Pulling the dno fuse

[M1k3y1992]

Hi all

The other day a friend of mine who owns a restaurant lost power so I went to take a look for him as I was only around the corner. Upon arriving I found that the tails straight off the meter into the switch fuse had burnt out and one of them was hanging out the box (it was quite a mess and I took photos). As i didnt have any tools on me at this point i couldnt check to see if the cables were safe (although I suspected it had blown the main fuses) so I pulled the main fuses (I didn't cut any tags) as this was the only means of isolation. I then called the electric board to come out and went to fetch my van to take a closer look.

When the man came out he gave me a lot of ---- and wanted to report me saying I put myself in huge danger (in the end he calmed down and said he wouldnt) but Its been playing on my mind. I was well aware of the risks of pulling the fuse but I thought there was a greater risk of leaving it and in the hour the at they took to come out what if i had my back turned and a member of the public had walked in and touched something.

Was he right in saying that I should have just left it because as far as I believe, if something was to have happened they would have said it was the electricians responcibily as it wasn't on their side of the meter. Do you think I did the right thing or could I have handled it any better?

 

[Darkwood]

It's not the tampering that comes into play, though. It's the reason for it.

Was more of a comical remark not a statement as to the legality of the situe' .... it's like anything, you can break into someones house to rescue them in say a fire condition where as normally breaking and entering is frowned upon

 

[Billsays]

You did the right thing, with the right intentions of saving life and property. The network guy was just doing what all network guys seem to do, overstating there own importance. You are probably more qualified than him anyway............And as for some of the more nervous members on the forum telling you to be careful the DNO doesn't prosecute!
Show me a sparks who hasn't broken a seal or pulled a main fuse and I'll show you a Liar

 

[M1k3y1992]

Spot on.
..and I'm sure I'd isolate before messing about with live tails.
I'm presuming, if immediate supply was required, that the owner got by with two phases and limited single phase supplies....one thing is for sure, that switch fuse needs replacing.
An earthing nut, or equivalent, wouldn't go amiss on that pyro, either.

Exactly what I have done and what I plan on doing. Best I could do on a Saturday with what I had on my van.

 

[Phil Thompson]

IMO OP did the right thing.

E@WR states no working live. So that voids the cut live cable & tape up or Henley block it.

Your duty is the safety of
1. Persons
2. Livestock
3. Property
In that order.

So with people in the building it was safest option to pull the DNo fuse imo.

 

[Darkwood]

You did the right thing, with the right intentions of saving life and property. The network guy was just doing what all network guys seem to do, overstating there own importance. You are probably more qualified than him anyway............And as for some of the more nervous members on the forum telling you to be careful the DNO doesn't prosecute!
Show me a sparks who hasn't broken a seal or pulled a main fuse and I'll show you a Liar

I beg to differ, with older meters and cutouts it was rarely contended as it was actually hard to prove unless you admitted it and it was recorded, with modern smart meters now there has been cases where the DNO has submitted a fine normally to the home owner due to the meters been powered down in conjunction with missing meter seals... I know because it happened to a mate, he didn't like the quote from his energy supplier to drop the tails out so he got a sparky mate to do it (not me) and upgrade the board too, because he enquired about a cost and because the smart meter registered a power down while no network issues were present he got a knock on the door and they inspected his meter... he was asked to provide the Electricians details but refused as it was his friend .. he as the house owner was subsequently handed a hefty fine.... it does happen but only when they have enough evidence to proceed and issue a fine.

Smart meters now log times and dates of any power outs, that is half the evidence they need the rest just needs the correct circumstances for them to suspect it has been done, in my mates case he rang for a quote, had he not got a mate in I would suspect he would have passed on the details and shown them an invoice for work done..

 

[Pete999]

Spot on.
..and I'm sure I'd isolate before messing about with live tails.
I'm presuming, if immediate supply was required, that the owner got by with two phases and limited single phase supplies....one thing is for sure, that switch fuse needs replacing.
An earthing nut, or equivalent, wouldn't go amiss on that pyro, either.

Never had earth nuts in those days Mate all down to good workmanship.

 

[Billsays]

I beg to differ, with older meters and cutouts it was rarely contended as it was actually hard to prove unless you admitted it and it was recorded, with modern smart meters now there has been cases where the DNO has submitted a fine normally to the home owner due to the meters been powered down in conjunction with missing meter seals... I know because it happened to a mate, he didn't like the quote from his energy supplier to drop the tails out so he got a sparky mate to do it (not me) and upgrade the board too, because he enquired about a cost and because the smart meter registered a power down while no network issues were present he got a knock on the door and they inspected his meter... he was asked to provide the Electricians details but refused as it was his friend .. he as the house owner was subsequently handed a hefty fine.... it does happen but only when they have enough evidence to proceed and issue a fine.

Smart meters now log times and dates of any power outs, that is half the evidence they need the rest just needs the correct circumstances for them to suspect it has been done, in my mates case he rang for a quote, had he not got a mate in I would suspect he would have passed on the details and shown them an invoice for work done..

Been personally pulling main fuses and cutting seals for over 30 years. Now my company pulls and cut 100s per year. Never had so much as hint of a problem from the DNO.......I think the subbing out of meter reading probably makes it even less likely of a prosecution or a fine!

 

[Toneyz]

Never had earth nuts in those days Mate all down to good workmanship.

Good tight gland ,brass nut, bolt and earth fly lead.

 

[Darkwood]

Been personally pulling main fuses and cutting seals for over 30 years. Now my company pulls and cut 100s per year. Never had so much as hint of a problem from the DNO.......I think the subbing out of meter reading probably makes it even less likely of a prosecution or a fine!

