John Ward, sincerely a big thank you for the content you provide, you have a clean and no-fluff presentation style and you have saved me from electrocuting myself many times. You are a legend in the game 💪🏻
Hi John, simply the best. no additional explanation needed on any of your videos. I wish you were my college lecturer when I was at college, as I did not understand most of what he said it's only years later through practice I realise what he was trying to explain could have been said so much more in a simple and practical way. Good stuff, all the best.
Crickey John, where were you when i was going through my 1-3 C & G Electrical installations courses? . I'm watching your brilliant videos as a refresher .I'm not actually working as an electrician but in the electronics field. I do this as A DIY hobby. Found your approach and guidance more helpful than reading & spending hours at college. I'm watching all your videos , i only wanted a quick refresh on SWA. Cheers. regards Del
Double pole switching seems to be common in mini-RCBO’s available in GB this year. Now it’s arc fault detection (AFD) that fattens up the physical size to two slots wide.. and the price to about £120 for a combined RCBO-AFDD. Still, progress is being made!
RCBO is common in China since 10 years back. Their RCBO has an additional square button to indicate if the trip is due to mcb side or RCB function in the event of a tripping.
This is depending on the manufacturer. I've got one made by ABB, if the RCD-part is tripping it's showing a blue "flag". You can see it here on this pic. If you switch it off manually or you've got overload or short circuit (L to N) the flag will not appear: www.klibo.de/fileadmin/_processed_/b/b/csm_40375243_640_41f6b34423.jpg
These particularly useful for lights circuit in case of any power trips you it won't effect your lights circuit and won't incomplete dark at night. Which could be hazardous.
Thank you for making these videos, easy to understand and you take the time explain the terms you are using. I will definitely be using RCBO's for my CU.
John thanks for the video ,you are the only one I who has actually explained what the white wire is for even though briefly.pity you didn't have one that was long enough to connect.as I have seen these grouped together .and I have seen these individually connect to each relative circuit on the earth bar,what is your take on this? thanks
It is recommended to use a torque screwdriver now to tighten the breaker terminals . The torque range is now somtimes printed on the side of the MCB/RCBO .
It's recommended but not mandatory. The reason for the recommendation of a torque screwdriver is not because the screws weren't tighten up too less. Actually some guys tightend the screws too hard and damaged the cases of the MCBs/RCDs or RCBOs. They hadn't their wrist torque calibrated correctly I suppose, it clicked to late ;-P But I've bought this one here: www.amazon.co.uk/Wiha-SLIMTORQUE-Starter-18-Pieces-T18-2872/dp/B007TTTRYK/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1513385053&sr=8-12&keywords=wiha+vde+torque But I've ordered it on Amazon.de (german branch of Amazon) because I'm from Germany.
I am in the process of changing the MCB into RCBO. I plan first to measure with a leakage clamp meter each individual circuit. Then if there is see which device is the reason and if it can be adjusted/fixed fix it. Then see the final leakage value and based on that put a 10 or 30mA RCBO in. So, I can finetune each circuit with a 10 or 30mA.
Hi John I started watching your channel about a year ago and all I can say is keep it up excellent, easy plain English description by far the the best on UA-cam . Just got a question what do you think of the lewden populated 14 way consumer unit with rsbo and should I fit spd . Thanks keep up the good work
Hi John. I've always wondered why RCBO's functional neutral CSA are all the same size. I would have thought a 50Amp functional neutral would be larger than a 6A. It's most probably a stupid question. Thanks, James.
@@mixer7586 Cost. Someone in China has been shown how to put a blue wire in a plastic box and tighten it up. They have no idea what they are doing, but if they cut 6" of wire and put it in they get paid. You want to introduce half a dozen different wire sizes? Oh no, cheaper and quicker to jut buy one big roll of wire and that will do.
Hello John, fantastic video as usual, Would you agree that another disadvantage of the RCBO is if it trips, how would you know whether it did it due to overload or due to current leakage? Disconnecting faulty consumer (i.e. from the socket) which exhibits either kind of the fault can be only class as a partial success (you can change the consumer) as you still don't know what kind of failure it suffers.How quickly and effectively would you recommend to detect it? Thanks very much, Great collection of videos, Kriss.
