18th Edition Consumer Unit Upgrade. Plus all the other shoddy work we find!!!

[@montystelevision3238]

This guy works with such care and diligence and describes everything so well.

[@TheCraigsPlace]

Working my way in to domestic. I really enjoy the longer vids with little to no editing looking for little tips and tricks that only experiance can normally provide. Thanks for all your effort in filming your work.

[@wonderboy2016]

Well done for not leaving the joint boxes in a state. A lot of people would just leave them alone and pretend they didn't see em. Nice job.

[@davidhill431]

Well we all saw em didn't we 😅

[@jamesdyas542]

Excellent video thanks I went to a central heating radiator that was hardly getting warm for no apparent reason. Took the floorboards up and they had notched the joists by about 5 mm by the look of it with a bread knife and hammered the copper pipe flat so as to re fit the floor boards. Madness. Bit off subject I know.

[@garethfox6537]

Another top video chris can we get more like this super detailed and a joy to watch

[@wanhliu552]

Appreciate all your efforts in sharing your years of experience, taking the decades to edit b4 the 72years to upload. Keep em coming.

[@EuroB0B1]

Really cool to see a another tradesman enjoy his craft. Nice.

[@ScarredRealist]

That bonding cable floating around in the floor doing nothing :D Brilliant. If I could find an electrician - or any trade - putting out content like this, demonstrating their knowledge, I'd have them out to do work in a heartbeat - brilliant self advertising, IMHO, and good content to boot.

[@Thorgal320]

I’m 43 now and want to become an electrician. I already know all the basics, probably up to a point to wire and install a consumer unit in a small flat (never done it though ((and don’t intend to do it without proper quals))). Thanks for the very informative video.

[@jammorst]

Love watching these videos electrical from other countries. It is a big difference from how we do it in Canada.

[@bryankeane2971]

Been following the channel for a while now mate. By far your best video in my opinion. Well done. Keep them coming👍

[@tzisorey]

Well, that looked like a wiring system that had "grown organically", as we'd say at my previous employer. (Networking, not electrical) Always nice when you get the go-ahead to blank-slate it all.

[@Scottinuk]

This is the first video I’ve seen where an electrician pulls the main fuse! It’s always done by magic on the other videos 🙂👍

[@skantycanty]

Scottinuk it is good to see and it proves a point when you find a lower rated fuse in the labelled fuse holder.

[@Scottinuk]

David Canty True that. Always an N/V as we have no idea what’s in there unless opened.

[@Graham_Langley]

@@skantycanty Good point. Round here they they used looped supplies but all the main fuse carriers have 100A labels. And at leat one house on the end of a looped supply has a power shower.

[@totherarf]

The 100a is its max capacity not the required fuse size! I take these apart every day and you get 100A, 80A and 60A fairly regularly. The fuse size should relate to the tail size and also not exceed the supply maximum ...... often you will see a 100A fuse supplying one property with a tail coming off the top of the fuse to supply next door via an 80A in its own cutout! There are areas where the supply daisy chains four properties of one service cable ..... again these are fused down for some strange reason ;0) Another reason for fusing down is for a high Ze as a temporary measure. They require a fusing factor of 3 so the max Ze you can do this on is not really that high and the DNO do need to come and sort it fairly quickly!

[@JimWhitaker]

@@skantycanty The holder is labelled for the maximum fuse you can put in it, not the fuse it has in it.

[@peterg.8245]

I like the longer format. I’m not in the trades, electrical engineer actually, and find the explanations interesting.

[@CONNECTSEOUK]

Great vid .The rest of the world still has the rewireable 3036s or original replacement mcbs , yes the trip times don't comply but as long as you have those 2 rcds covering the incomers you are fairly safe .a for cables being doubled up in the 32 amp mcbs I usually take the 3rd and downgrade it to a 20 amp .most are elderly clients who aren't really happy to have an 18th ed fuse board upgrade or cant afford it .Great Vid .I also always recommend an upgrade to.

[@TheDeathBonus]

Really good work chris, a true pro. A lot of people would've just doubled up the lighting to resolve the borrowed neutral. Thanks for taking the time and effort to share your working methods and tips of the trade. Keep up the good work and ignore the holier than thou comments on here.

[@carpnovice922]

Great work pal. Very thorough. At least these customers are getting a proper job done.

[@devonfuse]

I once did the same as you and fitted a board on the skew to match a wonky cupboard. Came back some years later to find that everything had been rebuilt straight, leaving my consumer unit on the tilt and looking awful. After that I have fitted everything straight and level.

[@Graham_Langley]

That was my worry too.

