Electrics not to standard

momoosa

Thanks everyone for your help.. I'll probably just end up replacing the fusebox and thats it.. the house has been lived in for a while so its fairly safe to say it's safe!

Tiddleshalifax

Our house is like this - we have a 6 fuse box by Wylex installed when the house was built in 1983. No problems with it but 💯 a surveyor would say it doesn’t meet standards!! 

AdrianC

Tiddleshalifax said:

Our house is like this - we have a 6 fuse box by Wylex installed when the house was built in 1983. No problems with it but 💯 a surveyor would say it doesn’t meet standards!! 

It's worth remembering that until 2015, plastic CUs were the norm - because metal provides a shock/short risk. Since 2015, metal CUs are compulsory - because plastic provides a fire risk...

So any CU, even a fully split-loaded RCB'd MCB'd modern one, that happens to be plastic...? Not to current standards.

dimbo61

When you viewed the property did you check how many double sockets were in each room ?
With the number of portable electric appliances everyone now has and uses you will soon run out of sockets.
Three in each bedroom ( all doubles ) 4 in the dinning room and lounge.
10 in the kitchen for the washing machine, dryer, fridge freezer, dishwasher, electric oven, hob, microwave, kettle, coffee machine etc

Having extension cables with 4 plug sockets running round a room is a sure sign.
What about smoke and heat alarms, alarm system, security lights etc

pinkteapot

I've lived in various ~30 year old houses, all with original electrics. Surveys always said they didn't meet current regs (well, obviously). Never had any problems, no problem with insurance, and never updated anything. 

coffeehound

Slightly shocked (heh) to see a fuse board described as perfectly safe.  

Fuses do nothing to protect against electric shock.  

An rcd can make the difference between life and death. 

OP, whatever you do, please get a new consumer unit ASAP

AdrianC

coffeehound said:

Slightly shocked (heh) to see a fuse board described as perfectly safe.  

Fuses do nothing to protect against electric shock.  

An rcd can make the difference between life and death. 

OP, whatever you do, please get a new consumer unit ASAP

Blimey, what are you doing to trigger the RCD on your CU so regularly...?

coffeehound

You only die once

AdrianC

coffeehound said:

You only die once

Let's not be melodramatic here.

I've given myself a damn good tingle from 230v more than a few times. I'm (mostly) not dead.

It's really not that long ago that an RCD was a magical box that you only ever rummaged to find before you draped the cable for the mains mower, hedge trimmer or strimmer out the kitchen window... ready for when you inevitably trimmed the orange branch.

Carrot007

dimbo61 said:

When you viewed the property did you check how many double sockets were in each room ?
With the number of portable electric appliances everyone now has and uses you will soon run out of sockets.
Three in each bedroom ( all doubles ) 4 in the dinning room and lounge.
10 in the kitchen for the washing machine, dryer, fridge freezer, dishwasher, electric oven, hob, microwave, kettle, coffee machine etc

People keep sayign stuff like this. I think they are stuck in the past.

So much uses USB. so thats 1 socket for all of them.

My computers? (I have lot's). One socket to a 10 way. (And gets nowhere near the upper limit).

The fact is everything is low ampage these days. (beyond the usual heaty things). And 1 or 2 sockets per room is enough. (yeah maybe more in the kitchen, becuase sockets there need to be where they are but changing them is not hard).

I moved 6 years a go from a house I rewired in 2002. it was set up much like you suggest. This house has a lot less. Any issues? Not anymore, don't need that much these days (maybe you are using really old things?).

Yes I changed the consumer unit. Also the sockets to something nice looking. But more? See no need.

dimbo61 said:

Having extension cables with 4 plug sockets running round a room is a sure sign.

Of what? That the current owner is odd and likes to cause trip hazards. Moving sockets from silly places would be reasonable (and yes i would keep the orig in that case).

dimbo61 said:

What about smoke and heat alarms, alarm system, security lights etc

What about them?

Smoke? Lifetime lithium battery (and yes I will use a hammer and snips once it starts the beeping!), or just plain old AA's since they don't require much power these days.

Heat? Never needed em. (but as smoke).

Alarm? Never needed em. (but as smoke).

Security lights. LED's don't take a lot of power.

And none of the above would ever use a socket anyway.