CU understanding and upgrading

[ash_scotland88]

Fed up with sparks either not returning or quoting stupid amounts I am now thinking I should upgrade my consumer unit(s) myself. I know I have the skills but not necessary the full knowledge.
Hopefully this thread will keep all my questions in one place and I'll try and update this post with my latest question, if a sudden change.

 

These are my consumer units, they are old rewirable. Left first floor, right ground floor:
https://ibb.co/9hjqb4Z

 

This (in the pantry opposite) is the main feed and meters. I have two, one supplies the old electric heating only.
https://ibb.co/3090VNr
https://ibb.co/rwqJbyg

The heating one will be removed once we get central heating. I believe that someone from our supplier has to remove the meter. The big switches are seperate circuit breakers (correct?) for each floor.

 

Inside/behind the consumer units:
Ground floor:
https://ibb.co/48Jrr2Q
Left to right:
5A - unused
30A - sockets
5A - cupboard + entrance (ext)

5A - study + lounge

5A - lounge + dinning room

5A - WC

 

5A- kitchen lights

30A - cooker

15A - garage

30A- kitchen sockets

15A - immersion top

15A - immersion bottom

 

First floor:

https://ibb.co/bvSwDNB

5A - unused

5A- south lights
5A- north lights
15A- south sockets
15A- North sockets
15A - shower

 

points:
1.Yes two lots of lounge lighting, big light and wall lights, two wall lights are in with the study. Off the top of my head I can't remember what hallway is in with.
2. It says garage, the garage has no power. I suspect it's the bomb shelter.

3. other unknowns include attic sockets and lighting and what the back door exterior light is paired with.

 

 

First lot of questions:
1. One spark that visually inspected was impressed by neatness for the age, can anyone see anything inherently wrong?
2. As there are multiples of 1 live entering each fuse, and not multiples of 2 lives, can it presumed that circuits are radial and not ring?
3. As long as I keep like for like, can I seperate or change what is paired together?
eg ground floor appears to be two circuits for sockets, can this be separated into two circuits? And  regarding the cupboard and entrance lights, can the cupboard be paired with the WC? Hopefully leaving entrance lights (ext) on their own supply.

 

Current plan is to go all RCBO apart from actual garage feed will be MCB, allowing RCBOs in garage unit.
 

[TonyT]

I would pay an electrician for an EICR as a good starting point to see what’s what.

 

You could change your consumer unit to RCBO’s and a circuit could be faulty, the fuse wouldn’t detect it but the rcbo would so you would be left with no power to this circuit. What would you do then.

 

inside of consumer unit looks neat, gromett strip etc so hopefully the rest of the installation could be to the same standard.

 

 

[ash_scotland88]

Maybe I should get an EICR, you keep mentioning them. ?

 

What I've seen is all neat and tidy, just very tight like they were paying per mm.

[TonyT]

Keep mentioning EICR as it’s the logical thing to do, and as a former spark giving you some free advise with nothing to gain from it

[ProDave]

Treat CU upgrade and meter upgrade as two completely separate things.

 

CU upgrade looks probably straightforward.  If it looks neat it was probably done by a decent spark.

 

You will almost certainly need earth bonding upgrading to current standards.

 

You will need to TEST everything and from that you will determine what are ring and radial circuits and choose your MCB rating accordingly.

 

The meter upgrades are done by the DNO.  you have a VERY old "white meter" setup.  Just get that swapped to a single rate meter and much of that clutter will go.  the old off peak fuse board will then be redundant and can be removed.

[ash_scotland88]

Thanks @TonyT and @ProDave

 

I know meters and upto the meters needs to be done by the DNO.

 

When you say test everything to work out if they're radial or ring is that a visual? IE find the socket (or light) that's end of line, and it will only have one set of cables. Or will the EICR report on that?

 

Going to spend this evening, hopefully, emailing some companies that does EICR testing.

 

[ash_scotland88]

Feeling a bit stuck at the moment. Had a couple of quotes, slightly different, one company gave me confidence in them although expensive, but that was partially down to them quoting a day and a half. (200 Vs 450(

What they did say was the old electric heating system, if it's still in place they have to test it, so that's another 4 lot fuse box. Annoying as I wanted the new in units in before central heating and don't want to start removing heating before work actually starts.

I could just gunho it and replace but I understand and appreciate why I shouldn't.

Can old rewritable fuse holder still be bought, I would like the new boiler on its own.

[ash_scotland88]

Smallest of updates.

 

Got an ex colleague/friend coming round to do it, upgrade and test. Also learnt that each circuit doesn't need to be individually protected- somehow that's what I interpreted 18th edition to do. If it was me doing the work I would install a box myself (using the cheap fusebox brand) but don't want to tell him how to do his job or get moaned at why I'm purposely increasing costs.