There seem to be so many different types of mcb, and I'm wondering which
one might be suitable to replace the old wired fuses.
There is one mcb in the board already controlling the cooker but when I
took it to the local wholesaler, they couldn't find anything with the
same prong positions.TIA

In article , stuart noble
writes

There seem to be so many different types of mcb, and I'm wondering which
one might be suitable to replace the old wired fuses.
There is one mcb in the board already controlling the cooker but when I
took it to the local wholesaler, they couldn't find anything with the
same prong positions.TIA

Wylex plug-in MCBs (to replace fuses) have to match the socket shroud
into which they are plugged, so should come supplied with the
appropriate shroud.

The pics here explain all:

http://www.fastlec.co.uk/wylex-plug-..._1954_395.html

The shroud matches the colour of the dots on the old fuses, so white for
6A, blue for 16A, yellow for 20A, red for 30A, orange for 40A.

There's two types, flippy switch as pictured above, and push-in buttons.

The pins are different sizes, to stop you doing something daft like
plugging a 40A breaker into a 6A lighting circuit.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

In article ,
Mike Tomlinson writes:
In article , stuart noble
writes

There seem to be so many different types of mcb, and I'm wondering which
one might be suitable to replace the old wired fuses.
There is one mcb in the board already controlling the cooker but when I
took it to the local wholesaler, they couldn't find anything with the
same prong positions.TIA

Wylex plug-in MCBs (to replace fuses) have to match the socket shroud
into which they are plugged, so should come supplied with the
appropriate shroud.

The pics here explain all:

http://www.fastlec.co.uk/wylex-plug-..._1954_395.html

The shroud matches the colour of the dots on the old fuses, so white for
6A, blue for 16A, yellow for 20A, red for 30A, orange for 40A.

There's two types, flippy switch as pictured above, and push-in buttons.

I think the push buttons are older. They have a very low
breaking capacity (1000A) compared with just about any
other MCB. The switch type are 3000A, IIRC. Most other
vendor's domestic MCBs are 6000A breaking capacity.

The pins are different sizes, to stop you doing something daft like
plugging a 40A breaker into a 6A lighting circuit.

Oh, never noticed that.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 07/09/2012 12:15, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
In article , stuart noble
writes

There seem to be so many different types of mcb, and I'm wondering which
one might be suitable to replace the old wired fuses.
There is one mcb in the board already controlling the cooker but when I
took it to the local wholesaler, they couldn't find anything with the
same prong positions.TIA

Wylex plug-in MCBs (to replace fuses) have to match the socket shroud
into which they are plugged, so should come supplied with the
appropriate shroud.

The pics here explain all:

http://www.fastlec.co.uk/wylex-plug-..._1954_395.html

The shroud matches the colour of the dots on the old fuses, so white for
6A, blue for 16A, yellow for 20A, red for 30A, orange for 40A.

There's two types, flippy switch as pictured above, and push-in buttons.

The pins are different sizes, to stop you doing something daft like
plugging a 40A breaker into a 6A lighting circuit.


Thanks for the link.
What worried me was that the prongs on the one we already have didn't
match what the wholesaler said was their equivalent, so I doubt whether
the others in the range would have fitted either.

On Friday, September 7, 2012 12:00:09 PM UTC+1, stuart noble wrote:
There seem to be so many different types of mcb, and I'm wondering which

one might be suitable to replace the old wired fuses.

There is one mcb in the board already controlling the cooker but when I

took it to the local wholesaler, they couldn't find anything with the

same prong positions.TIA

Sounds like you need another wholesaler, they're a standard item.


NT

on 07/09/2012, stuart noble supposed :
There is one mcb in the board already controlling the cooker but when I took
it to the local wholesaler, they couldn't find anything with the same prong
positions.TIA

I am not surprised, they were a 1970's item. They appeared first with
fuse wire version, then later along came the MCB's for converting them,
or new install. They were never that popular, I didn't come across many
with MCB's when compared to ordinary fuses in that style. The best bet
is to replace the entire unit with a new one, but if that is not an
option, you might find some on ebay.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

On 07/09/2012 15:21, wrote:
On Friday, September 7, 2012 12:00:09 PM UTC+1, stuart noble wrote:
There seem to be so many different types of mcb, and I'm wondering which

one might be suitable to replace the old wired fuses.

There is one mcb in the board already controlling the cooker but when I

took it to the local wholesaler, they couldn't find anything with the

same prong positions.TIA

Sounds like you need another wholesaler, they're a standard item.


NT

Even B&Q do Wylex plug in MCBs - so you could take a look yourself and
see whether you can find if it matches.

D

On 07/09/2012 16:38, David Hearn wrote:
On 07/09/2012 15:21, wrote:
On Friday, September 7, 2012 12:00:09 PM UTC+1, stuart noble wrote:
There seem to be so many different types of mcb, and I'm wondering which

one might be suitable to replace the old wired fuses.

There is one mcb in the board already controlling the cooker but when I

took it to the local wholesaler, they couldn't find anything with the

same prong positions.TIA

Sounds like you need another wholesaler, they're a standard item.


NT

Even B&Q do Wylex plug in MCBs - so you could take a look yourself and
see whether you can find if it matches.

D


Good idea. Thanks.
Hmm, seems to be reserve and collect only, but I'll check next time I'm
passing

Mike Tomlinson wrote:

The pins are different sizes, to stop you doing something daft like
plugging a 40A breaker into a 6A lighting circuit.

Killjoys.

Bill

On Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:00:09 +0100, stuart noble
wrote:

There seem to be so many different types of mcb, and I'm wondering which
one might be suitable to replace the old wired fuses.
There is one mcb in the board already controlling the cooker but when I
took it to the local wholesaler, they couldn't find anything with the
same prong positions.TIA

GE Minitrips used to be the best substitute for these.
You need the whole unit not just the trip.

On 7 Sep,
(Andrew Gabriel) wrote:

I think the push buttons are older. They have a very low
breaking capacity (1000A) compared with just about any
other MCB. The switch type are 3000A, IIRC. Most other
vendor's domestic MCBs are 6000A breaking capacity.

The pins are different sizes, to stop you doing something daft like
plugging a 40A breaker into a 6A lighting circuit.

Oh, never noticed that.

Also the MCB pins are in a different position to those of fuses of the same
rating, so you can't just change a fuse for a breaker without also changing
the shroud.

--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

In article ,
writes:
On 7 Sep,
(Andrew Gabriel) wrote:

I think the push buttons are older. They have a very low
breaking capacity (1000A) compared with just about any
other MCB. The switch type are 3000A, IIRC. Most other
vendor's domestic MCBs are 6000A breaking capacity.

The pins are different sizes, to stop you doing something daft like
plugging a 40A breaker into a 6A lighting circuit.

Oh, never noticed that.

Also the MCB pins are in a different position to those of fuses of the same
rating, so you can't just change a fuse for a breaker without also changing
the shroud.

ISTR that I had noticed the rewirable and cartridge fuse
carriers were not interchangable for this reason.

Cartridge fuses as an option for new CU's seems to have
gone now, probably because BS1361 was withdrawn a couple
of years ago.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]