I want to replace my csu. I notice in my leccy box that the main supply
tails come up through the service fuse, which has a metal seal, through a
metal block of 3"x2"x2" into the digital meter and into my csu.

It looks like I'd have to break the seal to remove the fuse to allow me to
detach the main tails into the csu.

I know you probably should get permission to break the seal (they'd probably
insist on a qualified electrician to do the job + resealing - just trying to
save some money by DIY), but it appears very easy to be done.

Then in goes the new csu with rcd and I'm update with spare fuses.

Any thoughts though on this main tails/fuse seal issue would be welcomed.

"Matt Pearson" wrote in message
...
I want to replace my csu. I notice in my leccy box that the main supply
tails come up through the service fuse, which has a metal seal, through a
metal block of 3"x2"x2" into the digital meter and into my csu.

It looks like I'd have to break the seal to remove the fuse to allow me to
detach the main tails into the csu.

I know you probably should get permission to break the seal (they'd
probably
insist on a qualified electrician to do the job + resealing - just trying
to
save some money by DIY), but it appears very easy to be done.

Then in goes the new csu with rcd and I'm update with spare fuses.

Any thoughts though on this main tails/fuse seal issue would be welcomed.

I was in the same situation not so long ago...

I rang the elec company, and they sent someone out free of charge to isolate
the supply in the morning, and someone else in the afternoon to reconnect.
(They took the fuse with them, so I couldn't reconnect it myself for some
reason)

I took the opportunity it fit an isolator in between the CU and the meter,
so if I needed to do any more work to the CU, I could just switch it off at
the isolator.

The bloke that came round to reconnect me was surprised to see I had done it
properly by calling them out to isolate the main fuse, and said most people
just pull the fuse themselves - So I took that as it wouldn't of cause a
major problem if I had simply removed the sealed fuse myself - But as it
didn't cost anything for them to do it, If I were to do it again I would
still call them out myself to be 100% sure!

Sparks...

On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 16:55:30 -0000, "Sparks" wrote:

I was in the same situation not so long ago...

I rang the elec company, and they sent someone out free of charge to isolate
the supply in the morning, and someone else in the afternoon to reconnect.
(They took the fuse with them, so I couldn't reconnect it myself for some
reason)

The first time I fitted a new CU I rang the f(r)iendly local elec
board and the conversation went like this:

me: I'd like someone to remove the consumer fuse from (house) and
refit next day please
them: why?
me: I'm going to replace the consumer unit and I don't want to do it
'live'
them: are you replacing an old unit?
me: yes
them: oh, in that case we won't come out without a certificate
me: really? How do I get a certificate?
them: you need to replace the CU
me: ?????

In the end I did the disconnection/reconnection live, with rubber
gloves on, one hand behind my back, hair well out of the way and
standing on wooden boards whilst wearing rubber soled boots. Just
looking at the apparatus surrounding the street fuse gave me The Fear,
so I preferred to work with the Henley block (or Lucy block in this
case) instead.

Thanks NEDL., you truly are professionals.

--
cheers,

witchy/binarydinosaurs

snip
me: really? How do I get a certificate?
them: you need to replace the CU
me: ?????

Sadly, a lot of the time the service you receive depends on the banana
quotient of the monkey on the other end of the phone :-}

I have daily contact with enough to fill a chimp sanctuary :-}

--
Please add "[newsgroup]" in the subject of any personal replies via email
* old email address "btiruseless" abandoned due to worm-generated spam *
--- My new email address has "ngspamtrap" & @btinternet.com in it ;-) ---

In article ,
Witchy writes:

In the end I did the disconnection/reconnection live, with rubber
gloves on, one hand behind my back, hair well out of the way and
standing on wooden boards whilst wearing rubber soled boots. Just
looking at the apparatus surrounding the street fuse gave me The Fear,
so I preferred to work with the Henley block (or Lucy block in this
case) instead.

The risk is not only that of electric shock but also that
of explosion and serious burns from accidently shorting the
meter tails and forming a flash arc spraying molten and
vaporised copper over you. The precautions should include
eye protection (preferably full face protection), clothing
which covers the rest of your skin (leather is good for
this;-) and removal/covering of all earthed metelwork in
the area, as well as having someone on hand (but not too
close) who is familiar with CPR. Of course, this is all
just such a ridiculas level of risk and pulling the fuse
so much safer that you shouldn't even be considering working
on live tails.

