Hi, Had electrician in regarding wiring of a new circuit in the utility room. Was told we needed a RCD Board, costs to install 250 Pounds. We´ve looked up a RCD Board at a supplier and they cost around 40-50 Pounds. Does anyone know what the usual installation cost is of a RCD board? thanks, smiley
We had one installed about 5 years ago for £150, including parts, labour, and VAT. You could get a few more quotes as I think it is mostly a straightforward job.
I wish you could edit posts - I'm not saying £250 is too much, it's probably about right considering what we paid back then, but get other quotes if you feel it is too much.
just a query re RCD bo rds-my house has outdoor circuit with rcd switch board/circuit breaker thingy in shed, but lastyear had lawnmower plugged into rcd plug(one that you buy-plug into that) in shed, cut through cable&when OH went to repair it-wire was still live-hadn't tripped. do you reckon the problem is with rcd plug or the circuit breaker?(which has tripped when pond filter got water in electrics?)
Originally posted by hotcookie101: just a query re RCD bo rds-my house has outdoor circuit with rcd switch board/circuit breaker thingy in shed, but lastyear had lawnmower plugged into rcd plug(one that you buy-plug into that) in shed, cut through cable&when OH went to repair it-wire was still live-hadn't tripped. do you reckon the problem is with rcd plug or the circuit breaker?(which has tripped when pond filter got water in electrics?)
I have just had a new consumer unit fitted, I bought one in B& Q for about £54 which included 10 double sockets, the electrician charged me £125 cash to fit it and said that the going rate now was about £150.
Originally posted by hotcookie101: just a query re RCD bo rds-my house has outdoor circuit with rcd switch board/circuit breaker thingy in shed, but lastyear had lawnmower plugged into rcd plug(one that you buy-plug into that) in shed, cut through cable&when OH went to repair it-wire was still live-hadn't tripped. do you reckon the problem is with rcd plug or the circuit breaker?(which has tripped when pond filter got water in electrics?)
Neither. The RCD will trip if a circuit is made from ground to one or other of the wires, with a resistance low enough to cause at least 30mA to flow. It's quite likely that your lawnmower didn't have a good enough path to earth to trip the RCD. Most mowers ar largely plastic and the blades are pretty well insulated from ground, so it would have to have been very wet and dirty to take out the RCD. And it's pure chance whether the blade would have contacted both live and neutral wires at the same time to take out the plug fuse or board MCB.
RCD's are not the cure-all that some people imagine. They're a jolly good idea for outdoor use but there are still some circumstances where potentially fatal shocks are possible. The general rule used for safety calculations is that any current over 5mA is potentially fatal (I used to be product safety engineer for my employere's products) so the 30mA trip level of the standard RCD's is too high to rely on. You should still treat something plugged into a protected socket as potentially hazardous and take all the usual precautions, including switching off at the supply or unplugging if you suspect that a fault has occurred - even if the trip has not operated.