[@armoris66]

I'm not a sparks but as a tradesman, you don't know how much I enjoyed your video (even the silent movie sections 🤣). Brilliant tips and info throughout.

[@spongebobplugtop]

Older TT installations never had earth rods and relied on the metal water supply for the main earth and were often 6mm

[@dennisphoenix1]

I fitted an earth rod to a TT system years ago , fitted a 100 ma rcd , tested the rod got 200 ohms , connected the bonding cables , got 0.20 ohms.

[@FutureCurrent]

@@dennisphoenix1 probably one of the houses nearby has been converted to tnc-s and that is carrying over the metallic pipework.

[@ianmalone8053]

Worried if you put a new earth rod on the property there might be a chance that this earth route could then be the earth route taken by adjoining properties if the water/ gas mains are slowly being up graded .

[@jameswallis3252]

Great video Chris, easily the best one you've done, very nice work also.

[@DKNY707]

Nice job mate, nice to see sparks take pride in their work

[@JimWhitaker]

Just like welds: A good-looking weld is not a guarantee of a good weld; a bad looking weld is always a bad weld. Really neat work making best use of space.

[@crackedgaming5696]

Just pulled my floor boards up in the top floor bathroom and found a 10mm twin earth that runs up the external side of the building joined under the floor to a split con cable using service connectors on a peace of ply best part the live block had the side missing so fully exposed love it

[@cribblekid]

Never seen neutral and earths so tight , wouldn’t like to test that board

[@VadimDrevenchuk]

I'm an Electrician by trade in the US. We follow the National Electrical Code. And I find your videos fascinating, different county, different standards (similar in a way but also very different). New homes are built with 200Amp service and our circuit breakers are different. Its as if your circuit breakers/main panel/fuses are all solid-state. Thank you for the vidoes.

[@David_11111]

Its just nice to watch good work. Sometimes the internet is right :)

[@johnschlesinger2009]

Very enjoyable. A couple of points: the 1mm sq wire wrapped round that conductor end was not there to increase the conductor diameter. Many years ago, it was standard practice to wrap fuse wire or other light guage wire round larger conductors, such as meter tails, and sometimes all conductors terminating in fuse ways, to prevent strands from splaying out when the terminal screws were tightened: it gives a better connection. Second: your c.u. wiring is super neat, but why don’t you leave any slack? It is good practice to re-make off the conductor ends when they have been disconnected for testing, and from the look of it, this won’t be possible in the future on this installation. Other than that, great workmanship.

[@noskills9577]

Cant speak for the man himself but I leave the slack up behind the neutral and earth bars, I suspect he does something similar

[@lewisbowditch694]

Thanks Chris for all your videos 👍 Really do enjoy all your videos, keep up the great work

[@Ragnar8504]

If you still got those chunky RCDs I'd love one of them! They were designed in Austria, close to where I live and everyone had them back in the 70s and 80s! Oddly enough that design was only ever used in Austria, Eastern Germany and the UK, no idea why!

[@jameznm]

I could watch this all day long.

[@Robert-ts2ef]

You’re a knowledgable guy and you certainly earn your money.

[@williamlowther7051]

good work chris, you do a good job, nice and safe for the client and good for the next electrician to work on, keep up the good work

[@sen5908]

Good video mate , nice to see a spark not looking for other peoples faults on previous work, all these no all's forget that regs where different years ago , current stuff today with be obsolete in 10 years time , changing all the time 👍👍

[@davidadams421]

Very interesting. It's good to say when something is alright. It's always easier to criticise (and justifiably so sometimes!).

[@djcymatic]

Thanks for the interesting video's. Nice to see someone who takes pride in doing it right!

[@d33671]

Love how the main fuse had no seal... that always happens to me as well!!

[@GiffordsElectrical]

Another top video Chris. I loved the hammer action when fitting the gland into the board 🤣.

[@sivalley]

Tappy tap taaap. . .

[@artisanelectrics]

Love those Hager Boards! Great video as always.

[@DaC-lt5mk]

Exactly how I lable my cables during a board change. Great minds think alike😉

[@ashmanelectricalservices4318]

I thought everyone done it this way... I don't mark the first one as I'm tight and can't spare the ink.

[@richardwash6678]

Brilliant video Chris, love the explanations and the history behind the work.👍

[@tinytonymaloney7832]

Takes me back to the 80s an 90s when I had my own electrical business, NIC appeared. Used to get some good jobs, house holders always paid on time, factories and commercial jobs always kept me waiting, some went tits up before paying

[@imtrue2132]

Fantastic to watch this and to know how the work is done in other countries.

[@cressytisswuff]

I love how tidy your work is, I wish you'd done the wiring on my house!

