Pre-wired consumer units...

[ondablade]

Hi guys. Most of you will have seen me asking lots of questions on shop wiring. Here's what may be a useful snippet of information for anybody needing to buy a workshop consumer unit.

I spent quite a bit of time figuring out the parts needed, and how to wire one, and was set to order the parts when our local ABB operation told me (when I called to clarify a point about isolator types that the local wholesaler couldn't) that they could supply one pre-wired - and probably at a saving over my buying the parts separately.

It turned out to be a dead convenient and totally painless undertaking - and apart from the saving in my own labour and dandruff (from head scratching) I saved around €20 on a €140 unit. The CU by the way is a 24way split 100A unit with a 63A isolator, an RCD and includes all the MCBs and wiring.

I have an inverter driving my dust system fan and this with the rotary converter for the bandsaw seemed likely to cause nusiance trips in any usefully sized RCD. Everything else - the 4x16A machine sockets, 1x10A supply and 3x13A socket ring mains - is RCD protected. All of the MCBs are C types.

It's very straightforward to install from there forward - just hook up a supply, and the relevant circuit to each MCB.

I'm in ireland, but chances are there's similar services available in the UK...

 

[wobblycogs]

I've not long fitted two pre-wired CUs in our place. They are easy to pick up from ScrewFix / B&Q / etc. They normally come with enough MCBs to get you going and then, if need more, you just buy and plug in extra ways in gaps. I tired pricing the parts too and it turned out more expensive.

 

[ondablade]

There might be 'custom' possibilities about too Wobbly - the ABB service I lucked into allows you to specify the components you need. Five minutes with a knowledgeable tech guy and an e-mail to confirm bottomed it all out.

One blocker I can think of could be that it's maybe a trade service, I'm not sure if they supply to the public per se...