Consumer Unit Upgrade

chris_n

Ectophile said:

But be careful.  Even if you can get an off-brand RCBO to fit, you need to check that it's actually making good contact.  A lot of consumer unit nanufacturers use a comb-shaped copper bus bar to connect the lives on all the breakers.  You install the breakers, shove the teeth of the comb into all the live terminals, then do up the screws.

With a wrong brand breaker, there's no guarantee that the live terminal is properly clamping down onto it's copper tooth on the bus bar.

Don't forget you need a neutral too!

Risteard

FreeBear said:

grumbler said: Why does it have to be MK other than for aesthetic reasons?

According to the resident pedant, if you use non-approved components in a consumer unit (for example, an MK RCBO in a Hager CU), you become the manufacturer and have to test & certify the whole unit as compliant. The original CU manufacturer will not honour any warranty claim (a moot point for any unit installed more than a couple of years ago).

But if you can find an RCBO that will fit (say Schneider), go for it. No one is going to report you - Just be careful about your selection. The dimensions on some of the MCB/RCBO modules can vary, mainly where they poke through the front casing.

It has nothing to do with pedantry. Regulation 536.4.203 of the Wiring Regulations is clear about this, in particular Note 2.

See also https://electrical.theiet.org/wiring-matters/years/2021/87-september-2021/myth-busters-7-out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new/

chris_n

Risteard said:

FreeBear said:

grumbler said: Why does it have to be MK other than for aesthetic reasons?

According to the resident pedant, if you use non-approved components in a consumer unit (for example, an MK RCBO in a Hager CU), you become the manufacturer and have to test & certify the whole unit as compliant. The original CU manufacturer will not honour any warranty claim (a moot point for any unit installed more than a couple of years ago).

But if you can find an RCBO that will fit (say Schneider), go for it. No one is going to report you - Just be careful about your selection. The dimensions on some of the MCB/RCBO modules can vary, mainly where they poke through the front casing.

It has nothing to do with pedantry. Regulation 536.4.203 of the Wiring Regulations is clear about this, in particular Note 2.

See also https://electrical.theiet.org/wiring-matters/years/2021/87-september-2021/myth-busters-7-out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new/

While I am not an electrician I did have a 17th edition qualification that I passed with full marks and do have many years of experience as a facilities engineer (until 10 years ago) and unless things have changed to me that link is an absolute load of rubbish from a practical point of view.
If it is that critical then it should be impossible to fit a device from another manufacturer into that space. There is no hope that someone is not going to fit a different manufacturer's device when they all fit on DIN rail, all have the same size cut out the same distance from the rail and all are the same size (for standard MCBs at least though I have seen RCBOs of different sizes).