John, you forgot to mention if you fit an RCBO alongside RCD's you'll also need to feed a separate live into the bottom and not take it from the busbar otherwise the RCD's trip before the RCBO.
Not a pin but a bootlace ferrule, as the typical pin is not rated for 32A of current flow. Interesting, as here in South Africa the Heinemann breakers are top entry only, so all the wiring is power in at top and tails at the bottom as opposed to the UK style. Makes for fun with DIN boxes as well, as those RCD devices will not fit here, you need a reversed one.
The normal circuit breakers and RCDs can used in both directions, it doesn't matter if you go in from the upper side and go out on the lower side or the other way arround. Only this style of RCBO demands it to go in from the lower side and go out through the upper side. But standard in Europe is to go into the lower side and go out through the upper side.
I've noticed that Wylex CU's have a slightly offset connection for the line busbar at the main switch (and the RCD's for that matter). This is slightly annoying as it means that the busbars must have an end terminal/tab, offset from the rest. Would be nice for all busbar"tabs" to be in a straight line to give more flexibilty in upgrades - e.g. replacing an RCD controlling 3 MCB's with RCBO's means buying another longer busbar to connect to the main switch when the RCD had been replaced by the RCBO's
An RCBO is not suitable for all cases. The problem with having each circuit with its own RCD is that there is no combined value of earth leakage. This means that if there is another RCB further down the line (such as with a caravan - an external box fitted with RCBO) this device will trip because it goes by the total value of earth leak (vs individual circuits as on the consumer unit) leaving your consumer unit switches still on. In short, if there is an earth leak, you will have too many nuisance trips further "upstream" which are much more annoying to keep having to switch on. You may have guessed this happened to me 😅 (this after the alcoholic electrician friend of the family insisted this more expensive install would be top notch lol)
Hi John I love your videos. If you get time would you be able to make a video on how to crimp lugs? Especially in things like change over switches which all seem to use bolts as connectors so where you need to use lugs to connect to the bolts.
What's your opinion on the merits of SP RCBOs vs DP RCBOs'. I see that Wylex (Siemens) have single width DP RCBOs. Can't see that there are other manufactures providing single width DP RCBOs.
Great video John. Anyway from 9:30 you advice the RCBO's neutral is connected to the main neutral bar and the two RCDs as it were be connected to their own/different neutral bars, reason being it's best the current is kept separate. My question is the main neutral bar, from wiring standards will definitely have to be looped to the other two neutral bars hence the three neutral bars will be at the same potential, so is it really necessary to put each RCD on different neutral bars???????? Again, in the case where you don't have space to add more neutral bars, what do you do then??????
The three neutral bars are at the same potential, the difference is where the wires go before they get there. Both the line and neutral wires for a particular circuit must pass through the RCD. If the neutral was connected directly, the RCD would sense the full load current on the line, nothing for the neutral and trip with any load.
Hello John, I live remotely and am prone to power cuts. I have a 4kVA generator to get things running again whenever this happens. My problem is the RCBOs trip as soon as I connect the gen. I've put a good dedicated Earth on the generator but to no avail. I'm considering replacing the RCBOs with MCBs but thought I'd first pick your brains. Peter
Are the narrow RCBOs even available in other countries than UK or IE? In most of Europe you can't get them. My guess is because they are more expensive, contain electronics, and are usually a single pole, so only disconnect the live. The simpler and cheaper double width modules, usually disconnect both L and N, and usually don't contain electronic, and doesn't require extra functional ground.
Hi John, really enjoy your videos. Just wondering what approach do you recomend on say a 3 row CU if the neutral fly lead is to short to reach the neutral bar. Is it acceptable to put ferrule on the fly lead and extend it via a wago connector? Thanks
Hi John. Great video as per usual but I have have one niggling question, and that is, are there some ones ashes kept in that urn on the shelf in your office?
