On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 02:17:47 GMT, "BigWallop"
wrote:


"Jimmy" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 23:56:06 GMT, "BigWallop"
wrote:

snipped

How about getting a second electric meter put in for the second flat.
Can a similar thing be done for that, (avoiding the need for trenches
to be dug, etc)? At the moment,. the whole house has just one mains
unit on the inside of the house on the ground floor.

J


How is the flat being supplied with electricity just now?

I think, there is a cable going froma second master switch at the
original mains unit, to a coin meter in the second flat. In fact,
there must be because the second flat has a coin meter installed. And
ther's aslo a box in the flat with an on-off switch and cirquit
breakers inside. I did it all myself, years ago, but can't remember
the finer details.

However I never really separated the two flats' circuits entirely. For
example, the lighting for the whole house still runs from a fuse on
the original box. The coin meters in the flats only controls the ring
mains not the lighting.

I need to separate the cirquits properly now - bot the ring main and
the lighting circuits.

You can have a sub mains supply taken from the existing head end. This
entails only three Henley Blocks

I'll have to look up "head end" and "Henley block" tomorrow. Those
terms don't ring a bell with me. ..but I think I'm following what
youre saying.

and one mains isolator switch to be
installed so that both supplies are still taken through the original
electricity supply system. The same applies to this as with the gas. The
same supply was always used by the whole house anyway, so just separating
the house in to two flats should be just like running the whole house as
before.

A separate electricity meter must be fitted by the Leccy company contractors
of course, but you can run a 25 mm Two Core SWA (Steel Wire Armoured) Cable
yourself from the existing head end to where you want the new meter to be
sited in the new flat. You can also install the Henley Blocks and a main
100 Amps rated isolator switch, it doesn't need to be fused because there is
already a fuse on the existing main head end that it is all connecting to.
The Leccy co. contractors will do the rest for you if everything passes
their final tests.

You must already have the new flat wired for single stand alone operation,
with its own consumer unit and 25 mm csa' (cross sectional area) Double
Insulated cable tails ready for the connection to the new meter when it is
installed. They will not connect the new flat to the new supply unless they
can test all the wiring installation for proper operation. If they find any
faults, and I mean even the slightest fault, with the wiring, they will not
connect the new supply to the consumer unit.

Can't they just install the meter and let me (or a proper electrician
working for me) connect it up to the cirquit after they've gone?

They will then charge you
further call-out and labour costs for any other visits they have to make
after any remedial work they say you have to do. So it's better to get it
all done perfectly before you go calling them in to connect you up to a new
supply.

Hope this helps you a bit.

It certainly does. It's giving me hope about possibilities I didn't
know existed. In fact I didn't have much of a clue about the subject.
Thank you.

J