Electrical experts please

[Bellenden Belle]

Okay I know this is a strange one, but I've just had an electrical safety check done and it's come back with the following:

I need

New dual RCD consumer unit and

main earthing to be upgraded.

So my question - just so I don't sound entirely without knowledge on the phone - is the new dual thing something to do with current regulations and is main earthing the same thing as a total re-wire?

And should I be thinking about selling a kidney to get all this done?

Any thoughts welcome.

[HAL9000]

Wiring regulations are currently in their 17th edition.

You may find these links useful for pricing and to avoid potential pitfalls:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=807257

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technical/DataSheets/Hager/Hager_17.pdf

Re: main earthing - it's not usually a big job: your electricity supplier might do the upgrade for free or a nominal fee - it's worth a try, anyway.

[Bellenden Belle]

Is main earthing a big job Hal? Trying to figure out how much disruption I should expect?

Thanks for the links too.

[HAL9000]

Oops - my edit crossed with your post - see above.

[Lawrence]

It is likely the failure refers to your main earthing conductor, these days they are often too thin for the 17th edition and need uprating to 16mm. Should only involve work between the meter and your (new)consumer unit. But I would not expect your supplier to contribute or help as this is not on their patch.

The dual RCD is to keep up with our increasing hunger for more power and is a very good feature if you separate the circuits with intelligence- basically if the rcd trips because of that poundland charger, your freezer does not defrost.

[SteveT]

There was a Watchdog programme last week about some electrical cowboys doing this type of job,

and ripping people off, surprise surprise.

Have pm'd you.