There are areas where you can legally as an electrician cut tails, seal them with temp' seals and notify the DNO, I never said it was common for a prosecution or fine just saying that now with modern tech you may see a rise in it, I still agree it will still be rare given the number of times it's done.

 

[Billsays]

There are areas where you can legally as an electrician cut tails, seal them with temp' seals and notify the DNO, I never said it was common for a prosecution or fine just saying that now with modern tech you may see a rise in it, I still agree it will still be rare given the number of times it's done.

I'm not talking about the times you can legally do it I'm talking about the day to day stuff in the real world where you do it to change a ccu. It happens 100s of times a day. I doubt there will be an increase in the zero amount of prosecutions there are now with the increased deregulation.

 

[ipf]

Never had earth nuts in those days Mate all down to good workmanship.

You'll have to inform me, never heard that term before.

 

[Toneyz]

You'll have to inform me, never heard that term before.

 

[Pete999]

You'll have to inform me, never heard that term before.

What "earth nuts" or "good workmanship"?

 

[Toneyz]

What "earth nuts" or "good workmanship"?

Got to be worried if it is the later.

 

[Midwest]

Your duty is the safety of
1. Persons
2. Livestock
3. Property
In that order.

.

It should be;

Your duty is the safety of
1. Yourself
2. Persons
3. Livestock
4. Property
In that order.

Just saying

 

[Pete999]

It should be;

Your duty is the safety of
1. Yourself
2. Persons
3. Livestock
4. Property
In that order.

Just saying

So he pulled the fuse no injury to him or anyone else, or any pets brought to the dinner, in doing what he did with a little experience, not only did he save all those I have described and in doing so he lastly saved the building from going up in flames.

 

[Octopus]

It should be;

Your duty is the safety of
1. Yourself
2. Persons
3. Livestock
4. Property
In that order.

Just saying

Quite.

With respect to the DNO's I could understand then getting a bit annoyed if meter seals are tampered with but with respect to the main fuse ..... It doesn't make sense.

Jobs worth springs to mind

 

[Pete999]

Quite.

With respect to the DNO's I could understand then getting a bit annoyed if meter seals are tampered with but with respect to the main fuse ..... It doesn't make sense.

Jobs worth springs to mind

With respect again Murdoch, I would have thought that a cut seal would be the last thing on the DNOs mind would be a busted seal, it the place had burnt down, but you're right they probably would have had a bit of a moan, jobsworth is the right description, you can imagine what would have happened if Mick the Meter man had been called, have to phone the office to get permission to open my tool box/bag, then get a method statement, Permit to work and all the other carp he would need to pull a fuse, meanwhile whilst all that was going on the loose cables had started to ignite, you know it made sense, pull it out and argue later.

 

[Midwest]

So he pulled the fuse no injury to him or anyone else, or any pets brought to the dinner, in doing what he did with a little experience, not only did he save all those I have described and in doing so he lastly saved the building from going up in flames.

Not suggesting he shouldn't of, I wasn't there. But as with all things with safety in mind, safety of yourself comes first. You not much use to anyone else's safety, if your dead or injured.

 

[Phil Thompson]

It should be;

Your duty is the safety of
1. Yourself
2. Persons
3. Livestock
4. Property
In that order.

Just saying

my bad, I didn't realise I wasn't a person lol

 

[Midwest]

my bad, I didn't realise I wasn't a person lol

I see, that's clarified things

 

[ipf]

What "earth nuts" or "good workmanship"?

Both......love DIYers, plumbers, DNO meter men, domestic installers doing industrial work, short cutters.......and takin the pee.
You've got 9 years on me Mate, I'm just a young learner.

 

[The Ghost]

I must be a jobsworth then.I would not have removed the DNO fuse/seal. Apart from being a criminal offence and other potential offences from an H&S viewpoint there is a very real danger to my/yourself and others. From the picture you show you had disconnected the offending load and there was no need to go further. You took an unecessary risk. You could have phoned the DNO and asked if they would like you to disconnect. We are not in the business of risk taking but risk management. Whether your friend wants things running or not and wants to get going faster is no part of doing what is the best thing. Sorry but that is my opinion no offence intended.

 

[GREEBO]

I once rang the DNO to ask them to come pull me fuse and they said that I was the first to ever ask.

 

[Pete999]

I once rang the DNO to ask them to come pull me fuse and they said that I was the first to ever ask.

There's a story there Greebo.

 

[snipersmith87]

IMO OP did the right thing.

E@WR states no working live. So that voids the cut live cable & tape up or Henley block it.

Your duty is the safety of
1. Persons
2. Livestock
3. Property
In that order.

So with people in the building it was safest option to pull the DNo fuse imo.

Completely agree. Safety first is always paramount. We'd all be slating the guy if someone got a belt. Including any judge in the land. Next time we change a consumer unit, we,'ll just change the tails live. Cut a few more corners. You have to be responsible for your own actions. Your responsible being the last person to interfere. Safety was your intention. As much as the customer wanted power back on let's see how much he would be moaning when someone got injured. Started looking into the last inspection dates etc. Which would also be interesting??

 

[GlenTavener]

Has anyone ever been or known anyone be prosecuted for removing the main fuse, I haven't? I trained many moons ago with an electricity board was issued with the blue passport type book authorizing me to work at certain voltages and though that was many years ago I would not hesitate to remove the fuse today if I deemed it necessary. Happy to appear in court because some of the people who represent suppliers these days still have the mentality that you find among council employees and other institutionalized bodies. I would back myself any day simply on the grounds of common sense which for some is non existent.