Removal of second consumer unit wired to meter with no isolator

[seaknight]

Hello,

I am a householder who has a potentially dangerous installation.
A second (redundant) Wylex consumer unit with one fused carrier is connected directly to our electricity meter, with no separate isolator other than the switch on the box (meter tails would obviously be live, with no way of isolating them for safe removal).

What is the best and safest way of removing this please?
I have contacted Western Power Distribution and Swalec (our electricity supplier) - neither would send an engineer, they said that the meter tails were our property and that an electrician could telephone to ask for permission to break the seals and remove the tails.

Our electricity meter was changed by the supplier a few years ago and this second consumer unit was reconnected at the time, was it illegal for them to do that?

 

[nikmet]

This is not a job for a DIY person, get a qualified electrician to sort it for you and stay safe

 

[WPD Lad]

Where are you based?

Electrician should be able to cut the seal to isolate, failing that WPD will fit a 2 pole isolator for £36 ish

 

[RogertheBodger]

If your main fuse is sealed you would be best advised to call an Electrician, it's a very small job to remove the redundant cu, Why do you want to ?

 

[Des 56]

If you have a potentially dangerous installation
Why are you concentrating your efforts on an unused consumer unit that should stay harmless unless interfered with

 

[Marvo]

Redundant equipment isn't necessarily dangerous because it's still connected.

 

[seaknight]

Thanks for the prompt reply, I'm just sick of having dodgy electrics in the house for years on end...When I rewired the electric shower that was originally connected to this redundant CU (with no RCD), the old cable that used to run into a second shower in the garage was still connected to the main CU, it had been cut and taped up - it was still live (shudder)! I just want to get closure on the whole thing and have a safer house.
It was a relief being able to take a shower protected by an RCD for the first time in 20 years!

What about the old chestnut of cutting and resealing the main fuse? Can any electrician do that?
A friend of mine is fully qualified, but no longer registered.

If your main fuse is sealed you would be best advised to call an Electrician, it's a very small job to remove the redundant cu, Why do you want to ?

 

[WPD Lad]

Where are you based?

 

[seaknight]

Thanks for the replies, I'm based in Carmarthenshire. The wiring diagram looks like this...

Meter > RCD > Main CU
> redundant CU (not through RCD)

 

[RogertheBodger]

When a competent Electrician knocks on your door, the fuse seal drops out immediately (it's programmed to do that).

More worrying is the fact that you have live ends, albeit taped up, is this now resolved? has your redundant cu got any live circuits in it?

 

[seaknight]

Yes it's resolved, my father and I rewired the shower safely, there are no live ends.
There are no loads from the redundant CU, just the tails from the meter.
I'll just get the redundant CU removed by an electrician and have closure on it then.

Many thanks indeed.

 

[mark_the_spark]

This is also not to be recommended unless you know what your doing (I spent quite a while as a jointer, so I hopefully know what I'm talking about) but a suitably equipped and competent electrician should be able to disconnect that C.U. live, as long as your meter seal is already broken and checks have been made to ensure that the C.U.'s are not sharing any live conductors.

By equipped I mean having a mat, gauntlets and composite (not insulated) tools (see snap on brochure)

Tell us how you got along, I'm hoping you called out a registered sparkie....

 

[seaknight]

I'm abroad at the moment, this is at the top of my list of things to get done as soon as I'm home (it will be done by a registered sparkie). Thanks

 

[Guitarist]

If you are not a member of a competent person scheme, or you didn't inform your LBC, then you should not have put your shower onto another CU.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Yes it's resolved, my father and I rewired the shower safely, there are no live ends.
There are no loads from the redundant CU, just the tails from the meter.
I'll just get the redundant CU removed by an electrician and have closure on it then.

Many thanks indeed.

its notifyable is this work......so, did you notify it either through a scheme or directly with the LABC?.....