New Consumer Unit

[Onoff]

The time has come for a new consumer unit albeit a temporary job. The current one is jammed up against the ceiling of an open porch. Up front 30mA RCD, it's inconvenient to say the least.

All entries come in from the top at the moment and have to for now.

As mentioned elsewhere the new Fusebox cu I've bought has pita knockouts along the top.

https://flic.kr/p/2pS429i

I've got to get 10 t&e / conduit glands in the top. One missing in the pic.

https://flic.kr/p/2pS3ksy

It works out alright on CAD but if I mark out and drill then sod's law I'll break out the existing knockouts with the Starrett cutters.

I figured then to make a gland plate to screw on top.

I had this bit of 2mm thick control box back plate kicking around. (Gave a bit to the BiL already for his tractor seat back rest).

https://flic.kr/p/2pRRn3o

It was tbh a bit too much for my little homemade folder, not the sharpest internal corner:

https://flic.kr/p/2pRW4F3

https://flic.kr/p/2pRXMjp

Going to cut another from this lid from some unknown domestic appliance. It's already got the fold done and is a bit thinner.

 

[MattF]

I've bought has pita knockouts

Those type of knockouts which don't?

 

[Onoff]

Can't catch a break, the appliance lid is aluminum

Back to making the orange one work!

 

[Blobber]

Turn it up the other way so the fold sticks up?

 

[ukracer]

Can't catch a break, the appliance lid is aluminum

Back to making the orange one work!

What's wrong with Ali?

 

[jimbo84]

It’s a while since I’ve fitted a fusebox consumer unit so they could have changed but their knockouts used to take some serious beating to get out so I would have thought they’d be ok for drilling.

 

[Onoff]

Those type of knockouts which don't?

Rough plan now is make the new gland plate then clamp or screw on with a bit of sacrificial ply underneath, inside the cu. The hope is I can use the holesaws, without pilot drill and the gland plate as a guide. The ply will hopefully stop me pushing any of the knockouts...out.

As in I might not even use the gland plate in the end.

 

[brightspark]

just slice a rectangular hole in the top of the cabinet using a slitting disk in angle grinder and screw the flat plate on top using 6 self tapping screws round the edges and drill new holes where required using a hole saw job done

 

[brightspark]

redrilling the top where the existing knockouts are will end in tears .if there partly drilled they fall out . and if you over plate it without cutting the top out it will be 2 thick for screwing the new glands in

 

[Onoff]

It's not as easy as cutting out a rectangle. Space is so tight with these 10 glands it needs to be a more complicated cutout leaving some "meat" to get screws in for fixing the gland plate. Still, I don't do "easy"

 

[sparkysy]

Not to be pessimistic about your layout but those glands will be too close together to be able to do them up. The top part of the gland will be the same size or bigger than the locknut.
I would either just use fire retardant grommets for the normal twin and earth and proper glands for the cables that require them.
Or run a bit of trunking across the top of the board to gland into and slot the top out of the board and bottom of the trunking.

 

[Onoff]

A sudden realisation that this isn't going to work. The glands are too close together so as I won't be able to turn them to tighten them.

Looks like I'm going to have to bring forward going underground with the garage SWA so at least that can come out of the bottom and free up space on top.

 

[Onoff]

Not to be pessimistic about your layout but those glands will be too close together to be able to do them up. The top part of the gland will be the same size or bigger than the locknut.
I would either just use fire retardant grommets for the normal twin and earth and proper glands for the cables that require them.
Or run a bit of trunking across the top of the board to gland into and slot the top out of the board and bottom of the trunking.

We must have been typing at the same time!

 

[dobbslc]

Not to be pessimistic about your layout but those glands will be too close together to be able to do them up. The top part of the gland will be the same size or bigger than the locknut.
I would either just use fire retardant grommets for the normal twin and earth and proper glands for the cables that require them.
Or run a bit of trunking across the top of the board to gland into and slot the top out of the board and bottom of the trunking.

This is what I would do ^
There's enough knockouts for the cables you have to just use intumicent grommets. If you want to tidy it up then run a piece of 2x2 trunking across the top.

Not the best picture and missing some lid but you can see what I mean.

 

[brightspark]

if some of its flat twin and earth mount the db on some roofing lat and drop the cables in from behind freeing up the top for swa glands

 

[Onoff]

Tbh I have no idea how much slack I have in the cables above the cu. There's a crawl space along the eaves, only accessible from one end, then an RSJ and the cables all go down into the porch beyond that. To work I'd have to lie, in an even tighter space with my gut on the RSJ. Not going to happen!

I'm going to take part of the roof off and access from above.

https://flic.kr/p/2pAdyVC

 

[dobbslc]

Send in the boy...

 

[Onoff]

Send in the boy...

I have this vision of getting stuck and having that massive, overdue clutcher I keep praying for. Then not being found and people wondering what the smell is...

 

[OJCar]

Then not being found and people wondering what the smell is...

They will just think it is the dead fox and that you've gone down the Pub...


I'm not an Electrician,
but if the cables are too short to have the CU in a sensible place,
could you not have suitable joint boxes right up in the ceiling,
with long enough new cable to get down to the CU?

 

[Onoff]

They will just think it is the dead fox and that you've gone down the Pub...


I'm not an Electrician,
but if the cables are too short to have the CU in a sensible place,
could you not have suitable joint boxes right up in the ceiling,
with long enough new cable to get down to the CU?

Yep, you can get one of these:

Wiska Consumer Unit Relocator LS0H - 10 Way | Wiska (818CUR/L / 10111966)

I dropped the cu down to the ideal, recommended height (switches at 1350 - 1450mm) then it'd be slap on this ugly, rough, wall and exposed to the elements. This is a stop gap.