Do you think it will eventually be standard where everything has to have an RCBO on every circuit? Also just on messy wiring you where talking about , would it not be better practice to have a kind of electrical patch panel similar to what we do in computer networks.Rather than each cable run going right into a circuit breaker or RCBO they go into a terminal block ( similar to the neutral and earth bar ) that way you could replace the consumer unit quickly and easily and re wire it to tidy it without having to mess with the cable runs. You could even pre wire everything off site and simply install it into the runs allowing someone else to do that work that possibly is not trained to mess with the consumer unit. Its done all the time in networking and works very well for reducing time on site and costs for the user. I am surprised consumer units are allowed to be so messy, surly if you have a rats nest of cable going everywhere its hard to tell what your working on , this can lead to dangerous mistakes.
+Andrew Joy Here in Norway you have been required to have 2-pole RCBOs(or 4-pole for 400V 3 phase) for all circuits since 2002. You were allowed to have a single 2-pole RCD (or 4-pole) to protect all your circuits earlier, but all new installations and renovations has to have a RCBO for all circuits.
Here in Germany it's the same. RCDs are necessary for all circuits that are fused with less than 20 A (32 A outside of the house) and are containing a socket that is accessible to electrical laymen. Only one RCD for the whole house is no longer allowed in new installations. This is since 2013, before this in TN-Grids you only needed a RCD in rooms that contained a shower or a bath tub since 1984. Since 2013 the RCBOs are on the rise here in Germany because they need less room in the consumer unit than a cricuit breaker and a RCD. In Germany the AC only RCDs are banned since 1984. The A-type is common, tripping on AC and pulsating current. Last one is necessary due to the increasing usage of switching power supplies.
The patch panel approach is sometimes used in industrial installations, this makes it more modular, easier to route wires, and manufacture and test the entire electric cabinet in the factory to the specified design. But usually it is undesirable, as there is a risk of poor mechanical connection on the patch panel, which is an extra point of failure. So usually it is better to get a circuit wires directly to the RCBO. However, with the invent of more reliable clamp connector blocks, which ensure proper cable clamping, and in more complex installations (so called star installation, where all outlets, fixtures AND switches go to central cabinet, so they can be used also as an automated system) it gets more popular.
Hello JW, I think RCBO doesn't cover short circuit protection and just adds overload protection. Some electricians use it instead of RCD and main switch which I doubt is acceptable based on standards.
@@jwflame can rcbos be replaced with mcbs as rcbos do have a live cable and neutral, the circuits would still work removing the neutral and using an mcb circuit breaker?
someone said to me that the top of breakers is the (IN) and the bottom is the (OUT), you here said the opposite, is there a standard to this or polarity doesn't matter in breakers?
Thanks Mr Ward for the helpful video :-) Does the above 1P+N RCBO have differential trip indicator..? Or, is its indicator merely a contact indicator? :-)
At 10:15 you talk about the black lead of the RCBO having the end of the wire being welded into a solid piece, how would shortening the wire and soldering the new end of the wire affect the installation?
In KSA we have adopted the US system that is split phase 220 / 110 what confused me is that in my home panel there is no bonding between earth bus and the nutral bus like most panel in usa in fact the earh bus is isolated from the panel. Does the earth work in this condition. Any explanation
Is it true you can't just swap an RCBO for an MCB because it would become an unverified assembly? Even if its the same manufacturer? Seems crazy as an RCBO over an MCB should be a huge improvement (if properly tested) whereas the possible risks from tiny differences between parts seems pretty immaterial. 🤔
Good day John...wanted to ask ..say you need to add just one Rcd and the individual circuits will be with RCBO...will the RCD trip as well as the RCBO (if there is a fault) if they are both 30ma? Thanks
Excellent video, but when a RCBO trips, how do we know which caused the trip, an overload or a leakage? With a separate RCD and MCB at least we know what the problem is. Comments appreciated.
hi JW, keep up the good work. just a small question, do we need seperate neutral bars on top for the rcbo's installed within a regular cheap consumer unit ?
+jasdeep singh No, all of the neutral leads connect to the same neutral bar, which is the same one that circuit neutrals connect to when using MCBs. It's therefore very easy to change from MCB to RCBO.
