The electricity meter in my new flat looks like its been tampered
with. It has three large wires going into it. The red and black wires
are connected, the grey wire is hanging free and looks pretty scary!

Anyone got any idea whether it is safe and what is the grey wire for,
earth? I haven't been close enough to tell if its live!

Cheers

Tom

On Sat, 16 Jun 2007 11:33:38 -0700, wrote:

The electricity meter in my new flat looks like its been tampered
with. It has three large wires going into it. The red and black wires
are connected, the grey wire is hanging free and looks pretty scary!

Anyone got any idea whether it is safe and what is the grey wire for,
earth? I haven't been close enough to tell if its live!

Cheers

Tom


Ring them up and get them to come and check it ASAP.

When I moved last but once they came out to change the meter from a
card meter to a proper one and the bloke said it was a good job as
there's been something wrong with it like someone had attempted to
fiddle it.
--
http://www.orderonlinepickupinstore.co.uk
Ah fetch it yourself if you can't wait for delivery
http://www.freedeliveryuk.co.uk
Or get it delivered for free

On Jun 16, 7:52 pm, Mogga wrote:
On Sat, 16 Jun 2007 11:33:38 -0700, wrote:
The electricity meter in my new flat looks like its been tampered
with. It has three large wires going into it. The red and black wires
are connected, the grey wire is hanging free and looks pretty scary!

Anyone got any idea whether it is safe and what is the grey wire for,
earth? I haven't been close enough to tell if its live!

Cheers

Tom

Ring them up and get them to come and check it ASAP.

When I moved last but once they came out to change the meter from a
card meter to a proper one and the bloke said it was a good job as
there's been something wrong with it like someone had attempted to
fiddle it.
--http://www.orderonlinepickupinstore.co.uk
Ah fetch it yourself if you can't wait for deliveryhttp://www.freedeliveryuk.co.uk
Or get it delivered for free

I don't know which them to ring yet. I tried manweb, the usual local
supplier and they just told me they don't supply me.

Just not keen on accidentally frying myself in the meantime :-)

wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jun 16, 7:52 pm, Mogga wrote:
On Sat, 16 Jun 2007 11:33:38 -0700, wrote:
The electricity meter in my new flat looks like its been tampered
with. It has three large wires going into it. The red and black wires
are connected, the grey wire is hanging free and looks pretty scary!

Anyone got any idea whether it is safe and what is the grey wire for,
earth? I haven't been close enough to tell if its live!

Cheers

Tom

Ring them up and get them to come and check it ASAP.

When I moved last but once they came out to change the meter from a
card meter to a proper one and the bloke said it was a good job as
there's been something wrong with it like someone had attempted to
fiddle it.
--http://www.orderonlinepickupinstore.co.uk
Ah fetch it yourself if you can't wait for
deliveryhttp://www.freedeliveryuk.co.uk
Or get it delivered for free

I don't know which them to ring yet. I tried manweb, the usual local
supplier and they just told me they don't supply me.

Just not keen on accidentally frying myself in the meantime :-)


You need to talk to the distribution authority which should be written on
the face of the meter. They are responsible for the installation upto and
including the meter. Phone number will be in the local directory.
The people you pay for the power is likely to be different and they won't be
interested.

Bob

On Sat, 16 Jun 2007 11:56:59 -0700, wrote:



I don't know which them to ring yet. I tried manweb, the usual local
supplier and they just told me they don't supply me.

Just not keen on accidentally frying myself in the meantime :-)


You can find out who supplies your electricity by calling the
electricity distribution for your region. The numbers are listed
below.
Region Contact number
Eastern England 0870 196 3082
East Midlands 0845 603 0618
London 0845 600 0102
Northern Wales, Merseyside & Cheshire 0845 272 2424
West Midlands 0845 603 0618
North Eastern England 0845 0707 172
North Western England 0870 751 0093
Northern Scotland 0870 900 9690
Southern Scotland 0845 272 7999
South Eastern England 0845 601 5467
Southern England 08457 70 80 90
Southern Wales 0845 601 5972
South Western England 0845 601 5972
Yorkshire 0845 330 0889

Hope that helps

--
http://www.orderonlinepickupinstore.co.uk
Ah fetch it yourself if you can't wait for delivery
http://www.freedeliveryuk.co.uk
Or get it delivered for free

"Bob Minchin" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jun 16, 7:52 pm, Mogga wrote:
On Sat, 16 Jun 2007 11:33:38 -0700, wrote:
The electricity meter in my new flat looks like its been tampered
with. It has three large wires going into it. The red and black wires
are connected, the grey wire is hanging free and looks pretty scary!