--
Andrew Gabriel

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...


The risk is not only that of electric shock but also that
of explosion and serious burns from accidently shorting the
meter tails and forming a flash arc spraying molten and
vaporised copper over you. The precautions should include
eye protection (preferably full face protection), clothing
which covers the rest of your skin (leather is good for
this;-) and removal/covering of all earthed metelwork in
the area, as well as having someone on hand (but not too
close) who is familiar with CPR. Of course, this is all
just such a ridiculas level of risk and pulling the fuse
so much safer that you shouldn't even be considering working
on live tails.

Can't agree more
Arc flash apparently kills more
than electrocution
http://tinyurl.com/36l3n

"Chris Oates" none wrote in message
...

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...


The risk is not only that of electric shock but also that
of explosion and serious burns from accidently shorting the
meter tails and forming a flash arc spraying molten and
vaporised copper over you. The precautions should include
eye protection (preferably full face protection), clothing
which covers the rest of your skin (leather is good for
this;-) and removal/covering of all earthed metelwork in
the area, as well as having someone on hand (but not too
close) who is familiar with CPR. Of course, this is all
just such a ridiculas level of risk and pulling the fuse
so much safer that you shouldn't even be considering working
on live tails.

Can't agree more
Arc flash apparently kills more
than electrocution
http://tinyurl.com/36l3n



ouch.

Lee's paper on arc burns makes for sobering reading.

--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

If you have a digital meter check to see if it has an isolator built in,
many of the new type have and it's there for just such a job as this

On 19 Jan 2004 23:27:56 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

In article ,
Witchy writes:

In the end I did the disconnection/reconnection live, with rubber
gloves on, one hand behind my back, hair well out of the way and
standing on wooden boards whilst wearing rubber soled boots. Just
looking at the apparatus surrounding the street fuse gave me The Fear,
so I preferred to work with the Henley block (or Lucy block in this
case) instead.

The risk is not only that of electric shock but also that
of explosion and serious burns from accidently shorting the
meter tails and forming a flash arc spraying molten and
vaporised copper over you. The precautions should include
eye protection (preferably full face protection), clothing
which covers the rest of your skin (leather is good for
this;-) and removal/covering of all earthed metelwork in
the area, as well as having someone on hand (but not too
close) who is familiar with CPR. Of course, this is all
just such a ridiculas level of risk and pulling the fuse
so much safer that you shouldn't even be considering working
on live tails.

I know that now One of the other reasons I concentrated on the
henley block was that the tails were obviously fed into 2 seperate
blocks several inches apart so the chances of an accidental short were
vastly reduced. I'd also read (on here I think) that you can also
reduce or remove the chance of an arc by making sure the new CU was
completely off so there was no load on the other end.....

--
cheers,

witchy/binarydinosaurs

Replaced both my dodgy consumer units by withdrawing the tails from the
unsealed
Henly block - if that is what the Bakelite box with two stacked busbars is
called. I used a seriously insulated screwdriver to undo each tail in turn
and
then refitted the cover. Removed and replaced the consumer units and
mounting
board. Remade new tails and then refitted them to the Henly. All without
removing the company seal.

This was all done after watching the bod from the Lecy board replace the
company
fuse by hammering the tar filled remains off the incoming cables (live)
without
any protection apart from the wooden handle of his hammer (and plenty of
practice!).


BOL Richard

PS he didn't seal my Henly block.

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 19:46:16 +0000, Richard Savage
wrote:

Replaced both my dodgy consumer units by withdrawing the tails from the
unsealed
Henly block - if that is what the Bakelite box with two stacked busbars is
called. I used a seriously insulated screwdriver to undo each tail in turn
and
then refitted the cover. Removed and replaced the consumer units and
mounting
board. Remade new tails and then refitted them to the Henly. All without
removing the company seal.

