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Thread: New fuse box

  1. #1
    Join Date: May 2011

    Location: Glasgow

    Posts: 7,718
    I'm Brian.

    Default New fuse box

    I was trying to think of a catchy title for this thread , but in all honesty the subject matter is pretty boring although the outcome may be of interest to some here.
    A couple of months ago my shower packed up and I had to buy a new one . As a true audiophile ( OCD sufferer ) I decided to buy an all singing all dancing top of the range high powered jobby . When the electrician came to fit it he informed me that the cable feeding the shower from the fuse box wasn't thick enough , and was in fact substandard . He also informed me that my old ( fuse-wired ) fuse box was ' falling to bits ' . A bit like me after 3 months nightshift
    What's this got to do with hifi I hear you ask . Well last Saturday the electrician came to rewire the shower and fit a new breaker fuse box and after a couple of hours the job was done . Now I know from past experience that mains cables make a difference to my system , so I was mildly hopeful of an improvement in SQ.
    I was not to be disappointed . On firing up my system I was treated to a very audible improvement in all areas of SQ. Couldn't quite believe how good my system is sounding . Furthermore the system SQ seems to have improved as the week has progressed . Do fuse boxes burn in ?
    Anyway this is one of the best upgrades I have ever made to my system and I'm a very happy chappie
    Anybody else had a similar experience ?

  2. #2
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: Northamptonshire

    Posts: 37
    I'm Richard.

    Default

    Nice one..... could it be that you have a much better shower that cleans your ears out better ? ......

  3. #3
    Join Date: Nov 2008

    Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire/Panteg is where my late father was born

    Posts: 4,382
    I'm Chris.

    Default

    This is timely ,as I have an old Wylex plug in fuse box ,I upgraded the fuses to mcb's but I think its time to get it done properly and get a new consumer unit ! Wylex or MK ?
    Chris

    We've gone on holiday by mistake !

  4. #4
    Join Date: Apr 2011

    Location: Kingston, Surrey, UK

    Posts: 774
    I'm Alex.

    Default

    Roy K. Riches (sp?) is the only person I have found that is obsessive enough to have auditioned different consumer units, and the one he rated most highly is made by Memera 1000/2000 range, made by Eaton.

    I have two, and they are certainly very good - no nuisance trips or other problems as I have experienced with some cheaper makes. It sounds very good too as I put in four MK double sockets, each on it's own circuit using 8mm sq T&E cable while I was redoing the lounge. Possibly overkill, but it wasn't too expensive as I had the floor up in the lounge. There is certainly no buzzes or clicks from appliances on the other ring mains and the noise floor does seems to be lower since this work.

    Cheers,
    A.
    Technics SL1210| Jelco SA-750| Benz Micro ACE SM MC| Squeezebox Touch/MCRU linear PSU | Cambridge Audio 851C | High Resolution Music Streamer II+ / Linestreamer+ | Raspberry Pi 2/IQ-Audio DAC+ / Max2Play | Conrad-Johnson ET3 Control Amplifier| Conrad-Johnson LP125sa KT120 Power Amplifier| Avalon NP Evo 2.0 Speakers| Cardas Audio Quadlink-5C Speaker Cables and Interconnects| Finite Elemente Pagode Signature E-14 equipment support

  5. #5
    Join Date: Nov 2008

    Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire/Panteg is where my late father was born

    Posts: 4,382
    I'm Chris.

    Default

    Be happy with a 10 way MK with RCD , need to find a decent sparky .
    Chris

    We've gone on holiday by mistake !

  6. #6
    Join Date: May 2011

    Location: Glasgow

    Posts: 7,718
    I'm Brian.

    Default

    My new fuse box is a Wylex . I'm fairly sure that the MK will be just as good . Unfortunately the layout of my house makes it fairly difficult to fit a dedicated circuit for my hifi . Maybe one for the future.

  7. #7
    Join Date: Nov 2008

    Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire/Panteg is where my late father was born

    Posts: 4,382
    I'm Chris.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by brian2957 View Post
    My new fuse box is a Wylex . I'm fairly sure that the MK will be just as good . Unfortunately the layout of my house makes it fairly difficult to fit a dedicated circuit for my hifi . Maybe one for the future.
    Same here Brian , my system is in the attic room , so would be fairly costly to have a ring put in but I just want to update my CU , can I ask how much it cost you and were there any issues , like earthing etc ?
    Chris

    We've gone on holiday by mistake !

  8. #8
    Join Date: Feb 2011

    Location: Troon

    Posts: 2,476
    I'm tony.

    Default

    I had the meter changed from an old rotating disk job to a new digital type by nice man from Scottish power recently......noticeable improvement sonically.
    Free of charge to boot! the guy did look at me strangely when asked which replacement would make the hi fi sound best.....think he felt sort of sorry for me!

  9. #9
    Join Date: Nov 2008

    Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire/Panteg is where my late father was born

    Posts: 4,382
    I'm Chris.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by wee tee cee View Post
    I had the meter changed from an old rotating disk job to a new digital type by nice man from Scottish power recently......noticeable improvement sonically.
    Free of charge to boot! the guy did look at me strangely when asked which replacement would make the hi fi sound best.....think he felt sort of sorry for me!
    I find that hard to believe ? Changing the CU perhaps because I'm losing the plug in mcb's which need the pins cleaning 2 or 3 times a year but the meter ?
    Chris

    We've gone on holiday by mistake !

  10. #10
    Join Date: May 2011

    Location: Glasgow

    Posts: 7,718
    I'm Brian.

    Default

    Can't give you specific prices Chris . The electrician supplied the fuse box and approximately 8m of 10mm twin and earth . He fitted the fuse box and installed the new cable to the shower . Total price was £280 . No earthing issues that I'm aware of .I don't think I could have got a similar upgrade to SQ for the same money . I believe this is one of those ' can't get it by any other means ' upgrades. In my opinion every little helps , so I think Tonys experience may be well within the realms of possibility.
    Last edited by brian2957; 15-02-2013 at 01:00.

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