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I have been told by my builder and a sparks that my board needs replacing....
Now, in my last place, during a bit of insurance work, the sparks upgraded the board... just put in [s]RCB's[/s] edit MCB's in the front panel.
Can I get away with doing that?
Its one of these:
[img] 
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*generic photo... not actual board.
This town ain't big enough for the both of us.
Hth.
The Balck needs putting in the Red hole, the Red needs putting in the Blue hole.
Helpful?
I got those circuit breaker things and plugged them into my board in place of the old ceramic ones - last time we had some leccy work done he said it was fine and issued a certificate for the work he'd done on the boiler supply.
Cheers MrSparkle & bikebouy... advice like that is the reasion I ferquent STW.
wwaswas - how easy was the job to do....?....
why does your board need replacing?
if the only argument they've got is 'because it's old', tell 'em to **** off.
if it's lack of capacity or a fault, fair enough. 😀
[i]wwaswas - how easy was the job to do....?.... [/i]
turn off power
pull out old fuse
push in new mcb thing with the right rating.
turn on power
Do them one at a time or you get confused about which colour fuse was in which hole, though. Yours all look the same colour though but just confirm the size of the fuse wire on each one.
You don't need to do it, as above, but it makes life easier when doing maintenance or a bulb blows and trips it out.
OP, it really depends what you want to do with your electrical installation. If you / builder / sparks are planning to add new circuits, or do any work other than replacing like with like, then some work will be required. Any new circuit in a domestic property must be protected by a 30mA RCD. RCD protection is included in modern Consumer Unit, and all ancillaries (meter tails, earthing and bonding etc) will be updated at the same time.
Updating the CU for all circuits makes sense rather than adding small boards for new circuits.
The plug in MCBs illustrated are a good replacement for wire fuses, but do not offer the same degree of protection as MCBs used in conjunction with RCDs RCBOs etc.
[img] 
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Any new circuit in a domestic property must be protected by a 30mA RCD
unless of course its enclosed by an earthed metallic sheath, installed on the surface, for a single designated piece of equipment or buried to a depth of more than 50mm
But find out why the new board is being suggested, if its for new circuits then makes sense.
unless of course its enclosed by an earthed metallic sheath, installed on the surface, for a single designated piece of equipment or buried to a depth of more than 50mm
er not quite if it is a socket circuit of less than 32 amps rcd protection is still required
Back to the OP yes if the circuits are not changed in any way yes there is nothing wrong with your consumer unit
But sorry you must be a bit daft not to get RCD protection for your house, Your consumer unit was fitted in the days of a Austin Allegro bet your car has anti lock brakes and airbags. How much time do you spend in a car????
The consumer unit you have is the same as in a house I had to test the day after a toddler was killed 15 years ago, I never never want to do a job like that again I cried afterwards . Would a RCD of saved the poor kids life most probably.
Sorry but your choice
er not quite if it is a socket circuit of less than 32 amps rcd protection is still required
Not quite, up to 20amps. Up to 32amps if its outdoors for obvious reasons.
What 49er Jerry said.
Nowt wrong with that board. Just like ours.