[@justme5384]

Just love doing a board change on some old houses that might have a few boards, some external RCD, maybe some other weird wiring. And putting in a new board with RCD and everything in a new board

[@frankholehouse1393]

What a big job , your a very good electrician very good video keep up the good work .👌

[@sennabus3356]

Great video mate, real sparky, living in the real world 👌🏻

[@james.8985]

Awesome vid mate very detailed and great productivity keep up the great work 🤙🤙🇦🇺

[@imranmajid1978]

A beautiful job, well presented and a very entertaining video too!

[@TomMattin]

that '1mm' round the tails were a good practice back in the day to stop the strands spreading when tightened.

[@vegorde]

Not a good practice really. Just shake the wire til it spreads in the clamp. then re tighten

[@TomMattin]

@@vegorde thats how we do it now, but back in the day on stranded cables such as 25mm, you would leave one strand long enough to wrap round the others. when time was no issue and people werent in a rush.

[@crashk6]

Just use a crimp ferrule. It's the right thing to do.

[@mikeysky8917]

In Northern Ireland Its the sparky’s job to pull the main fuse not the DNO. Only way to get in trouble is if you don’t reseal it.

[@itsgreyham]

I used to work for a DNO and to pull a main fuse we had to wear flash proof overalls, rubber gloves and a helmet with full face visor. You pull a fuse out with bare hands, bare face and ordinary clothing !! You obviously have never seen one take off, with a 500A fuse in the substation hundreds of yards away that is not even going to think of blowing. If that one screw holding the base to the chipboard meterboard isn't holding, the base will come with it. Pray its not an old pilc cable and the bottom cores are being held tight by them grub-screws.

[@Fedorcore85]

Currently working for a DNO and can confirm we've had so many people have serious flash burns from cutouts going up, even single phase 100A cutouts. Stop dicking about with DNO equipment and get it done by someone who knows the risks.

[@davidkelly4841]

Honest question, if you have turned off the load in the house at the consumer unit, why would there be a flash at the fuse, surely the flash is just an ark of electricity trying to continue the circuit when you pull the fuse, no circuit because it’s off and no load, no flash?

[@Fedorcore85]

@@davidkelly4841 Fair question, it's possible for two reasons. First is the construction of the cutout, some of the older ones are made from cast iron then when the cable is terminated filled with pitch, over the years this can warm up and seep out, leaving no insulation inside the cutout, sometimes a small disturbance such as pulling the fuse can cause the phase to touch neutral or the iron casing of the cutout, this would cause a flash over. Cables where insulation has begun to break down due to heat damage or age if disturbed can also cause a flash over by live and neautral earth touching, it's rare.. but honestly it's not worth the risk. Most DNOs will come out for free to do stuff like this, as it has been a house fire, also a lot of DNO's will fit isolators after the cutout for a small fee so you don't need to pull the fuse in future. Edit: Just to put this into perspective, the fuses that would be protecting the circuit before the cutout are often 500A and above with a typical LV circuit, these are not fast blowing fuse either, so that they are able to deal with small bursts of overload here and there. So at 500A the fuse is essentially no protection at all for someone on the end of a 35mm CNE cable. If a DNO engineer thinks there may be an issue with the cutout, he can drop the 500A fuse at the sub whilst the cutout is isolated and inspected. Electricians don't have that luxury.

[@davidkelly4841]

@@Fedorcore85 Thanks Tucker, I guess the risk is from a damaged or loose fuse holder and or cable, worth knowimg!

[@michaelkirkham8335]

Excellent video Chris. Love the longer vids. If you can keep it up, the more of these the merrier.

[@RC-airspace]

Thank you for your videos I'm learning a lot from you as I'm currently in the very early days in my course of becoming a domestic electrical installer. Once again thank you and keep up the great work

[@edglue6138]

Great video Chris. You nearly make me want to jump back on the tools again. Keep up the good work mate

[@markguise4303]

Really rate your videos mate. I'm in the last year of my apprenticeship and think it's great to see how other guys do things 👌

[@train4905]

A most excellent job sir.well done superb.keep up the great bids sir.well done.

[@lewistempleman9752]

Number 1 best video 👍🏻👍🏻

[@syncrosimon]

I wouldn’t have shortened those earths and neutrals so much. But you get a lovely neat job your way.👍

[@bootsowen]

I agree, if you are replacing a board then someone else might have to do it again sometime.