Interesting they include a spirit level device down at the bottom. I guess they'd rather have their equipment installed square on the wall, not at any random angle, so it looks better aesthetically. No relevance to functionality of the unit at all.... but yup, go for aesthetically pleasing over function, that works. Better feedback. more sales.
With the cheapo arrangement (i.e 1 RCD governing several RCB's) you state that each RCD has to have its neutral connected to a separate neutral bar. However with the RCBO's, the Neutral flying lead can be connected to the same neutral bar (the one from the isolating switch). This seems uncelar to me as this flying neutral lead has the same function as the RCD Neutral lead. So the RCD function of all RCBO' s is connected to the same Neutral bar whereas if RCD's are separate the neutrals have to be connected to separate neutral bars!
For RCBOs the neutral leads are the incoming supply, before the RCD. For an RCD and multiple MCBs, the neutrals are those for the individual circuits which are connected on the outgoing side of the RCD.
Ahh thank you. That's very clear. I still have the conundrum over the curious "unwritten rule" that you should not mix different manufacturers of the RCBO's in the same consumer unit. Surely they must be made to the same standards and have identical functionality. No need to reply to that John.@@jwflame
Someone employ this man to make training videos! Accurate, clear and well thought through.
But his delivery would make me fall asleap......
A man like that could run the country....😊
Mr Ward you have the best teaching voice I have heard in a very long time! Love your videos, very informative, thank you.
John Ward, sincerely a big thank you for the content you provide, you have a clean and no-fluff presentation style and you have saved me from electrocuting myself many times. You are a legend in the game 💪🏻
Hi John, simply the best. no additional explanation needed on any of your videos. I wish you were my college lecturer when I was at college, as I did not understand most of what he said it's only years later through practice I realise what he was trying to explain could have been said so much more in a simple and practical way. Good stuff, all the best.
The best electrical info on UA-cam, very clear professional and concise
Crickey John,
where were you when i was going through my 1-3 C & G Electrical installations courses? . I'm watching your brilliant videos as a refresher .I'm not actually working as an electrician but in the electronics field. I do this as A DIY hobby. Found your approach and guidance more helpful than reading & spending hours at college.
I'm watching all your videos , i only wanted a quick refresh on SWA. Cheers. regards Del
I needed to fit an RCBO filled consumer unit due to lack of space in a small cupboard. I usually fit MCBs, so your video was very helpful = thank you.
Double pole switching seems to be common in mini-RCBO’s available in GB this year. Now it’s arc fault detection (AFD) that fattens up the physical size to two slots wide.. and the price to about £120 for a combined RCBO-AFDD. Still, progress is being made!
I can imagine that RCD testing now using an RCBO for every circuit is going to add a lot more time to the complete testing procedures.
I don't think you have to fit RCBO per circuit, nothing stops you to have the RCBO shown here feed 2 or more circuit breakers/circuits after it..
'Cheapomatic cu from some diy shed'.......love that, you crack me up John! Have to say your videos are excellent matey, keep them coming!
RCBO is common in China since 10 years back. Their RCBO has an additional square button to indicate if the trip is due to mcb side or RCB function in the event of a tripping.
This is depending on the manufacturer. I've got one made by ABB, if the RCD-part is tripping it's showing a blue "flag". You can see it here on this pic. If you switch it off manually or you've got overload or short circuit (L to N) the flag will not appear:
www.klibo.de/fileadmin/_processed_/b/b/csm_40375243_640_41f6b34423.jpg
great video brilliant HD quality. ..And most of all I like your blunt honesty when it comes to cheap crappy anything. ..nice work
These particularly useful for lights circuit in case of any power trips you it won't effect your lights circuit and won't incomplete dark at night. Which could be hazardous.
john is a great tutor and very easy to understand.
Thank you for making these videos, easy to understand and you take the time explain the terms you are using. I will definitely be using RCBO's for my CU.
I never comment but I had to say Exceptional video thank you, explains everything, I can't thank you enough
Thank-you John. Ended up here because i was curious about what the white wire did.
