Breaking Main Fuse Seal..

[LlandrilloSpark]

Me......I just cut the frikkin seals , what's the damn point messing around or lying!

There , I said it, god I got it off my chest !

 

[Guest55]

anyone who advocates working live on a cable thats backed up only by a 100A service fuse just to avoid cutting a wire seal is , quite frankly , mad.

it hardly tallies up in the risk vs gain ratio does it ?
just pull the fuse out.

 

[Guest111]

Me......I just cut the frikkin seals , what's the damn point messing around or lying!

There , I said it, god I got it off my chest !

Exactly in the words of the great monty python GET ON WITH IT! lol

 

[Stroppy]

Guys, I'll PM you her number for the lashes The fact shes does it with live meter tails which are more than 3 metres long laced with cut seals gives it an added 'frisson' OMG, I'm off for a cold shower...

 

[Guest111]

anyone who advocates working live on a cable thats backed up only by a 100A service fuse just to avoid cutting a wire seal is , quite frankly , mad.

it hardly tallies up in the risk vs gain ratio does it ?
just pull the fuse out.

have you not read my signature then?

 

[Knobhead]

anyone who advocates working live on a cable thats backed up only by a 100A service fuse just to avoid cutting a wire seal is , quite frankly , mad.

it hardly tallies up in the risk vs gain ratio does it ?
just pull the fuse out.

What's 100A got to do with it? It goes quicker than a 600A no blow special.

 

[LlandrilloSpark]

I mean, I don't work in an unsafe fashion but imagine your in a situation. (School/hospital) and you can't isolate, you have a damaged socket, ask your self if your a skilled, trained spark with the right tools could you change a socket front without isolating the supply?, pretty sure I could

 

[Knobhead]

This one got me woried

 

[GLENNSPARK]

I mean, I don't work in an unsafe fashion but imagine your in a situation. (School/hospital) and you can't isolate, you have a damaged socket, ask your self if your a skilled, trained spark with the right tools could you change a socket front without isolating the supply?, pretty sure I could

i`v done it...

 

[Guest55]

What's 100A got to do with it?

i thought the topic was discussing domestic cut-outs which are limited to 100a ?

 

[Guest55]

.... It goes quicker than a 600A no blow special.

so that makes it a much safer idea to work on live tails that can be otherwise isolated ?

 

[Sparkyphill]

I'd much rather change a CU 'live', moving the tails with properly insulated tools and PPE to a temporary Henley block if necessary, than try to pull an ancient pre-war ceramic or bakelite fuse and risk it crumbing in my hand, and risking the fuse-police coming and giving me 20 lashes, or whatever happens these days.

If you come across a metal clad main fuse with ceramic fuses or anything that doesn't look to clever call the lecy board and tell them about it, throw in words like 'feels warm to the touch' and 'I'm getting a burning smell from it' they'll be out sharpish and replace it along with a DP isolator so problem solved

 

[Stuuk1]

Although it is an easy process to remove it, incorrect removal can be either fatal due to the high voltage etc, or end up with a broken fuse or carrier and then you will need to pay them to come and fix it whilst trying to explain to them why you removed it in the first place. This is why they wired with a security seal as to attempt to prevent unauthorised removal. If you remove the fuse, you are in breach of your contract with the supply company and have commited a criminal act.

Although its straight forward enuogh, unless it comes out in one go you are likely to run into problems. I will not touch the main fuse as would rather not have the hassle. If you are going to do it, my advise would that, you shouldnt, but if you do, ensure theres NO LOAD, so switch the consumer unit off, then take firm hold of it and pull it out in one smooth but swift movement. Thats my thoughts anyway.

Personally if i ever had to for whatever reason have to remove one, I would take all measures needed to prevent killing myself, so would ensure I was wearing insulated shoes, appropriate rubber gloves, and some form of mask, then hope for the best. I know this is more than likely over kill, but id rather not do it, just incase it breaks it, as you will not be able to fix it without third party help.

Oh and when you do put it back in, try and get the pins to connect at the same time, and push it in firmly in one go, dont mess about with it.

Best of luck!

Haha this is ridiculous... I must remember to wear my 1000v gauntlets each time I go near anything electrical

 

[whazza22]

Is there a sneaky way to get a dp isolator installed for free?