Anyone got any idea whether it is safe and what is the grey wire for,
earth? I haven't been close enough to tell if its live!

Cheers

Tom

Ring them up and get them to come and check it ASAP.

When I moved last but once they came out to change the meter from a
card meter to a proper one and the bloke said it was a good job as
there's been something wrong with it like someone had attempted to
fiddle it.
--http://www.orderonlinepickupinstore.co.uk
Ah fetch it yourself if you can't wait for
deliveryhttp://www.freedeliveryuk.co.uk
Or get it delivered for free

I don't know which them to ring yet. I tried manweb, the usual local
supplier and they just told me they don't supply me.

Just not keen on accidentally frying myself in the meantime :-)


You need to talk to the distribution authority which should be written on
the face of the meter. They are responsible for the installation upto and
including the meter. Phone number will be in the local directory.
The people you pay for the power is likely to be different and they won't
be
interested.

Bob



Where in the country are you? If in doubt go to a local substation write
down the number on the warning label and phone it. Have a look at
http://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Elect...tionCompanies/
and see where you are and call them NOW.

Awesome, cheers

On Sat, 16 Jun 2007 11:56:59 -0700, wrote:

I don't know which them to ring yet. I tried manweb, the usual local
supplier and they just told me they don't supply me.

Have you had a bill? Maybe you have fallen through the cracks in the
deregulation and no supplier thinks they supply you = no bill...

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

In message .com,
writes
The electricity meter in my new flat looks like its been tampered
with. It has three large wires going into it. The red and black wires
are connected, the grey wire is hanging free and looks pretty scary!

Anyone got any idea whether it is safe and what is the grey wire for,
earth? I haven't been close enough to tell if its live!

Why not do the obvious thing and ask the electricity supply company to
look at it


--
geoff

wrote in message
oups.com...
The electricity meter in my new flat looks like its been tampered
with. It has three large wires going into it. The red and black wires
are connected, the grey wire is hanging free and looks pretty scary!

Anyone got any idea whether it is safe and what is the grey wire for,
earth? I haven't been close enough to tell if its live!

Cheers

Tom


Take a pic of it and post a link via http://tinypic.com/ so we can have a
look!

In article ,
Owain wrote:
You shouldn't have red and black wires going to the meter anyway -
they're supposed to have an outer sheathing (usually grey) over the red
and black insulation.

Older tails had red and black sleeving. Plenty still around as they don't
often give trouble.

--
*I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

I don't know which them to ring yet. I tried manweb, the usual local
supplier and they just told me they don't supply me.

0845 272 1212* - ask for a check for safety due to exposed wires at
the meter.

* or try 0845 272 2424 - I don't have my list of numbers to hand to
confirm which one gets you through to the DCC (distribution call
centre) :-}

Its irrelevant who the supplier is if you think there may be a safety
hazard, and exposed wires ARE a safety hazard.

If you happen to have the name of the one who said they don't supply
you, it could do with being taken further - no doubt it's someone on
accounts who hasn't had sufficient training to understand the
difference between paying bills and safety issues...

Feel free to drop me a line off-group if you still have no joy...

You need to talk to the distribution authority which should be written on
the face of the meter. They are responsible for the installation upto and
including the meter.

Not entirely correct Bob - the distribution company are responsible
for the incoming supply as far as the cutout, and are empowered (nay
required!) to render the supply safe irrespective of who the actual
meter operator or supplier may be, even if that means bridging out a
third-party company's meter to get a customer back on supply.

If the same REC happens to own the metering, there's a good chance the
shift sparks will have a suitable replacement on the van and can sort
it out at the same time - but I believe the ratio of REC owned meters
on their own cutout is now about 9:1 (so there are now quite a lot of
non-REC meters on the system within their own areas)

The people you pay for the power is likely to be different and they won't be
interested.

They should be, as it was them who nominated who the meter operator
(aka MOP) was... this also needs flagging up as an issue with their
own supplier if they tried them first, as they've blatantly ignored a
safety issue. The customer should have been advised to contact the
local REC.

