removal of main cutout fuse

[sparkymatt1987]

Who is to be informed for the removal of a cutout fuse for say a consumer unit change??

 

[mechelec]

Just a wee aside the 3ph from street comes into my house then subs off to 2 neighbours properties Where would I stand if their main fuse blew while I was away on holiday and no access could be provided ? Im going to ask this on monday as well[/QUOTE]

They have a right of access so would smash your door in and get the neighbours supply back on. if you are lucky they may board the door up as they leave.

Or they would have to provide a new supply to the affected property.

 

[Knobhead]

I’m going back years to my apprentice days, the company I worked for had an extensive HV/LV system out in the sticks. Farms, houses, pubs and whole villages fed from it. If a supply had to be taken across land not owned by the company an annual “way-leave” had to be paid to the landowner. The company was one of the biggest landowners in the UK.

So Mooga, try charging them rent. A snowball in hell springs to mind!

 

[Engineer54]

Im going to request isolator fitting on my house on monday see what happens

Just a wee aside the 3ph from street comes into my house then subs off to 2 neighbours properties Where would I stand if their main fuse blew while I was away on holiday and no access could be provided ? Im going to ask this on monday as well

Check the deeds to your house, i'm pretty sure there will be something in there about ''Right of Access'' or something along those lines. If not, ..then they have no right whatsoever to break into your home during your absence!! It'll all be down to the Deeds of your house!!!

 

[La Poste]

I also purchased some electrical gloves when pulling the fuse to be extra careful.

This is a really good idea.

However I've just checked the price and I'm unpleasantly surprised at how expensive they are, £70 a pair.

 

[Engineer54]

This is a really good idea.

However I've just checked the price and I'm unpleasantly surprised at how expensive they are, £70 a pair.

A good pair of Rubber gloves will suffice, Those so-called special gloves won't offer you much more in protection, and are normally so dammed thick they are basically unusable, and if anything more hazardous to you...

 

[mydigitalhome]

I think someone should put a picture of a "seal" on this thread especially for our junior members. One can go years without seeing one properly fitted on older style consumer units. However I have seen seals fitted to 17th Edition Dual RCD units but obviously on those its not so much of a problem for clients wanting a board change! Im sure others have had similar experiences to myself, perhaps I should do more CU changes. LOL

 

[La Poste]

Here you go ( sorry couldn't resist)

 

[sharpener]

In balance, I had an isolator in 24hrs at another job last week.

You were lucky then, given the experience I had installing a new CU when we moved to our present house in 2008. First up the supplier (British Gas) would not take bookings orders or answer requests of any kind until you actually move in (unlike our previous move in 1991). Then when we did order a 2-rate meter their call centre couldn't comprehend a request to fit an isolator at the same time and after two days of phoning I gave up and bought my own. When the meter fixer turned up, to begin with he would neither fit it himself nor allow me to do it while the supply was off, saying the meter tails needed upgrading from 16 to 25mm^2 even though it is only a 60A cutout. Finally he relented as he did not want to come back again later and and produced his own isolator, saying that fortunately BG unlike the other companies would allow him to increase the scope of the job on the fly and authorise it afterwards.

Next project is getting Anglian water to put CCTV down the shared drains (for which they are now responsible) to investigate a damaged and redundant vent pipe before we build a garage over the top. But I guess that belongs in another forum...

 

[Cyberprog]

I wish the government would legislate such that the DNO has to install a meter with built in switch so that within the next decade all properties will end up with a main switch.

 

[Engineer54]

Within the next 10 years?? Now you have just got to be joking there, have you any notion of how many properties there are out there, and how much it will cost these DNO's to replace those existing meters for switched meters in that short a time period?? 3 decades if your lucky would be a closer bet!! lol!!!

 

[Cyberprog]

Aren't they required to replace them every 10 years anyway?

 

[Engineer54]

No idea about the new electronic meters, but the old meters lasted for donkey's years. They changed my parents meter as i remember somewhere around 1990, the house was built in 1951!! The meter was rated at 40A and was replaced with a 60A one. At the same time they up-rated the cutout fuse from 60A to 80A, but left the old tails in place. Make sense of that if you will ...lol!!

 

[mechelec]

Check the deeds to your house, i'm pretty sure there will be something in there about ''Right of Access'' or something along those lines. If not, ..then they have no right whatsoever to break into your home during your absence!! It'll all be down to the Deeds of your house!!!

Sorry it was meant tongue in cheek. You are right of course the DNO have no right of access.
They have on one occasion that i know of, when the pikeys stole the neutral -earth connection in a substation broken into properties to remove CO fuses (with police escort) this was so supplies could be restored after fixed wiring testing. Only a couple of void properties were affected and the police took responsibility for access.