Such a good teacher. Will use rcbos for my DIY solar powered pond project.
Brilliant, RCBO's the way to go. thank you Ian
Great video and your voice is perfect for explaining things. Thanks
John thanks for the video ,you are the only one I who has actually explained what the white wire is for even though briefly.pity you didn't have one that was long enough to connect.as I have seen these grouped together .and I have seen these individually connect to each relative circuit on the earth bar,what is your take on this? thanks
It is recommended to use a torque screwdriver now to tighten the breaker terminals . The torque range is now somtimes printed on the side of the MCB/RCBO .
It's recommended but not mandatory. The reason for the recommendation of a torque screwdriver is not because the screws weren't tighten up too less. Actually some guys tightend the screws too hard and damaged the cases of the MCBs/RCDs or RCBOs. They hadn't their wrist torque calibrated correctly I suppose, it clicked to late ;-P
But I've bought this one here:
www.amazon.co.uk/Wiha-SLIMTORQUE-Starter-18-Pieces-T18-2872/dp/B007TTTRYK/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1513385053&sr=8-12&keywords=wiha+vde+torque
But I've ordered it on Amazon.de (german branch of Amazon) because I'm from Germany.
I am in the process of changing the MCB into RCBO. I plan first to measure with a leakage clamp meter each individual circuit. Then if there is see which device is the reason and if it can be adjusted/fixed fix it. Then see the final leakage value and based on that put a 10 or 30mA RCBO in. So, I can finetune each circuit with a 10 or 30mA.
Well done John, nicely delivered. Thank you.
Very Educational and well explained thanks for sharing your knowledge. please continue the good work Mr Ward
"El Cheapo"... brilliant, I'm using that one 😁
Great explanation especially your discussion of functional earths.
Amazing tutorial and explanation! Thank You!
Great video as usual. Could we have a follow up video on testing with RCBO's?
Here in Belgium , all RCD's and circuit breakers are dual pole / 3 fase+N in new installations.
Domestic installations in the UK are single phase.
Hi John I started watching your channel about a year ago and all I can say is keep it up excellent, easy plain English description by far the the best on UA-cam . Just got a question what do you think of the lewden populated 14 way consumer unit with rsbo and should I fit spd . Thanks keep up the good work
Wonderful explanation, what a great teacher...
Excellent video as always , clear and easy to understand .
Hope you train the Mrs in all this good stuff 😎
Best electrician on the land
Worst electrition on earth rcbo create extreme dirty electricity
What a guy! Brilliant teacher, subbed!
Nice one JW, explained perfectly
Hi John. I've always wondered why RCBO's functional neutral CSA are all the same size. I would have thought a 50Amp functional neutral would be larger than a 6A. It's most probably a stupid question. Thanks, James.
I thought the same as you. Did you get answer to this question yet?
@@mixer7586 Cost. Someone in China has been shown how to put a blue wire in a plastic box and tighten it up. They have no idea what they are doing, but if they cut 6" of wire and put it in they get paid. You want to introduce half a dozen different wire sizes? Oh no, cheaper and quicker to jut buy one big roll of wire and that will do.
Hello John, fantastic video as usual,
Would you agree that another disadvantage of the RCBO is if it trips, how would you know whether it did it due to overload or due to current leakage?
Disconnecting faulty consumer (i.e. from the socket) which exhibits either kind of the fault can be only class as a partial success (you can change the consumer) as you still don't know what kind of failure it suffers.How quickly and effectively would you recommend to detect it?
Thanks very much,
Great collection of videos,
Kriss.
krisbham probably own multimeter would enable individual power points or lighting circuit testing for megohm readings.
@@austin1722 not much use for the homeowner... 😒
without testing equipment I think there's no way to know. however both problems would require the same solutions implemented anyway, right?
We tend to fit these as rcbos most customers instantly see the benefits
What a great video, thank you 🙏🏻
John, you forgot to mention if you fit an RCBO alongside RCD's you'll also need to feed a separate live into the bottom and not take it from the busbar otherwise the RCD's trip before the RCBO.
Thanks to John and Mark for their advice.
This is what I was thinking, how is that done?
