cutoff fuse 60A to 100A?

[bluesky]

Dear all,

Just updated a very old fuse in an old house, the cable has been changed from 6mm to 25mm, when i took of the cut-off fuse i noticed that the fuse is only 60A, attempted to change it to 100A, but then noticed that the supply live cable is steel cable and about 16mm, so should i change it to 100A fuse or leave it to the supplier? can 16mm steel cable afford 100A?

cheers in advance

 

[DurhamSparky]

why are you even contemplating changing the suppliers fuse!!!!

its not your property and will get you in serious trouble if some thing was to happen...!! leave it alone and let supplier make their mind up..!

 

[TPES]

Never touch the meter or anything before it..

 

[IQ Electrical]

It's more likely to be aluminium but as the other guys have said, do not interfere with the supply fuse!

 

[truckster]

Just to emphasise the point DO NOT TOUCH THE FUSE!! The DNO's get really p*ssy. OK, back away from the fuse

 

[ezzzekiel]

cant see the problem with opening the meter to change tails or pulling the fuse for safe working but dont think changing the fuse myself is a good idea

just to add all the above is illegal not recomended or considered good practice so dont take any of my advise do as you choose and like me if it all goes pete tong then its only you to blame....

 

[truckster]

cant see the problem with opening the meter to change tails or pulling the fuse for safe working but dont think changing the fuse myself is a good idea

er, cos it's illegal?

just to add all the above is illegal not recomended or considered good practice so dont take any of my advise do as you choose and like me if it all goes pete tong then its only you to blame....


Oh, you knew that

As I have said in another post when I was o the books one of our guys was sent to a holiday cottage that had no power, my mate found the fault straightaway, fixed it and did all the tests. The cut out wasn't sealed and as he had a fuse in his van he replaced it so the grockles could enjoy their holiday. Boss rang the DNO to get the fuse resealed and all hell broke loose. My mate and the company narrowly escaped prosecution so I would stay well away from the fuse.

 

[netblindpaul]

Here we go again, when will people learn!

 

[Des 56]

Here we go again, when will people learn!

I am starting to understand your opinions and beginning to question some of my own attitudes

 

[netblindpaul]

Des,
IMHO it is a bit like well why bother with the DNO at all, just let the sparks look after the National Grid as they see fit.
Once the Electrical Trainee get hold of it and we will have no one else to blame but ourselves when we have nationwide power cuts because some Muppet has incorrectly connected something and taken out a couple of 400kV backbones.
Shame though, it would sort the wheat from the chaff.

 

[truckster]

The subject of who could pull the fuse was studied last year and obviously the DNO' were set against it for the reason Netblindpaul has stated.

 

[ezzzekiel]

a meter engineer takes about half a day to be trained for pto on how to pull a service fuse cant see how a fully qualified spark can be deemed less capable, changing fuse size without knowing the correct info is a different matter but for purely pulling or replacing like for like then its not brain surgery.

 

[boberty]

Had to replace fuse in own cut out when it blew due to the fact it was original from when house was built in 1950's. The rating was 32amps, ok for back then but house was rewiered previous to us buying it and test sheets said 60 at mains. So they cant have checked the rating for the test sheet. when DNO guy put new digital meter in he wasn't bothered i'd cut seals to uprate fuse to suit modern installation needs. Which was an 80 i'd removed from an old farm submain that week.

 

[truckster]

The problem is when you allow anyone to pull the fuse you can't be sure that they are are going to replace it with the same one. The DNO's restrict the supply to 19KW for supply/network reasons, if everyone starts upping their fuses and drawing more power then all their calculations go out the window.

I used to think it was just protectionism on their part and why can't a fully qualified sparks pull the fuse and replace it saving the cost/inconvenience of getting the DNO in but having read through the report(can't find the link) I am now more of the opinion that keeping the cutout under the control of the networks is pretty vital.

Allowing anyone else to play around with the fuses is asking for trouble, you, me and all the other guys on here may be sensible enough to pull and replace but how can you then guard against the pillocks who will put 100A fuses in everything?

 

[ezzzekiel]

very valid point and good argument, unfortunately it is nigh on impossible to work around the dno when fuses need removing and if they are not willing to offer free courses or run some sort of authorisation scheme then they should be installing isolators at every property the situation as it stands is simply not good enough.

 

[1shortcircuit]

There is in my opinion an easy solution to this.

All sparks that want to be able to pull the fuse for isolation purposes have to pay a small fee to the DNO to go and do the half day course. All isolators and seals etc can then be purchased by that spark from the DNO directly?

surely anyone who is serious enough about the work they carry out, their lives and the lives and property around them will not even flinch at this suggestion???

Replacing a blown fuse however I still believe should be the responsibility of the DNO.

Just my 2pence worth

 

[1shortcircuit]

very valid point and good argument, unfortunately it is nigh on impossible to work around the dno when fuses need removing and if they are not willing to offer free courses or run some sort of authorisation scheme then they should be installing isolators at every property the situation as it stands is simply not good enough.

Not sure how I missed your post ezzzekiel

 

[truckster]

very valid point and good argument, unfortunately it is nigh on impossible to work around the dno when fuses need removing and if they are not willing to offer free courses or run some sort of authorisation scheme then they should be installing isolators at every property the situation as it stands is simply not good enough.

Couldn't agree more but even the system shortcircuit suggests has been kicked around and dismissed by the DNO's.

Take Part P for instance, a totally crap idea that costs genuine sparks money and puts their bills up whilst having zero effect on the chancers that will undercut you because they don't pay out for registration or insurance.

All that is needed to ensure safety is to make it compulsory for every job to be certificated with a registration number unique to each sparks. If the customer has work done which results in damage or injury the sparks respnsible is identifiable and liable. If no certificate is presented the customer is liable and their insurance invalid. Might make the skinflints a bit more wary of employing unregistered ****s
But of course, where's the governments cut in that idea??

Off my soapbox now

 

[NMc]

Like all the threads have said you should not be in the cut out

Similar to an electrical installation you design when you apply max demand and diverisity the DNO do the same to their network. It may have a 60A for a reason

Stay clear

 

[robsparky1975]

Also a bit of a safety issue for them,even though we have more common sense,when fuses are pulled,if anything went wrong they would also have to prove that there was nothing wrong with what they have installed,hence they say do not touch our equiptment,did know a sparks a few years back who was given temp seals by the SEB,but as you say they have moved the goalposts,i think its all down to the EU safety bits as well.