Fuse Box in house

M cebee

below the 2.25 is too low in domestic alright:mad:

2011

M cebee wrote: »

yes robbie -but not to reset a breaker:

Tell that to my other half, she is 5' 1/2" :D

Bruthal

M cebee wrote: »

yes robbie -but not to reset a breaker

It might be easier to find the ladder than the key though.

Bruthal

2011 wrote: »

Tell that to my other half, she is 5' 1/2" :D

You`l have to show her how to use the brush handle:D

ted1

Has anyone actually ever falling off a ladder while at the consumer unit?

M cebee

robbie7730 wrote: »

It might be easier to find the ladder than the key though.

for the standard dom board at 2.25
-
no key needed

-not readily accessible to kids


can't see the problem having fitted a few


definitely below that is too low

Bruthal

M cebee wrote: »

for the standard dom board at 2.25
-
no key needed

-not readily accessible to kids


can't see the problem having fitted a few


definitely below that is too low

There is no problem really. My one is 2.35 though, and i wouldnt consider it too high. I know no key is needed at that height, im just saying locking a lower down domestic board with a key would present more problems than needing a small ladder for a higher one.

M cebee

i've been using the 3-compartment dado trunking without the dividers for the drops

looks pretty neat and allows for additional ccts later

2011

robbie7730 wrote: »

im just saying locking a lower down domestic board with a key would present more problems than needing a small ladder for a higher one.

+1

If an electrician has an issue with using a ladder he is in the wrong game.

Bruthal

2011 wrote: »

+1

If an electrician has an issue with using a ladder he is in the wrong game.

I was on a site a couple of years ago, terminating the mains cables in the switch room and into the generator switches, and sub boards all around a new hotel. And ladders were not allowed, for safety reasons. Stupid and ridiculous. The were still on the site, so we used them when we could in the switchroom with doors locked, but they wanted us to use them mobile scaffold things.

Terminating up to 4x150 in the sub panels and 4x240`s into PFC units and chillers, only needing to be about a foot or 2 off the ground at times, and still, no ladders allowed. yet a 6 foot ladder was far better for trying to bend the cables in etc. Madness.

M cebee

2011 wrote: »

+1

If an electrician has an issue with using a ladder he is in the wrong game.

yes that's all well and good making sweeping statements like that:pac:

but why should electricians and customers have to climb ladders to reset breakers

M cebee

ted1 wrote: »

Has anyone actually ever falling off a ladder while at the consumer unit?

yes-there was a poster here recently


his wife fell off a ladder after the esb had been out

she was trying to reset something i believe

2011

M cebee wrote: »

yes that's all well and good making sweeping statements like that:pac:

but why should electricians and customers have to climb ladders to reset breakers

My point is that regardless of what height distribution boards are installed at if you are an electrician you will have to use a ladder some of the time.

brencog

Hi all. I followed a link posted by M cebee, and having read the relevant paragraphs, it seems there is a little latitude in mounting consumer units. The regs. state that they may not be mounted at a height greater than...2.25m from floor to TOP of unit, and not less than 1.4m from floor to BOTTOM of unit... under that height, and they must only be accessible by "authorised persons"...there is a "free space" there of 0.85m...that would seem reasonable for access. Mind you, I may be interpreting the regs. completely a**eways, (it's my age you know).

Bruthal

brencog wrote: »

Hi all. I followed a link posted by M cebee, and having read the relevant paragraphs, it seems there is a little latitude in mounting consumer units. The regs. state that they may not be mounted at a height greater than...2.25m from floor to TOP of unit, and not less than 1.4m from floor to BOTTOM of unit... under that height, and they must only be accessible by "authorised persons"...there is a "free space" there of 0.85m...that would seem reasonable for access. Mind you, I may be interpreting the regs. completely a**eways, (it's my age you know).

Thats more or less it, although the top max height being 2.25 and the bottom being a minumum of 1.4 would mean for a 2 row board that a difference between max and min height is 0.45 meters, as the 2 row board is about 400mm tall, and the max is the top while the minimum is the bottom.

marknjb

ted1 wrote: »

Has anyone actually ever falling off a ladder while at the consumer unit?

maybe a few but i would bet a lot more have fallen of ladders cleaning windows and changeing curtains but they have not tried to get the height of the tops of the windows droped yet
but give them time..

creedp

M cebee wrote: »

yes that's all well and good making sweeping statements like that:pac:

but why should electricians and customers have to climb ladders to reset breakers

Why should they have to climb one to change a bulb? Answer because its the best place for the light fitting:)

M cebee

creedp wrote: »

Why should they have to climb one to change a bulb? Answer because its the best place for the light fitting:)

i don't follow your logic

what's the advantage of having distribution boards out of reach

Bruthal

I think its one of those `how many does it take to change a light bulb`style jokes.

