it can be fixed by adding the RCD protection.

As mentioned, it may be possible to add RCD protection to the existing consumer unit, or it may be better to replace the whole unit. If replacing it, consider installing an all-RCBO unit, which will be a bit more expensive than a dual RCD using, but much more resilient. A fault on one circuit will only trip that circuit, rather than several circuits. A photo of the existing consumer unit might enable more comments.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Supp bonding is old hat now as most bathrooms I come across that had 4mm supp bonding 90% of the clamps are missing or hanging off

In all reality if you don't have any RCD protection on your sockets then I would opt for the board change and go full RCBO

 

[matthew999]

Thanks for all the opinions it's very reassuring. I should add that this is a holiday let in the lake district Cumbria, but I'm based in London. I will try and get a photograph of the consumer unit. Cheers Matt

 

[swaRRR]

Thanks for all the opinions it's very reassuring. I should add that this is a holiday let in the lake district Cumbria, but I'm based in London. I will try and get a photograph of the consumer unit. Cheers Matt

Is the £600 supply and fit? If so, mega cheap.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Is the £600 supply and fit? If so, mega cheap.

Agree , even a 'mates rate' Rcbo board swap with new tails / main earth I would struggle to do it for 600 notes

If sparks are out there do full Rcbo boards swaps for £600 then they are fools

 

[matthew999]

Is the £600 supply and fit? If so, mega cheap.

Yeah 600 plus Vat so 720 all in.

 

[swaRRR]

Yeah 600 plus Vat so 720 all in.

Seems fair to me.

 

[pc1966]

It looks like a reasonable EICR result and, as above, probably the best route is a new CU that has RCD protection in it. While only two are unsatisfactory with C2, having RCD protection on other circuits is desirable also for safety, for example, if hitting a cable nailing something to a wall, or is partial cable damage (rodent, etc) that can lead to a fire.

Sometimes you can fit it to an existing board but often if it is older than a decade or two then it is not possible to get compatible spares, or in some cases it is cheaper to replace the lot!

 

[pc1966]

Just to add, it is good to see the person doing the PAT testing to actually record the results! You get quite a few places that are no more than sticker-applicators and are barely doing the job they should. Here it appears the electrician has done it properly.

There are several different industry-guidance books on EICR but the most sensible one is the Best Practice Guide #4 available as a free download here:

Best Practice Guides | Electrical Safety First

Electrical Safety First produces, in association with other industry bodies, a range of Best Practice Guides which provide definitive information and guidance on a range of technical subjects.

www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk

To explain the comments above on RCD versus RCBO:

• RCD is the generic term for Residual Current Device, it trips if it sees a small imbalance in the current going out on L versus what comes back on N implying it is going astray somehow. Worst case is someone is getting an electric shock and their body is completing the circuit to earth, for example using a garden power tool. When first introduced they were expensive and so you would see just one or two for a whole house. They do not provide overload protection, so they would be used to feed separate MCBs (miniature circuit breakers) for each final circuit. However, a leak to earth on any of those final circuits will trip the RCD, taking out power to all of that group. Also finding which circuit is responsible can be troublesome.
• RCBO is a combined RCD and MCB, so it provides both overload protection and earth leak protection in the one device. While more expensive, these days the cost has dropped to the point it is not a big percentage of the overall cost (parts + labour) for a CU change. Their advantages are (1) if there is a fault it is confined to one circuit and easily identified, and (2) if you have lots of leaky electronics you don't have so much risk of nuisance tripping due to 5-6 circuits adding up on the one RCD.

Most of the folks on this forum would go for a board using RCBOs if at all possible for those reasons.