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It is a 3ph meter on a 1ph supply. I have no idea why he didn't use a Henley block on the live side - but he used two phases on the meter and fitted two isolators to feed the 4 fuseboards o_O
Photos of the "workmanship" of the sort that such targets, plus the use of "not exceedingly well trained" meter fitters produces :eek: The OP clearly sets himself higher standards judging by the way he's asking the questions :thumbsup:

Yes, these tails are fully inserted. The neutral here actually came out of the terminal when I moved the tail while working out what went where :rolleyes:
Overtightening Meter Terminals 20190430_121803 - EletriciansForums.net

And the complete work of art. Bonus points if you can spot what's going on with the neutrals !
Overtightening Meter Terminals 20180331_111931 - EletriciansForums.net


BTW, if anyone wants any of the old fuseboards for their museum, they are yours for the postage.
 
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We aren’t aloud to put 19 strand into a meter. Have to be blocked or replaced if we find those.
Well that sounds like a rule dreamed up by a complete idiot. The mind boggles at why you would be forced to replace a good cable with a very inferior one. Whoever dreamed that rule up would have kittens if they saw what I used on the church job - lovely easy to work with 6381Y :cool:
 
Hello guys and girls I was wondering if you have any advice to give to a meter installer. I’m often worried about over-tightening terminals inside the meter. How easy is it to break the strands on 16mm copper or 25mm? I tighten the terminal until I can’t tighten them anymore. But I’d this right or should I be just tightening until I feel enough resistance? We never used to have this problem with the old meters as they were flat head terminals and you couldn’t get a lot of torque on them. But these Modular screws with plus and minus screw drivers get a lot of torque on them and I’m worried I could damage the strands.
The problem is Flipsy, all pride has disappeared from many parts of this electrical trade, all emphasis is on targets not workmanship, from reading through this thread, there have been some shocking revelations, people using impact drivers to tighten connections, one very good idea was posted by Westward 10, binding the bare conductor with a strand of scrap wire, I will ad that during my apprenticeship I was always taught to do this, as well as tinning the connection as an extra precaution ( using a Mentholated Spirit blow lamp) whatever happened to those? most of the Electricians I worked under had these items in their tool kits.

Mind you in those days Electricians were trained properly, and of course, this method doesn't fit in with todays bish bash bosh culture more's the pity.

Sorry for the rant, ask your employer for a torque screwdriver set to enable you to maintain the correct setting for the connections, the trouble is they may stick you down as a trouble maker, a no win situation really.

What ever good luck and don't let the boogers grind you down.
 
...
Sorry for the rant
That's not a rant, it's a statement of facts - sad though it is to see them laid out like that and how bad things have become :mad:

ask your employer for a torque screwdriver set to enable you to maintain the correct setting for the connections, the trouble is they may stick you down as a trouble maker, a no win situation really.
I would add, ask in writing if that's practical - Flipsy, do you have a work email address ? Just ask by email, and print it after you've sent it; when you get a reply, print that; keep both at home.
One Pete left out was the CYA factor. The reason for saying to print the emails and keep the printouts at home is if something goes wrong and the finger gets pointed at you. An unscrupulous employer/manager will be more than happy to make the person doing the work into a scapegoat. You want to be able to show that you did all you could - and if, for example, they won't give you the right tools be able to show that you asked and they refused.
In other words, always make sure you CYA :rolleyes:
 
Spare conductor?????????????

I know what he means, I was taught the same at the beginning of my career. Now that crimps and ferrules are so abundant, it's not done anymore.

7 strand conductor, 3 are taken round each side of the bolt. Then the 7th wraps around the returning 6 strands and locks them in place.
 
I know what he means, I was taught the same at the beginning of my career. Now that crimps and ferrules are so abundant, it's not done anymore.

7 strand conductor, 3 are taken round each side of the bolt. Then the 7th wraps around the returning 6 strands and locks them in place.
Ah thought that may have been the case, just wanted reassurance.
 
I know what he means, I was taught the same at the beginning of my career. Now that crimps and ferrules are so abundant, it's not done anymore.

7 strand conductor, 3 are taken round each side of the bolt. Then the 7th wraps around the returning 6 strands and locks them in place.