 

[Stroppy]

 

[Plonker 3]

Is there a sneaky way to get a dp isolator installed for free?

Yes. They will invoice once the work is carried out, so simply dont pay the bill.

 

[whazza22]

Yes. They will invoice once the work is carried out, so simply dont pay the bill.

Surely they will keep chasing you until you pay up?

 

[Des 56]

Electricians working with live electricity,shock,horror, :89:
Keep muttering Health and safety,Health and safety Health and Safety,make a wish and it will go away :shame:


Maybe it's time,once again, that we train them to work with this force of nature,instead of going into cardiac arrest each time the danger of working with it is mentioned

 

[Plonker 3]

Surely they will keep chasing you until you pay up?

Well just refuse to pay. I am sure you dont mind your customers not paying you for work you do for them?

 

[jonni770]

Whats wrong with you guys. Just snip the seal remove fuse and put back when you finish if your that concerned bout the law ect order some seals from ebay and replace when your done.

 

[Plonker 3]

Whats wrong with you guys. Just snip the seal remove fuse and put back when you finish if your that concerned bout the law ect order some seals from ebay and replace when your done.

Do you also find burgalry a good past time? How about beating up people that sounds like it would be fun too. Hey why not also get ****ed and drive home.

 

[Robert Turnbull]

Not wishing to sound ---- here, but I was making a general reference to what most people would class as a "high" enough "voltage" to kill you.

Explain the difference between the voltage at the fuse and the voltage in a light fitting ?

If your worried about the lack of fuse
It only takes 3 milliamps to kill.
So by the time any rated breaker trips your 100 times over that.

But we talking amps not volts
Current kills

Anyway Don't touch the fuse
I've heard bad things happen

 

[Hawk81]

Whats wrong with you guys. Just snip the seal remove fuse and put back when you finish if your that concerned bout the law ect order some seals from ebay and replace when your done.

At close inspection the DNO will know those are not the seals they fitted as each seal is crimped with a pair of crimpers that has a number on it which is marked onto the lead. Each number is dedicated to each meter fitter for the DNO. At least that's how NIE(Power NI) do it here in Northern Ireland

 

[Robert Turnbull]

Whats wrong with you guys. Just snip the seal remove fuse and put back when you finish if your that concerned bout the law ect order some seals from ebay and replace when your done.

At close inspection the DNO will know those are not the seals they fitted as each seal is crimped with a pair of crimpers that has a number on it which is marked onto the lead. Each number is dedicated to each meter fitter for the DNO. At least that's how NIE(Power NI) do it here in Northern Ireland

How often do you have seal number inspections in Ireland?

They not That regular over here

 

[snowhead]

Each number is dedicated to each meter fitter for the DNO. At least that's how NIE(Power NI) do it here in Northern Ireland

Still would be traceable here, except every man and all his dogs can fit meters.
DNO here would only fit meters at the request of the supplier.
There must be tens of thousands of I.D's around nowadays in the U.K

 

[Knobhead]

In the day when they did bother about seal ID's they never noticed I'd got MEB seals on my NWEB meter.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

look, if anyones that bothered about getting caught....


FLAG FERRULES SECURITY SEALS/ELECTRIC METER/KWH/TAGS

 

[Adam W]

Years ago the DNO would come out and connect properties, and they're authorised to cut the seal, pull the fuse and reseal it afterwards. Nowadays new installations are fitted with a DP isolator at the intake so the CU can be changed without pulling the fuse. Obviously older installations won't have an isolator, so one should be fitted by the DNO before you change the CU.
Members of certain competent persons' schemes are authorised to pull fuses and reseal with a temporary seal provided the DNO are notified within a certain timescale so they can come and reseal, otherwise the only time you can pull the fuse is in the event of an emergency, when the DNO should be notified at the earliest available opportunity.

If you pull the fuse then LABC come and inspect it, they're probably going to ask how you managed to isolate the supply.