On Sat, 16 Jun 2007 22:57:25 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
mused:

In article ,
Owain wrote:
You shouldn't have red and black wires going to the meter anyway -
they're supposed to have an outer sheathing (usually grey) over the red
and black insulation.

Older tails had red and black sleeving. Plenty still around as they don't
often give trouble.

New tails can have red and black outer sheathing as well.
--
Regards,
Stuart.

On 17 Jun, 12:07, Lurch wrote:
On Sat, 16 Jun 2007 22:57:25 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
mused:

In article ,
Owain wrote:
You shouldn't have red and black wires going to the meter anyway -
they're supposed to have an outer sheathing (usually grey) over the red
and black insulation.

Older tails had red and black sleeving. Plenty still around as they don't
often give trouble.

New tails can have red and black outer sheathing as well.
--
Regards,
Stuart.

New? - Brown Blue Black Grey Insulation/Identifier colours, usually
with a Grey sheath ? Of course elsewhere in the world current colours
could be different :-)

In article .com,
cynic writes:

New? - Brown Blue Black Grey Insulation/Identifier colours, usually
with a Grey sheath ? Of course elsewhere in the world current colours
could be different :-)

Tails from the cutout to the meter are "suppliers works"
and don't come under BS7671. They can be any colour the
supplier likes.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

In article ,
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
New? - Brown Blue Black Grey Insulation/Identifier colours, usually
with a Grey sheath ? Of course elsewhere in the world current colours
could be different :-)

Tails from the cutout to the meter are "suppliers works"
and don't come under BS7671. They can be any colour the
supplier likes.

That explains things. My meter was moved from the cellar to the top of the
cellar stairs before I bought this house and (I assume) the 'lecce board
used 3 phase SWA, with the blue as the neutral and not sleeved black. And
a right mess they made - rather than drill one hole through a joist they
went all round the houses. When I rewired and fitted a new CU and tidied
up the meter board I re-routed it, shortened the SLA by about 6 feet and
sleeved it properly so the tails showing at either end were double
insulated. Which probably breaks some reg or other. ;-)

--
*Why is it that most nudists are people you don't want to see naked?*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sat, 16 Jun 2007 12:29:14 -0700, wrote:

Awesome, cheers

Don't forget to give us an update!
--
http://www.orderonlinepickupinstore.co.uk
Ah fetch it yourself if you can't wait for delivery
http://www.freedeliveryuk.co.uk
Or get it delivered for free

On Sun, 17 Jun 2007 15:03:21 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
mused:

In article ,
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
New? - Brown Blue Black Grey Insulation/Identifier colours, usually
with a Grey sheath ? Of course elsewhere in the world current colours
could be different :-)

Tails from the cutout to the meter are "suppliers works"
and don't come under BS7671. They can be any colour the
supplier likes.

That explains things. My meter was moved from the cellar to the top of the
cellar stairs before I bought this house and (I assume) the 'lecce board
used 3 phase SWA, with the blue as the neutral and not sleeved black.

I doubt you'll find anyone who uses 'single phase SWA'.
--
Regards,
Stuart.

In article ,
Lurch wrote:
That explains things. My meter was moved from the cellar to the top of
the cellar stairs before I bought this house and (I assume) the 'lecce
board used 3 phase SWA, with the blue as the neutral and not sleeved
black.

I doubt you'll find anyone who uses 'single phase SWA'.

Two core in all sizes to 16mm is stocked by TLC so I doubt it's that
unusual.

But my comment was that it wasn't sleeved to the correct colours.

--
*A bartender is just a pharmacist with a limited inventory.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:07:44 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
mused:

In article ,
Lurch wrote:
That explains things. My meter was moved from the cellar to the top of
the cellar stairs before I bought this house and (I assume) the 'lecce
board used 3 phase SWA, with the blue as the neutral and not sleeved
black.

I doubt you'll find anyone who uses 'single phase SWA'.

Two core in all sizes to 16mm is stocked by TLC so I doubt it's that
unusual.

But my comment was that it wasn't sleeved to the correct colours.

Ah right, you mean 2 core\3 core, not single phase\3 phase.
--
Regards,
Stuart.

In article ,
Lurch wrote:
On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:07:44 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
mused:

In article ,
Lurch wrote:
That explains things. My meter was moved from the cellar to the top of
the cellar stairs before I bought this house and (I assume) the 'lecce
board used 3 phase SWA, with the blue as the neutral and not sleeved
black.

