Fuse box replacement.?

Question

Our house is now 38 years old and still has original wiring, (twin & earth cable which still seems to function ok)
Our fuse box is a Wylex 6 way box with cartridge fuses.

As a first step due to cost and disruption would a qualified electrician fit a new fuse box and test the existing circuits.
What certificate would we be supplied with to say the new fuse box was ok and the existing circuits were still in order.

Could a rewire then be done in stages at a later date again by a qualified electrician?

All the sockets and light fittings are fairly new as replacements and yes all fittings are earthed.

Answer 1

No problem, a circuit breaker consumer unit will make your house safer as it'll protect you against earth leakage.

However,a few of points to note:

changing consumer units is now covered by Part P regulations and you should expect sparky to know about this. ( planning control at your council probably have a leaflet explaining the process )

Go for a split unit - have your sockets on an RCD and lights not. This means that if your have an earth fault the lights stay on - lighting is clasess as "safe by position" so doesn't need earth protection ( generally ) othewr than the earth link.

Fitting a RCD breaker unit can uncover earth faults already in your house. This is a good thing but be prepared that a fault may show up and sparky will have to do a bit a rooting around to find any faults . These are often earth wires touching neutrals in sockets etc and fires waiting to happen - the ELCB and circuit breaker consumer unit will improve your safety.

£100 for the unit and £150 to change it ( plus 4 cups of coffee )

also, it is recommended that house wiring be replaced every 20 years. Not many people do, and its a job to tacke when your ready to redecorate. However, jsut because 38 year on wiring "looks ok" doesn't mean it is.

Answer 2

There is a company in Herts that do full rewires and supply and fit new light fittings on a credit scheme. Fully bonded and certified. Works out inexpensive. An electrician would change just the consumer unit but no warrant or guarantee would be available to the original wiring. Contact me if you need their details. Allow between £30 and £40 per point when calculating the cost. Good luck.

Answer 3

Not sure if he would fit a new consumer unit to old wires but I don't see why not if they are working OK. Changing the old consumer unit for a new one is a good investment.
Not sure of what certification you'll get though.

I rewired my old house and got the spark in to wire up the new consumer unit. He just wired it all in and went round testing the sockets and things 'till he was satisfied.

I intend doing the same to this house only the laws have changed a bit since the last time so I'm not sure if I'll have to get a spark to do the lot.

Answer 4

Yes to all these questions.
The fuse box (consumer unit) should be replaced by one with miniature circuit breakers. That's a job for an electrician.
The power circuit (13 amp sockets) is probably fine for the time being so long as nothing is getting hot. It's due for replacement since the sockets will be getting worn and the cable may be stressed in places.
The lighting circuit is probably the most urgent since it's unlikely to be earthed.

Answer 5

There is what "could" be done and what an electrician "will" do. Technically, you could replace the old box with a new breaker box and it will "work". Probably dangerous and something that any electrician that is worth his hourlly rate will not do. You need to perform the full re-wire in conjunction with the new box. Probably will need new service feed and meter from the company as well.

Answer 6

(30 year master electrician) Rewire the whole house...
either that or surely soon something bad will happen, wires get old and brittle, the insulation on them gets old, and either cracks off, or wears off . New wires are a small amount compared to what will eventually happen... wires DO NOT last forever...although many believe they do....my garage is filled with items that caused fires, and amounst them is 30 -40 year old wires attached to outlets or switches

Answer 7

the actual replacement of the panel, isn't too expensive, however if you intend to have it inspected, or if it needs to pass code, you cannot just replace the panel you MUST bring the entire home up to code. as long as the old box is in there even if it's a 1950s model box it is under the 1950s code and is allowable. by replacing the panel you will have to bring it up to the 2009 code.

Answer 8

Russell, are you in UK? if so, you won't be able to have a fuse box, the old cartridge fuses are no longer fitted by law. Trip switches are used instead.