 

[Plonker 3]

Years ago the DNO would come out and connect properties, and they're authorised to cut the seal, pull the fuse and reseal it afterwards. Nowadays new installations are fitted with a DP isolator at the intake so the CU can be changed without pulling the fuse. Obviously older installations won't have an isolator, so one should be fitted by the DNO before you change the CU.
Members of certain competent persons' schemes are authorised to pull fuses and reseal with a temporary seal provided the DNO are notified within a certain timescale so they can come and reseal, otherwise the only time you can pull the fuse is in the event of an emergency, when the DNO should be notified at the earliest available opportunity.

Or if you get called out late at night and don't have a spare one on the van ask on here if someone has one lying round so you don.t have to disturb the DNO late at night.

 

[Robert Turnbull]

Years ago the DNO would come out and connect properties, and they're authorised to cut the seal, pull the fuse and reseal it afterwards. Nowadays new installations are fitted with a DP isolator at the intake so the CU can be changed without pulling the fuse. Obviously older installations won't have an isolator, so one should be fitted by the DNO before you change the CU.
Members of certain competent persons' schemes are authorised to pull fuses and reseal with a temporary seal provided the DNO are notified within a certain timescale so they can come and reseal, otherwise the only time you can pull the fuse is in the event of an emergency, when the DNO should be notified at the earliest available opportunity.

Or if you get called out late at night and don't have a spare one on the van ask on here if someone has one lying round so you don.t have to disturb the DNO late at night.

Silly mistake not having a spare.

 

[Knobhead]

Or if you get called out late at night and don't have a spare one on the van ask on here if someone has one lying round so you don.t have to disturb the DNO late at night.

http://www.electriciansforums.net/electrical-forum-general-electrical-forum/69468-urgent.html

 

[Geordie Spark]

http://www.electriciansforums.net/electrical-forum-general-electrical-forum/69468-urgent.html

That's the one !!!

 

[Plonker 3]

Silly mistake not having a spare.

How do you find it funny ripping people off?

 

[Robert Turnbull]

How do you find it funny ripping people off?

I didn't rip anyone off. I went and found the fault. That's what they paid for. I just saved the dno a visit at the same time. No more cost involved because I stuck a fuse in.

 

[Geordie Spark]

 

[Plonker 3]

Power off at 10 pm, you turn up pull fuse, on here at 8 AM looking for fuse, that 10 hours without power. Someone else said the DNO will turn up within 4 hours of turning up and change fuse thats at least 6 hours quicker than you were. So a few hours charged by you, compared to maybe 2 hours max fault finding.


The DNO also would probably not charged for the fuse unlike yourself.

 

[Knobhead]

I didn't rip anyone off. I went and found the fault. That's what they paid for. I just saved the dno a visit at the same time. No more cost involved because I stuck a fuse in.

Be interesting to compare the DNO's charge to yours.

 

[Hawk81]

How often do you have seal number inspections in Ireland?

They not That regular over here

Firstly it's Northern Ireland not Ireland I was talking about. when a meter is being read they are supposed to check the seals. Not saying its always done but its supposed to be done.

 

[Robert Turnbull]

Power off at 10 pm, you turn up pull fuse, on here at 8 AM looking for fuse, that 10 hours without power. Someone else said the DNO will turn up within 4 hours of turning up and change fuse thats at least 6 hours quicker than you were. So a few hours charged by you, compared to maybe 2 hours max fault finding.


The DNO also would probably not charged for the fuse unlike yourself.

They still wouldn't of had power if the dno had come because they had a fault!

why do u not under stand that???? I stopped looking for a fault after 45 mins of looking because they were been charged a lot of money, and 2 I couldn't be certain it was fixed till the supply was back.

When a house is pitch black other than torches and loads of stuff plugged in lamps in situ and appliances wired in it. You can't say just how long the fault will take to find.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

same here hawk....
meterman told me this one the other day....i had asked him just off the cuff how he would react if he saw a meter seal had been removed
say if:
a) the seal had been removed but there had been evidence of recent work carried out....such as a new board

or

b)seals removed but no evidence of works having been carried out..

his response to both?

well i have to report them anyway regardless.

 

[Plonker 3]

They still wouldn't of had power if the dno had come because they had a fault!

why do u not under stand that???? I stopped looking for a fault after 45 mins of looking because they were been charged a lot of money, and 2 I couldn't be certain it was fixed till the supply was back.