[@dennisphoenix1]

Leave some slack , you might be back . That's what I was told as an apprentice

[@ovepot]

Seems the modern way, I was trained to leave sweeping bends when fitting c/u’s. Old school👍

[@lewisclarke9239]

They will be long I do this method there just tucked up behind. Just looks very neat. Great job exactly the way I do things

[@JohnSmith-pd1fz]

Good stuff and very informative! Familiar too as I recently changed one of the old Wylex units with a wooden back on it for a nice new split load box. All safe and secure now.

[@dsbelectricaldavidbetterid8448]

imo i would have stuck a 100mA type s up front 1. for any failed 30ma okay not 30ma but better than no ma protection 2. manufactures instructions i believe hager makes a comment on installing one if not install a rcbo csu 3. it will offer another form of dp isolation should rcds fail how you finding the 30%max leakage on a rcd device especially split load as several circuits grouped would this comply

[@p4ult1]

I liked the longer video.

[@gavindebrito7117]

Great Video.I agree with others more detailed Videos as always a pleasure to watch.keep up to good work Chris👌

[@jeremytravis360]

I had an electrician come round to inspect my consumer unit. It was a modern MK unit fitted with MK RCD's in a plastic case. He told me it was "ILLEGAL" and had to be replaced and if I din't let him do it he would pull the mains fuse and leave me without any power. I reluctantly agreed and he fitted a similar unit but in a metal case. When the cost started going up and up I got scared and called the police. They made him return all the original MK box which he had taken away. This was a distressing experience because I am disabled and needed power for my refrigeration of my injections and to rum my central heating.

[@oiuslags]

It’s only a code 3 which means it does not comply with the regs BS7671 18th edition, Unless the DB board is placed in the only means of escape then it’s a code 2,which requires improvement usually that’s within 28days. He had no right to pull the main fuse that’s an offence Only code 1 faults require immediate action that’s basically stuff like being able to touch live parts, then there is a duty of care to make safe He should be a member of a regulatory body like NICEIC ect I strongly recommend that you report his actions to them and or the local government council building control department and trading standards

[@Dranok1]

ooh, I like the 1mm whipping (serving) wrapped around that red tail, very old school, how to protect your strands when you only have 7 of them to begin with!

[@tonystewart6592]

Hi Great Vid and just a question as it was already a TT system and looking at the service Head supplied from a overhead service, just my guess, you might try this , as I always check to see if the DNO haven't upgrading the services recently on the overheads cables to PME, so check outside at the overheads and see if they are a bunched of cables feeding the pole maybe 4 cables you also might see a green single cable running down the pole going into the ground, as long as it come in one cable Line & N in one cable to the dwelling and not 2 separate cable Line & N singles, and if you get a good ZS by piggy backing N&E also check the local DNO and the number of the pole, as some pole are marked with PME for the supply to the Dwellings in that area, and if you get a good value under 0.35 Ohms just tap into the N on service head as their are knock out for that purpose and you are PME/TNCS..Baby...as not a fan of TT if you dont require it , and any problem regarding Main Earthing will be a DNO issue....not yours Regards Jelade Electrical Services

[@bobcelt5029]

Hi mate! Great vid. What power tool is that youre using at the beginning on the floor boards?

[@matthewfewings6023]

Looks like a mini circular saw.

[@KlusterYogo]

Great video bro - much prefer the longer ones. Nice little lunchtime viewing ;)

[@ScrotumPole]

sorry about the internet connection for your upload, but I really like the longer videos and better explanations.

[@serenetysteel7007]

Good vid dude, earth rod pit is a wee bit small though. A Black wiska box works nicely with the black conduit, make it easier for yourself =)

[@barrybradfordlocksport]

Been checking your channel out for a few weeks now, well done at last a decent spark on here no bullshit keep it up pal 😎😎😎

[@chazvirdee2012]

Great vid love your work. What saw do you use to cut the floorboards ??

[@ObsessionoftheMonth]

19:04 In the IT world we called that "scope creep" when little add ons creep in to the original scope of work.

[@letsgocamping88]

Obsession of the Month we call them whileyer’s .

[@chrishughes9101]

On the lamp & cans. you can get led lamps from 60 to 105 degrees output angle also now.

[@ralphsterz2889]

What Ze reading did you get with your earthing rod? Genuinely interested, I see very few TT installations. I had one that was 600ohms, found the tarmac contractors had broken the connection to the rod. After connection it was about 80, not great but not the job they were paying me for and within limits. I've got a 30M steel welded fence in my back garden set in concrete every 5M. Measured Zs using the fence as earth with LN from my garden supply and got 12ohms.

[@matthewcollis-long5233]

ralphsterz I see a lot of TT out in the country; readings can vary hugely. I have one customer whose house has been seriously extended and part of the structure uses a large steel frame sunk into the ground. It is earthed and as a result the TT system achieves a Ze of 1500 ohms.