Thank you for taking the effort to share this. it was very helpful
Not a pin but a bootlace ferrule, as the typical pin is not rated for 32A of current flow.
Interesting, as here in South Africa the Heinemann breakers are top entry only, so all the wiring is power in at top and tails at the bottom as opposed to the UK style. Makes for fun with DIN boxes as well, as those RCD devices will not fit here, you need a reversed one.
The normal circuit breakers and RCDs can used in both directions, it doesn't matter if you go in from the upper side and go out on the lower side or the other way arround. Only this style of RCBO demands it to go in from the lower side and go out through the upper side. But standard in Europe is to go into the lower side and go out through the upper side.
Thank you John. That's me sorted in plain English.
Thanks John
Hi .. I have only just seen your series of videos. I wish I had these when I was doing my 2391. Thanks
I've noticed that Wylex CU's have a slightly offset connection for the line busbar at the main switch (and the RCD's for that matter). This is slightly annoying as it means that the busbars must have an end terminal/tab, offset from the rest. Would be nice for all busbar"tabs" to be in a straight line to give more flexibilty in upgrades - e.g. replacing an RCD controlling 3 MCB's with RCBO's means buying another longer busbar to connect to the main switch when the RCD had been replaced by the RCBO's
Thank you for the demonstration,
An RCBO is not suitable for all cases. The problem with having each circuit with its own RCD is that there is no combined value of earth leakage. This means that if there is another RCB further down the line (such as with a caravan - an external box fitted with RCBO) this device will trip because it goes by the total value of earth leak (vs individual circuits as on the consumer unit) leaving your consumer unit switches still on. In short, if there is an earth leak, you will have too many nuisance trips further "upstream" which are much more annoying to keep having to switch on. You may have guessed this happened to me 😅 (this after the alcoholic electrician friend of the family insisted this more expensive install would be top notch lol)
Upstream RCDs would not be of the same rating as those for individual circuits, 100mA or 300mA time delayed would be the usual choices.
Excellent explanation
I thank you alot john to this fantastic & great video
Great video. But forgot to turn the main switch off XD
Brilliant, Thank you.
Exellent demo sir.
Thank you John very well explained.
Thanks again.
Informative video and well presented. 👍
Be awsome if u showed installed a whole fuse box to a house or unit
Very useful info.
Hi John I love your videos. If you get time would you be able to make a video on how to crimp lugs? Especially in things like change over switches which all seem to use bolts as connectors so where you need to use lugs to connect to the bolts.
looks like a nice Sheraton vase on the Hammond there John , watch it doesnt go over when your pounding your organ 👍
Looks can be deceiving. Vase is 100% Made in China.
Excellent video
Great tutorial as usual
Thx
For sharing your knowledge.....
Really helpful .
Very clear, thanks JW
great videos. very helpful thank you. you make a great teacher.
What's your opinion on the merits of SP RCBOs vs DP RCBOs'. I see that Wylex (Siemens) have single width DP RCBOs. Can't see that there are other manufactures providing single width DP RCBOs.
Great video John.
Anyway from 9:30 you advice the RCBO's neutral is connected to the main neutral bar and the two RCDs as it were be connected to their own/different neutral bars, reason being it's best the current is kept separate.
My question is the main neutral bar, from wiring standards will definitely have to be looped to the other two neutral bars hence the three neutral bars will be at the same potential, so is it really necessary to put each RCD on different neutral bars????????
Again, in the case where you don't have space to add more neutral bars, what do you do then??????
The three neutral bars are at the same potential, the difference is where the wires go before they get there. Both the line and neutral wires for a particular circuit must pass through the RCD. If the neutral was connected directly, the RCD would sense the full load current on the line, nothing for the neutral and trip with any load.
Well noted.
Can you please do a video on the construction/building of an Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS)?
