On 06/09/2019 10:17, Mike Clarke wrote:
On 04/09/2019 16:41, Alan wrote:
On Wed, 04 Sep 2019 15:53:41 +0100, GB wrote:
The Eon guy came to fit the samrt metter. He put on his work gloves.
Fair enough. He put on his polycarbonate glasses. Still fair enough.

Then, he donned thick elbow length rubber gauntlets, plus a full face
polycarbonate shield. THEN, he removed the main fuse.
Given that he had turned off the consumer unit, this struck me as
excessively cautious, but what do I know?

Clearly not as much as you think.
He was taking adequate precautions against the fuse carrier/fuse/cut-out
falling apart when he pulled it.

I can see the need to do this with some old installations but is it
necessary with current designs of main fuses?


You are discounting human factors.
The probability of a modern cutout failing are low.
However the probability of a person mistaking a fragile old cutout for a
new, probably inherently safe one are much higher.

The donning of the correct kit also creates the impression of a
professional outfit, rather than a bunch of cowboys, and also sends a
subconscious message: "don't f*** with the meter wiring".