MCB board full

Walker34

Hi,
I have an Hager distribution panel with 11 lighting mcb`s and 8 socket/power mcb`s. I now need a new mcb to run power out to a sub board in my garden shed. Problem is that the board is full, and there is no room for another way on it. There are separate mcbs for the gas boiler and the burglar alarm even though these take minimal power. Could I combine two of these low loads on one mcb...or do I need to fit a separate independent circuit breaker.
John

davelerave

don't combine boiler and alarm anyhow .you can prob add a small enclosure beside existing board if neccessary.

northdublin

in my experience most electricians wire the intruder/fire alarm onto one of the lighting circuts. i dont know if this causes problems but ive rarely seen the alarm circut on its own mcb. some of the lighting circuts might be less essential then others, ie outside lights, so i would wire into those as opposed to essential ones like interior/kitchen

2011

don't combine boiler and alarm anyhow

Why? They are both fixed appliances that draw a very small load. Neither are required to be fed by the RCD either.

Here are a few other suggestions:

You may find that the RCD you have is an old type that takes up 4 mods, changet it for the slimmer type that takes 2 mods.

You could change the enclosure that the board is currently in. This is not very expensive, but can be a lot of work! You would need to be a sparks to do this. Also make sure that all of the cables are long enough to reach their new positions.

You could also mount another identical enclosure beside the existing board. This will give double the space. This may seem over the top, but the space may be filled in time if you nees to add stuff, like RCBOs for computer circuits, bell traffo, garden lighting, intercom traffo etc....

you can prob add a small enclosure beside existing board if neccessary.

This will work too and is a simple solution, but it will always look like an after thought (which it is!)

davelerave

2011 wrote: »

Why? They are both fixed appliances that draw a very small load. Neither are required to be fed by the RCD either.

Here are a few other suggestions:

You may find that the RCD you have is an old type that takes up 4 mods, changet it for the slimmer type that takes 2 mods.

You could change the enclosure that the board is currently in. This is not very expensive, but can be a lot of work! You would need to be a sparks to do this. Also make sure that all of the cables are long enough to reach their new positions.

You could also mount another identical enclosure beside the existing board. This will give double the space. This may seem over the top, but the space may be filled in time if you nees to add stuff, like RCBOs for computer circuits, bell traffo, garden lighting, intercom traffo etc....


This will work too and is a simple solution, but it will always look like an after thought (which it is!)

they should be separate so that they can be shut off separately. or in the event of fault one doesn't knock out the other.loading is not the issue .doubling up smoke alarms,burglar alarms and boilers with lites etc is a bad habit albeit a common one

2011

they should be separate so that they can be shut off separately. or in the event of fault one doesn't knock out the other

Sure, but if you are stuck for space it is OK to do. It is not against any regulations.

If you loose the alarm because of a boiler circuit fault at least it has a battery back up for 24 hours or so. What are the chances?? The boiler should have its own spur anyway, so the chances are a boiler fault would just cause this fuse to operate.

This could then be applied to all circuits and if you have space in the board it is no harm. Somewhere you have to draw the line. It would be quite normal to have more than 1 item on a circuit once they are correctly installed.

Walker34

Hi folks,
thanks for the comments,......I had suspected that it was ok to do so, but just was not 100% certain, in case I negated my home insurance. I`m sure either take minimal current when running, and since the primary purpose is to protect the circuit against overload, both circuits are protected. In the event of a fault developing its pretty easy to figure which is the cause. Thanks for the comments.
John

davelerave

2011 wrote: »

Sure, but if you are stuck for space it is OK to do. It is not against any regulations.

If you loose the alarm because of a boiler circuit fault at least it has a battery back up for 24 hours or so. What are the chances?? The boiler should have its own spur anyway, so the chances are a boiler fault would just cause this fuse to operate.

This could then be applied to all circuits and if you have space in the board it is no harm. Somewhere you have to draw the line. It would be quite normal to have more than 1 item on a circuit once they are correctly installed.

we'll agree to disagree.mcb may well trip before fuse spur(if present) esp. 6-10 amp mcb and activate fault alarm.i wouldn't double up like this anyhow.it's just creating potential nuisance imo

2011

we'll agree to disagree

Fair enough!

I guess the important thing is that both of our suggestions are within the regulations.

mcb may well trip before fuse spur

Yes, it may

fuse spur (if present)

It should be present, it is a regulation, but point taken it may not be.