"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
...
What do I need in terms of circuit breakers. There are MCB's, RCD's and
there seems to be a device which combines both items (RCDO?). I'd like
to keep this as compact as possible and not have a big house sized
consumer unit.

You can buy all in one systems intended for caravans/motor caravans. These
combine the mains protection, polarity reversal, battery charger and
sometimes even an inverter.

However, if you just want a cheap mains system, you need a 16A RCBO in a
small box. Also, you need some way of telling the polarity in case it is
the
wrong way round. It will be cheaper to just turn the plug 180 degrees than
install a polarity reversal switch. I would suggest just getting a simple
plug in mains tester. Each time you set up, it will quickly indicate most
polarity and earth faults using a set of neon lights.

So, I would buy something like the following:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CM91603.html
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/BHCT2.html
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Ind...ter/index.html

Technically you should probably have a 4 way unit with a switch isolator
as
well, but I doubt it is really necessary as the plug provides isolation.


Although not sure, I doubt the RCBO is dual pole switched.

Christian.


The diagram on the front of the RCBO shows that it is triple pole switched
with the third pole disconnecting the test button.

I wonder, do all RCBOs disconnect live and neutral? I always assumed that
they did but assumptions are not enough and I fit very few of these. Has
anyone got a reg to say yes or no to this?

Adam