Bigclivedotcom has done one on those:-
ua-cam.com/video/babtv00R-Nc/v-deo.html
i assume somewhat like a GFI/ AFCI type breaker used in the US. it is interesting that on the UK breakers is more markings of what is going on.
excellent video, I am impressed
Thanks JW this helps
Hello John, I live remotely and am prone to power cuts. I have a 4kVA generator to get things running again whenever this happens. My problem is the RCBOs trip as soon as I connect the gen. I've put a good dedicated Earth on the generator but to no avail. I'm considering replacing the RCBOs with MCBs but thought I'd first pick your brains. Peter
How are you changing between Generator and Grid Supply, Peter? Changeover Switch?
Type Cs may help. designed for use with motors. Anyone care to comment?
Are the narrow RCBOs even available in other countries than UK or IE? In most of Europe you can't get them. My guess is because they are more expensive, contain electronics, and are usually a single pole, so only disconnect the live. The simpler and cheaper double width modules, usually disconnect both L and N, and usually don't contain electronic, and doesn't require extra functional ground.
great explanation. why the neutral cable size in the rcbo is smaller than the old RCD?. thanks
Hi John, really enjoy your videos. Just wondering what approach do you recomend on say a 3 row CU if the neutral fly lead is to short to reach the neutral bar. Is it acceptable to put ferrule on the fly lead and extend it via a wago connector? Thanks
Thank you.
Hi John. Great video as per usual but I have have one niggling question, and that is, are there some ones ashes kept in that urn on the shelf in your office?
It's empty, no ashes there or anywhere else.
Do you think it will eventually be standard where everything has to have an RCBO on every circuit?
Also just on messy wiring you where talking about , would it not be better practice to have a kind of electrical patch panel similar to what we do in computer networks.Rather than each cable run going right into a circuit breaker or RCBO they go into a terminal block ( similar to the neutral and earth bar ) that way you could replace the consumer unit quickly and easily and re wire it to tidy it without having to mess with the cable runs. You could even pre wire everything off site and simply install it into the runs allowing someone else to do that work that possibly is not trained to mess with the consumer unit. Its done all the time in networking and works very well for reducing time on site and costs for the user.
I am surprised consumer units are allowed to be so messy, surly if you have a rats nest of cable going everywhere its hard to tell what your working on , this can lead to dangerous mistakes.
+Andrew Joy Here in Norway you have been required to have 2-pole RCBOs(or 4-pole for 400V 3 phase) for all circuits since 2002. You were allowed to have a single 2-pole RCD (or 4-pole) to protect all your circuits earlier, but all new installations and renovations has to have a RCBO for all circuits.
Here in Germany it's the same. RCDs are necessary for all circuits that are fused with less than 20 A (32 A outside of the house) and are containing a socket that is accessible to electrical laymen. Only one RCD for the whole house is no longer allowed in new installations. This is since 2013, before this in TN-Grids you only needed a RCD in rooms that contained a shower or a bath tub since 1984. Since 2013 the RCBOs are on the rise here in Germany because they need less room in the consumer unit than a cricuit breaker and a RCD.
In Germany the AC only RCDs are banned since 1984. The A-type is common, tripping on AC and pulsating current. Last one is necessary due to the increasing usage of switching power supplies.
Here in the United States, because we usually don't use whole-home RCDs we use RCBOs or RCDs integrated into outlets as needed.
The patch panel approach is sometimes used in industrial installations, this makes it more modular, easier to route wires, and manufacture and test the entire electric cabinet in the factory to the specified design. But usually it is undesirable, as there is a risk of poor mechanical connection on the patch panel, which is an extra point of failure. So usually it is better to get a circuit wires directly to the RCBO. However, with the invent of more reliable clamp connector blocks, which ensure proper cable clamping, and in more complex installations (so called star installation, where all outlets, fixtures AND switches go to central cabinet, so they can be used also as an automated system) it gets more popular.
Thank you
Mr J.w You are the best !
Another superb video John,
regarding not shortening the neutral lead on the RCBO, Is it ok to shorten then fit a Ferrule?
ooops... you answered the question at 11min 30sec
Hello JW, I think RCBO doesn't cover short circuit protection and just adds overload protection. Some electricians use it instead of RCD and main switch which I doubt is acceptable based on standards.