I doubt you'll find anyone who uses 'single phase SWA'.

Two core in all sizes to 16mm is stocked by TLC so I doubt it's that
unusual.

But my comment was that it wasn't sleeved to the correct colours.

Ah right, you mean 2 core\3 core, not single phase\3 phase.

Indeed. But since it uses the three phase colours and is rated at 440
volts I'd say it's a fair description.

--
*Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 01:50:08 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
mused:

In article ,
Lurch wrote:
On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:07:44 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
mused:

In article ,
Lurch wrote:
That explains things. My meter was moved from the cellar to the top of
the cellar stairs before I bought this house and (I assume) the 'lecce
board used 3 phase SWA, with the blue as the neutral and not sleeved
black.

I doubt you'll find anyone who uses 'single phase SWA'.

Two core in all sizes to 16mm is stocked by TLC so I doubt it's that
unusual.

But my comment was that it wasn't sleeved to the correct colours.

Ah right, you mean 2 core\3 core, not single phase\3 phase.

Indeed. But since it uses the three phase colours and is rated at 440
volts I'd say it's a fair description.

Not knocking you in any way but it's a fair DIY description, as SWA
isn't DIY to me then it does make me scratch my head a little when
non-standard descriptions are used.

Each to their own I suppose, but I also find that some things are
called entirely different things at each end of the country.
--
Regards,
Stuart.

In article ,
Lurch wrote:
Ah right, you mean 2 core\3 core, not single phase\3 phase.

Indeed. But since it uses the three phase colours and is rated at 440
volts I'd say it's a fair description.

Not knocking you in any way but it's a fair DIY description, as SWA
isn't DIY to me then it does make me scratch my head a little when
non-standard descriptions are used.

Didn't realise it was a non standard term. Three core to me would mean the
three normal colours for single phase or other non related colours. But
the fact that it uses the colours for the three phases - as does the
present stuff with the new colours - suggests that this is its primary
application.

Triple and earth ordinary cable is a bit more tricky since it uses the
three phase colours but is probably most used for two way switch circuits
in a domestic single phase application.

Each to their own I suppose, but I also find that some things are
called entirely different things at each end of the country.

Absolutely. Ask for a pattress in a London wholesaler and you'll get a
blank look. And ask people who have heard the term and you'll get a
different description of what it is. I've settled on the old wood surface
blocks that surface mounting switches etc were fixed to, so really doesn't
exist today.

--
*Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:58:30 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
mused:

In article ,
Lurch wrote:
Ah right, you mean 2 core\3 core, not single phase\3 phase.

Indeed. But since it uses the three phase colours and is rated at 440
volts I'd say it's a fair description.

Not knocking you in any way but it's a fair DIY description, as SWA
isn't DIY to me then it does make me scratch my head a little when
non-standard descriptions are used.

Didn't realise it was a non standard term. Three core to me would mean the
three normal colours for single phase or other non related colours.

You can get 3 core SWA with 'single phase colours' I think, but no-one
uses it so it costs a fortune. 3 core SWA in '3 phase colours' is a
more common stock item so is cheaper and used instead.

But
the fact that it uses the colours for the three phases - as does the
present stuff with the new colours - suggests that this is its primary
application.

Triple and earth ordinary cable is a bit more tricky since it uses the
three phase colours but is probably most used for two way switch circuits
in a domestic single phase application.

I think (long time ago since I looked in some of the cable catalogues
I have) you can, or could, get most cables in whatever colour you
want. Everyone has settled on the sets of colours that are used
currently for their correct and incorrect primary purposes as that's
what is bought in bulk and therefore cheaper.

Each to their own I suppose, but I also find that some things are
called entirely different things at each end of the country.

Absolutely. Ask for a pattress in a London wholesaler and you'll get a
blank look. And ask people who have heard the term and you'll get a
different description of what it is. I've settled on the old wood surface
blocks that surface mounting switches etc were fixed to, so really doesn't
exist today.

I used to have a problem with the term 'dual *something*', aspecially
when I was ordering over the phone for stuff to be delivered to a job.
In one area if I asked for a dual metal box I'd get a dual accessory
box and in others a 2 gang box. Other places weren't really sure what
dual meant.
--
Regards,
Stuart.