Has anyone had their switchboard upgraded/replaced? Your experiences?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Has anyone had their switchboard upgraded/replaced? Your experiences?

BiffTannen

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#288779 22-Jul-2021 18:57

Looking to upgrade switchboard to a new one with RCD's and arc fault protection as my current board is an old 1980s one with porcelain fuses.

The new board might take up more space than the old one, as combination RCD/AFCI's are quite chunky. Does that mean the electrician has to cut a hole in my wall, how does that aspect work?

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#2748384 22-Jul-2021 19:16

Some of us will do all the work required, but some will ask you to involve a builder... it's case-by-case

Obviously we try to match dimensions in some way, such as width - there are boards that are tall and skinny available

mrdrifter

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#2748385 22-Jul-2021 19:33

Pretty much as snnet described, they come in plenty of sizes. Our replacement for the original 60's board was the same width, and the electrician cut to make the space taller and added a new dwang in mostly for something to screw into. The edge of the new facing covered the cut edges. What was supposed to be a 6-8 hour job took 12-12 hours in the end as the guy that did the work moved really slowly, even his boss commented when he stopped around to check how things were going. It's a big improvement and I like having the circuits laid out properly.

timmmay

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#2748401 22-Jul-2021 20:32

We had ours done recently. We had a very old board, some circuit breakers, some with fuse wire, all set on a board that was made of asbestos. The new one is about 30% smaller than the old one, they put gib around it we'd have to get plastered and painted, but we're getting the place regibbed so it will come out anyway. Took them a full day to do the board, 8 hours, maybe a bit less, we were surprised they didn't have to hunt down any problems.

snnet

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#2748403 22-Jul-2021 20:35

timmmay:

We had ours done recently. We had a very old board, some circuit breakers, some with fuse wire, all set on a board that was made of asbestos. The new one is about 30% smaller than the old one, they put gib around it we'd have to get plastered and painted, but we're getting the place regibbed so it will come out anyway. Took them a full day to do the board, 8 hours, maybe a bit less, we were surprised they didn't have to hunt down any problems.

The dreaded switch on and hope no crossed neutrals are going to trip the RCD at 4pm :P

timmmay

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#2748404 22-Jul-2021 20:36

Yeah, I was sure this old place would have faults but it was fine :)

KiwiSurfer

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#2748406 22-Jul-2021 20:45

My parents in law had their switchboard replaced a few months ago. Think the original was from when the house was built in the 70's. The new one was smaller so had to gib up the hole left vacant next to the new switchboard. Can't remember how long it took all up sorry.

neb

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#2748442 23-Jul-2021 00:09

We had the switchboard at the Casa replaced a few years ago, from 1970s circuit breakers on hardboard to a modern setup with RCDs and proper wiring, inspired by a near-fire on the neighbour's one of a similar vintage. Definitely worth the cost to go from a dodgy not-currently-compliant setup to a properly-done one. The replacement panel was a little bit bigger than the existing one, the sparkie had to move a noggin but apart from that no biggie.

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Arsonist

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#2748453 23-Jul-2021 05:48

Those RCBO AFCI's are pricey!!! But probably worth the peace of mind! Buy once cry once right

timmmay

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#2748454 23-Jul-2021 05:49

I upgraded to Schneider components from the standard cheaper brand. Apparently more reliable. There's a thread on it around here somewhere. Didn't cost a lot.

rscole86

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#2748504 23-Jul-2021 06:55

I'm not sure if our board was the original, or not, but we did the same thing in early 2018 on our 1970 home. Luckily the sparky had room as our board sits in a cinder block wall.
I'm not sure how long it took as the sparky was there all day doing several jobs with a mate.

Upgrade existing switchboard to new RCD and circuit breaker protection. Replace existing asbestos board with PVC panel and mount electrical equipment onto it. Install existing electrical cables and test. Waterproof existing door as best as possible.

Fred99

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#2748671 23-Jul-2021 11:13

snnet:

The dreaded switch on and hope no crossed neutrals are going to trip the RCD at 4pm :P

I was helping our (reg sparky) son with a job a week or so ago which entailed him putting an RCD on an existing circuit that was being extended. Almost had everything back in the van when he powered it up and the RCD tripped. Got lucky and guessed that a double switch he hadn't been near may have been the culprit, sure enough - two neutrals had been connected together from different circuits to each switch by someone long ago and for some unknown reason. Lucky because that only took a few minutes to fix. IIRC the RCD only tripped when a light was switched on that wasn't on the circuit he'd extended and put the RCD on, when the light was powered up there was 0.3V between the N on the new circuit and the neutral bar, when the light was off there was 0v. If he'd not checked then it would have been worse - the customer would have found it when he used the lights - not a good look really.

So he's recently self-employed and has learned that although almost everyone asks for fixed price quotes because "everybody knows" that's what consumers should do, but from his perspective it's not a great idea to give anything firmer than estimates. Most people seem to "get it" - but it's a PITA having to explain why each time.

And this thread reminds me that there's a box full of new RCDs, RCBOs and breakers in the basement and he's late with an important job to do for the fixed price quote of $0.00 as promised, to replace our ancient asbestos switchboard.

PolicyGuy

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#2748677 23-Jul-2021 12:00

Fred99:
And this thread reminds me that there's a box full of new RCDs, RCBOs and breakers in the basement and he's late with an important job to do for the fixed price quote of $0.00 as promised, to replace our ancient asbestos switchboard.

Kids these days! 🙄

😂😂😂

neb

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#2748732 23-Jul-2021 14:27

Arsonist:
Those RCBO AFCI's are pricey!!! But probably worth the peace of mind! Buy once cry once right

Seeing scorched wiring and carbon deposits on the back of a switchboard that's identical to the one you have in your house makes it a lot easier to decide to do it right.

Kickinbac

427 posts

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#2748902 23-Jul-2021 19:00

Arsonist:
Those RCBO AFCI's are pricey!!! But probably worth the peace of mind! Buy once cry once right

I heard they over $200 each!? Does that sound right?

snnet

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#2748943 23-Jul-2021 21:55

timmmay: I upgraded to Schneider components from the standard cheaper brand. Apparently more reliable. There's a thread on it around here somewhere. Didn't cost a lot.

Good that you took that on board. Those cheaper components have been replaced in the Vynco range now (they were GE breakers and RCDs which I had experienced a lot of internal tripping but not physical lever tripping issues) - Vynco finally dropped them for ABB

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