I’ll bet like me you were shown married, britannia, spliced tee and scarf joints. I used a married joint once on an overhead line, 7/064 HD to 19/044. Line taps would have been easier.
 
I’ll bet like me you were shown married, britannia, spliced tee and scarf joints. I used a married joint once on an overhead line, 7/064 HD to 19/044. Line taps would have been easier.

Yes, I was taught this also, and pretty proficient at them too.

However modern connectors make life a damn site easier an quicker. Although falling back on these skills has pulled me out of the mire a few times.
 
Yes, I was taught this also, and pretty proficient at them too.

However modern connectors make life a damn site easier an quicker. Although falling back on these skills has pulled me out of the mire a few times.
 
Yes, I was taught this also, and pretty proficient at them too.

However modern connectors make life a damn site easier an quicker. Although falling back on these skills has pulled me out of the mire a few times.
Imagine the training Places teaching that, have to train the trainers first
 
Imagine the training Places teaching that, have to train the trainers first

There are still some good training centers and trainers around Pete.

In fact even mine, I learned more in the first month on site than I did in my first 12 months at the centre. (We all had to do 12 months before we were allowed on site.)
 
There are still some good training centers and trainers around Pete.

In fact even mine, I learned more in the first month on site than I did in my first 12 months at the centre. (We all had to do 12 months before we were allowed on site.)
Agree Rob I do tend to generalise on occasions
 
So here is a connection I made to a bonding clamp today. I have wrapped it and the clamp can be tightened no more, even went back to it and is still rock solid. You will notice the conductor has retained its shape with no shift to the strands.
Overtightening Meter Terminals 20190604_153034 - EletriciansForums.net
 
Had a scare today tightening, screw all the way right with a modular driver then went over them again then last time with a flat head. Heard creek/crack on one of the screws. Undid it, looked in the barrel, looked at the screw, replaced the screw. Tightened all up again and bit the wire no visible cracks and still tightened. So I dunno what went wrong there. Checked everything made sure nothing was cracked or broken and the new screw didn’t just turn in the barrel either.
This just wouldn’t happen with a torque driver. I tugged the wire as well. I also for peace of mind have taken apart a spare electric meter and basically tried destroying the cables, the terminals with a drill to tighen and done everything in my power to cause as much damage as I can above what I would normally do and everything seems fine on the test meter. So I think I’m clearly worrying over nothing. But I like to test things to destruction to see how fragile the equipment I’m working with is.
I think the weird crack noise might have been either the screw turning a bit and making a squeak or the flat head slipping slightly. But could not find anything damaged.
 
It's not uncommon to get some sort of "crack" when nipping up an already tight terminal (or nut and bolt, or ...). Once tightened and static, there is significant stiction to be overcome before it will move again - so you apply pressure, nothing happens till you overcome the stiction, then there's a release as things move before settling down at the dynamic friction level which is much lower for most materials.
Few materials, brake pad linings are one of them, have stiction that is lower than dynamic friction - hence the effect of "nothing happens, then something 'gives', and things move with less effort than needed to get it moving". This is also why it's generally a good idea to loosen something before checking it is tight to a specific tightness level - if it's already tight, it may be stuck in place (especially with something like a steel wheelnut against a steel wheel and which has been in place for a long time) and the torque wrench setting isn't sufficient to overcome the stiction and you get a false sense of tightness.
 
It's not uncommon to get some sort of "crack" when nipping up an already tight terminal (or nut and bolt, or ...). Once tightened and static, there is significant stiction to be overcome before it will move again - so you apply pressure, nothing happens till you overcome the stiction, then there's a release as things move before settling down at the dynamic friction level which is much lower for most materials.
Few materials, brake pad linings are one of them, have stiction that is lower than dynamic friction - hence the effect of "nothing happens, then something 'gives', and things move with less effort than needed to get it moving". This is also why it's generally a good idea to loosen something before checking it is tight to a specific tightness level - if it's already tight, it may be stuck in place (especially with something like a steel wheelnut against a steel wheel and which has been in place for a long time) and the torque wrench setting isn't sufficient to overcome the stiction and you get a false sense of tightness.

Thanks really good advice. Makes me sleep easier at night lol.
 

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