[@ralphsterz2889]

@@matthewcollis-long5233 Thanks for the reply, interesting stuff. There was talk of introducing earth rods to supplement TN CS but then it was dropped, they were worried that if you had the only rod in the street and the neutral failed you'd be dumping a whole streets current through your rod. I'd rather that than trying to dump it through the gas main!

[@combinedagent]

RCD ? would that be what we call Ground Fault Interrupter breakers here in Canada? PS your helping me under stand ring circuits better -thanks

[@darenvitaelectrical5310]

Chris ,with you on integrated downlights ,so much better 👍🏻 try and build a rapport with your wholesalers they’ll deliver to you ,saves time and money

[@terrylonsdale6282]

Great video Chris as always...keep them coming in 👍🏻

[@fearthebeardorg]

Nice video there. We do a fair bit of TT and the one thing that jumped out at me was the main earth. It looks like you’ve put a 16mm in? Regs state it should be 25mm if not mechanically protected. Enquired with the Niceic and they took the view that it would need to be steel conduit to be considered protected so to use 16mm, even metal flex icon they said wasn’t enough. If you want the reg ref I can look it up. Hope this is of help.

[@ronbladon7833]

Chris...always use an extendable 5/8 rod.....knock it in...do a test if its over range ..add to it and try again. With the rod you use what would you do if its over range?..just a thought mate..keep up the good work.

[@Cjrelectrical]

Yes I’d of had to add another one a meter away from that one. Thanks for the tip 👍

[@allengraham7016]

another great vid i think i will change my consumer unit now after this vid NO only joking great detail and vid Chris keep it coming

[@johnybfd2845]

Great work. We want more videos. Cheers

[@Harding193]

Great video as always Chris, keep them coming! What brand are the crimpers? I need a set for 16/25/35mm in a few weeks.

[@sewers1000]

Hi Chris another great video. Always best to keep in the dno good books

[@Lanceb131]

Question, you mentioned your bad home internet speed. Would you please do a video on how you have your home wired for network & what you have as far as your ISP please?

[@Sparks66]

Excellent video.

[@allanmould2633]

Good video mate from a retired sparks

[@frazer26]

The famous, “while your here, can you.......”

[@ickipoo]

Consider it a vote of confidence. Sure, it throws out your schedule, but they like what you've done so far, and want more of the same. In this case, it also helped ease the pain of finding that split neutral too.

[@dennisphoenix1]

Or can you just ......

[@supersparks9466]

Where’s the temporary lead hanging out the meter for the tea time cuppa

[@MrPutrifyingEagor]

Supersparks OMG! So ver very true!

[@dennisphoenix1]

I do the same , priorities

[@michaellack5139]

First job. Top priority

[@traineespark]

to work on a board with no meter based isolator i always pull the fuse... couldnt give a shite about the supply company... its safest

[@yourrightimsooosorry884]

I did one fuse box renewal live cos the dno failed to turn up, never again, pull the fuse, I'd rather go to court than die, simple

[@Khanjan-si8me]

Well done sir nice job ..

[@user-km8jz9tp3e]

Great video mate nice to see most of the job and all the tips. 👍

[@JBE]

What a great video Chris! Nicely presented and explained. Yep the old borrowed neutrals problem! We've all had that issue. Love the thumbs up to all the keyboard warriors, it's all traffic like you say.

[@markandrews8437]

An other excellent video mate luv the detail you show thanks for sharing and keep them coming 👍

[@jameswoods7276]

I am gonna guess the floor boards and lap and plaster were replaced due to a fire, the floor joists looked black and scorched? Along with some black flecks in the debris under the floors.

[@marcus62647]

Great Video lad, good to have you back, been relying on some new guys to KZbin for my electrical kicks . You and MyTrustedElectrician have always been my main go to 😂 keep em coming 👍🏻 #HagerGang

[@simonabbott7323]

I would have brought the cables in the rear, then sealed up the gap. The unknown bonds I would connect as I feel it would be safer to connect them than not. I would put the radial sockets on 20's, if the circuits are ever extended. In my C&G training in the 80's, we used to do an exercise to prove that on short runs you could use 1 milli for immersions. Now, of course, you have to use minimum 1.5 for "power" circuits.

[@harryrushworth5432]

Best sparky on KZbin for content by a mile mate

[@mattwhitley9315]

Really interesting video. Like to see how others do their work in comparison to what I have Been taught during my apprenticeship

[@michaelcostello6991]

At 18:55 where you talk about shared neutral and two way switch i wish you did a quick wiring diagram sketch to explain exactly what is happening. It would be great for apprentices etc Thanks for great video