M cebee

can anybody give a good reason why a DB should be jammed up to a ceiling

this is the 21st century

Bruthal

It could be replacing a 20th century DB with little slack on the circuits.

2011

M cebee wrote: »

can anybody give a good reason why a DB should be jammed up to a ceiling

this is the 21st century

Jammed up to the ceiling, no.
Equally they should not be too low either, there is such a thing as "balance".

Personally, I think the height of the board should be decided by the electrician/designer of the installation. This person would be best qualified/placed to make this decision weighing up the pros and cons of each individual case. In some situations it may make sense to have a board installed at a different height than in others. I don't think the new regulation gives enough flexibility.

Electricians, electrical designers, engineers are already trusted to make far more important decisions, so I don't see a reason why they should be restricted in this area. To me it seems that some lees are just made up for the sake of being seen to be doing something.

That is just my view, I don't want to argue about it.

Bruthal

2011 wrote: »

Electricians, electrical designers, engineers are already trusted to make far more important decisions, so I don't see a reason why they should be restricted in this area. To me it seems that some lees are just made up for the sake of being seen to be doing something.

Yes 100%. Couldnt agree more.

The post during the week about replacing a board with a new one but the old circuits were a little short was a good example. A 3 row board could be used with the top row used for din rail connectors to facilitate connecting.

But going to the letter of the law, the top of it cant be above the 2.25 meters, yet if it was at 2.4 meters, its 2 lower rows with MCBs would be as low as a 2.25 meter high 2 row board. So its a bit rigid alright.

M cebee

the commercial/ind seem to be generally acceptable height going back well before the rule change

would the dom sector ever shift them down from the ceiling-if it wasn't for rules?

anyway :P

Bruthal

M cebee wrote: »

the commercial/ind seem to be generally acceptable height going back well before the rule change

They are usually much larger boards that are mounted at eyeline type height for the terminal blocks. With MCBs behind the panel doors at low sort of chest level. Often in switchrooms or behind doors in an appropriate DB type of closet. There would be no kids running around at them either.

2011

M cebee wrote: »

the commercial/ind seem to be generally acceptable height going back well before the rule change

Agreed

would the dom sector ever shift them down from the ceiling-if it wasn't for rules?

Well I guess that depends on what electrical contractor the customer selects.

I will bet you always installed distribution boards at a sensible height. There is another reason for a customer to pick you rather than another.

In my home the electrical contractor put my board up to the ceiling, but that is not what really bothers me about his work. Purely from an aesthetic point of view I object more to:

1) His refusal to use a measuring tape. All of my sockets, light switches, phone points etc are at different hight! Even when beside each other.
2) None of the downlighters are even close to being in a straight line.
3) Nothing is level and due to the type of back box used it is very hard to level anything without making a mess

Perhaps a general rule that an installation should look like it was wired by someone that gives a sh!t would be more appropriate :D

Now I wonder how could that be worded in the regs....

Bruthal

A domestic board is a tiny small box compared to any industrial type board. The last time i put a domestic board down at eye level it was a metal one flush mounted into the wall which looked well. But the standard surface mounted one would not look too good down at eye level in my opinion anyway.

An industrial type one is totally different to the tiny little domestic one, so its not practical to compare putting a domestic one up at 2.25 meters, and putting a large heavy industrial/commercial one on top of a unistrut frame or on a plinth, or direct on the floor etc.

M cebee

theres a few rules lately covering bad workmanship

-boxes to be flush finish

-and wires not to be strewn about attic

maybe one or two more general rules-i cant remember

nothing for your problems though:)

M cebee

unfortunately there's a lot of 'unsafe' tidy work going on out there atm

from diy to contractors employing handymen


it's the 'finishing touch' but that's all -if you get my drift:)

Bruthal

M cebee wrote: »

theres a few rules lately covering bad workmanship

-boxes to be flush finish

-and wires not to be strewn about attic

maybe one or two more general rules-i cant remember

nothing for your problems though:)

I wouldnt of thought of steel socket boxes fitted so their front was level with the back of slabs as bad workmanship myself. It is if there is a gap alright from the front of the box to the back of the slab.