Rcbos don't help with short circuit all they do is increase dirty electricity the test buttons only make it worse
RCBOs cover short circuit, moderate overloads and current imbalance. It's the same protection as a separate circuit breaker and RCD.
@@jwflame can rcbos be replaced with mcbs as rcbos do have a live cable and neutral, the circuits would still work removing the neutral and using an mcb circuit breaker?
someone said to me that the top of breakers is the (IN) and the bottom is the (OUT), you here said the opposite, is there a standard to this or polarity doesn't matter in breakers?
Thanks Mr Ward for the helpful video :-)
Does the above 1P+N RCBO have differential trip indicator..?
Or, is its indicator merely a contact indicator? :-)
At 10:15 you talk about the black lead of the RCBO having the end of the wire being welded into a solid piece, how would shortening the wire and soldering the new end of the wire affect the installation?
'Some diy shed'. I buy nearly everything bar my groceries from these places (naming no names)...🤣
In KSA we have adopted the US system that is split phase 220 / 110 what confused me is that in my home panel there is no bonding between earth bus and the nutral bus like most panel in usa in fact the earh bus is isolated from the panel. Does the earth work in this condition. Any explanation
Is it true you can't just swap an RCBO for an MCB because it would become an unverified assembly? Even if its the same manufacturer? Seems crazy as an RCBO over an MCB should be a huge improvement (if properly tested) whereas the possible risks from tiny differences between parts seems pretty immaterial. 🤔
Good day John...wanted to ask ..say you need to add just one Rcd and the individual circuits will be with RCBO...will the RCD trip as well as the RCBO (if there is a fault) if they are both 30ma? Thanks
Thankyou
Excellent video, but when a RCBO trips, how do we know which caused the trip, an overload or a leakage? With a separate RCD and MCB at least we know what the problem is. Comments appreciated.
On most you don't. Some have a mechanical indicator to show whether it was due to the MCB or RCD part, but that isn't common.
@@jwflame Perhaps it could be made compulsory on RCBOs to have separate indicators in the 18th First amendment...? There's bound to be one!
@@John2E0GTU high ka can trip the rcbo they also cause dirty electricity I eat the radation from the rcbo so I'm all good
hi JW, keep up the good work. just
a small question, do we need seperate neutral bars on top for the rcbo's installed within a regular cheap consumer unit ?
+jasdeep singh No, all of the neutral leads connect to the same neutral bar, which is the same one that circuit neutrals connect to when using MCBs. It's therefore very easy to change from MCB to RCBO.
+John Ward thank u sir...
@@jwflame
You cannot mix mcb with rcbo
I think the thin white lead on the rcbo device is for a earth senser, the present of earth.
🤔
Hello..
Can you make a video on what happens to the neutral cable goes back to the substation or whatever in detailed.
Interesting they include a spirit level device down at the bottom. I guess they'd rather have their equipment installed square on the wall, not at any random angle, so it looks better aesthetically. No relevance to functionality of the unit at all.... but yup, go for aesthetically pleasing over function, that works. Better feedback. more sales.
When you have RCD's and RCBO's in the same board how do you deal with the live into the devices?
With the cheapo arrangement (i.e 1 RCD governing several RCB's) you state that each RCD has to have its neutral connected to a separate neutral bar. However with the RCBO's, the Neutral flying lead can be connected to the same neutral bar (the one from the isolating switch). This seems uncelar to me as this flying neutral lead has the same function as the RCD Neutral lead. So the RCD function of all RCBO' s is connected to the same Neutral bar whereas if RCD's are separate the neutrals have to be connected to separate neutral bars!
For RCBOs the neutral leads are the incoming supply, before the RCD.
For an RCD and multiple MCBs, the neutrals are those for the individual circuits which are connected on the outgoing side of the RCD.
Ahh thank you. That's very clear. I still have the conundrum over the curious "unwritten rule" that you should not mix different manufacturers of the RCBO's in the same consumer unit. Surely they must be made to the same standards and have identical functionality. No need to reply to that John.@@jwflame
Thanks!
Hi John. Good video. I just want to add a circuit breaker. It's a new CU and there is space for additions. Can you advise me?