When a house is pitch black other than torches and loads of stuff plugged in lamps in situ and appliances wired in it. You can't say just how long the fault will take to find.

I understand there was a fault, read my post and you will see I never mentioned anything about fault finding being overcharged.

10 hours without power compared to a maximum of 4 with DNO being informed is just stupid, now justify your logic there.

Then justify charging for a service that will almost certainly of been provided for FREE by the ONLY people allowed to change the fuse.

Once you can do this I will believe you didn't rip anyone off.

 

[Robert Turnbull]

I understand there was a fault, read my post and you will see I never mentioned anything about fault finding being overcharged.

10 hours without power compared to a maximum of 4 with DNO being informed is just stupid, now justify your logic there.

Then justify charging for a service that will almost certainly of been provided for FREE by the ONLY people allowed to change the fuse.

Once you can do this I will believe you didn't rip anyone off.

they paid no extra a fuse that's how I justify that if the dno had come with a fuse and fitted it. It would have gone pop!! If they had changed the fuse and left it out (which they wouldn't have) it still wouldn't have been on till the morning.

i found the fault in the morning. So they had called the dno then, they would of had to wait another 4 hours.

If I'd sat for 2-4 hours waiting for the dno at 11pm then obviously going to be a waste of my time, and their time. I think they were happy to go to bed and wake up to me knocking on the door and sorting it out.

 

[Plonker 3]

Why did you go fault finding and then not carry out a simple IR test which would have shown the faulty circuit, isolate faulty circuit, call DNO then return to find fault following day.

Why would you have to wait for the DNO to turn up?

 

[Robert Turnbull]

Why did you go fault finding and then not carry out a simple IR test which would have shown the faulty circuit, isolate faulty circuit, call DNO then return to find fault following day.

Why would you have to wait for the DNO to turn up?

I could have done, and maybe should have, and maybe would do in the future,
but as it was late and the customer was fairly old I though it would be easier and less disruption to not have to wait up. Also he had to work in the morning.

Looking back I just could have turned all the fuse boards off.

But all still equates to the same time on the job and the same bill. So please don't say I rip people off. If I changed a fuse for no charge that's my bad.

 

[MDJ]

My argument here with fixit was the fact he was giving out advise to a spark about cutting the thingy as he called it when he didn't have a clue what he was talking about, whether a fuse if pulled or not is down to the individual tradesman, not a flyby night giving out advise which they haven't done themselves, I don't like DIYers telling tradesmen what to do LMAO.

 

[Guest111]

Explain the difference between the voltage at the fuse and the voltage in a light fitting ?

If your worried about the lack of fuse
It only takes 3 milliamps to kill.
So by the time any rated breaker trips your 100 times over that.

But we talking amps not volts
Current kills

Anyway Don't touch the fuse
I've heard bad things happen

Well thats me educated then,the only question is if it takes only 3 milliamps to kill then why have 30 milliamp rcd's ?I think you will find it's actually 50 milliamps or above that can kill.I have put the figures up before but this time I cannot be bothered,seems like we have another Electrical Trainee amongst us.

 

[Sparkyphill]

Well thats me educated then,the only question is if it takes only 3 milliamps to kill then why have 30 milliamp rcd's ?I think you will find it's actually 50 milliamps or above that can kill.I have put the figures up before but this time I cannot be bothered,seems like we have another Electrical Trainee amongst us.

:iagree:

 

[Guest111]

:iagree:

tried to pm you,empty your inbox.

- - - Updated - - -

:iagree:

tried to pm you,empty your inbox.

 

[Knobhead]

:iagree:

:iagree:

 

[Robert Turnbull]

Well thats me educated then,the only question is if it takes only 3 milliamps to kill then why have 30 milliamp rcd's ?I think you will find it's actually 50 milliamps or above that can kill.I have put the figures up before but this time I cannot be bothered,seems like we have another Electrical Trainee amongst us.

:iagree:

Not every install as a rcd!

And I'm no Electrical Trainee, I did my years at college. And have 10 years on the tools.

30-50 would be a better number, I missed a 0 off. But my point was its not the voltage it's the current. And you shouldn't be any less worried about the supply in a install than the supply at the main fuse.

I'm not pretending I know everything

That's why I joined here. Plenty to learn from u guys.