This was all done after watching the bod from the Lecy board replace the
company
fuse by hammering the tar filled remains off the incoming cables (live)
without
any protection apart from the wooden handle of his hammer (and plenty of
practice!).

heh! I quite like watching time-served sparkies at work 'cos they do
things I'd never dream of doing, like check to see if a cable's live
by dragging it over the back of their hand

--
cheers,

witchy/binarydinosaurs

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 10:21:28 +0000, Witchy
wrote:

heh! I quite like watching time-served sparkies at work 'cos they do
things I'd never dream of doing, like check to see if a cable's live
by dragging it over the back of their hand

I do much the same thing occasionally, but instead of over the back of
my hand I just swipe the cable with my finger - making sure I've got
enough momentum in my hand to take it off the power quickly should it
be live.

Works for me.

PoP

Sending email to my published email address isn't
guaranteed to reach me.

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 11:47:31 +0000, PoP wrote:

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 10:21:28 +0000, Witchy
wrote:

heh! I quite like watching time-served sparkies at work 'cos they do
things I'd never dream of doing, like check to see if a cable's live
by dragging it over the back of their hand

I do much the same thing occasionally, but instead of over the back of
my hand I just swipe the cable with my finger - making sure I've got
enough momentum in my hand to take it off the power quickly should it
be live.

Works for me.

Doesn't it hurt every time? Last time I got a bolt was when I was
wiring up the 2nd of a pair of 2-way switches and I forgot it was live
and one of the lives was touching the metal back box before I wired it
up :-| Remember it vividly!

--
cheers,

witchy/binarydinosaurs

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 14:37:34 +0000, Witchy
wrote:

Doesn't it hurt every time?

No. I forgot one instruction from my last message. I triple-check that
the mains is off before I test the wire for live. I'm not stupid

Mind you, I got a little taster not long ago. I was up an aluminium
ladder in someone's lounge sorting out a light fitting. Silly me
touched the permanent live. Not directly, but as I was twisting the
light fitting (metal of course!) the permanent live came loose.

I climbed down the couple of steps of the ladder so fast I can't
remember having climbed down

PoP

Sending email to my published email address isn't
guaranteed to reach me.

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 18:14:03 +0000, PoP wrote:

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 14:37:34 +0000, Witchy
wrote:

Doesn't it hurt every time?

No. I forgot one instruction from my last message. I triple-check that
the mains is off before I test the wire for live. I'm not stupid

That's what I mean though - the sparkies I know just check anyway!
Even the youngsters. No wonder most of 'em don't have much hair.....

I climbed down the couple of steps of the ladder so fast I can't
remember having climbed down

Heh!

--
cheers,

witchy/binarydinosaurs

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 18:14:03 +0000, PoP wrote:

Doesn't it hurt every time?

No. I forgot one instruction from my last message. I triple-check
that the mains is off before I test the wire for live. I'm not
stupid

Nor me then. B-)

I tend to check the circuit I'm going to work on is live, volt stick
these days was a neon screwdriver, pull what I think is the relavant
fuse, check again, then start work gingerly checking with the fast
moving finger that the "live" wire really is dead. Possibly a few
times getting slower just in case the first time was to fast.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
. 1...
On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 18:14:03 +0000, PoP wrote:

Doesn't it hurt every time?

No. I forgot one instruction from my last message. I triple-check
that the mains is off before I test the wire for live. I'm not
stupid

Nor me then. B-)

I tend to check the circuit I'm going to work on is live, volt stick
these days was a neon screwdriver, pull what I think is the relavant
fuse, check again, then start work gingerly checking with the fast
moving finger that the "live" wire really is dead. Possibly a few
times getting slower just in case the first time was to fast.

we make everyone carry these
http://tinyurl.com/38q5e
non contact !

On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 01:34:52 -0000, Chris Oates wrote:

I tend to check the circuit I'm going to work on is live, volt
stick these days...

we make everyone carry these
Link to CPC site and volt stick

What did I say? Doh!

All the same even with volt stick I still cautiously check that the
wires are dead. I suspect a voltstick wouldn't detect a (relatively)
high impedance leakage that could still make for a nasty jolt.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

However there may well be situations where there's a live conductor
whose field is shielded by a grounded conductor: I suppose a
hypothetical example would be coax with mains on the centre & ground on
the braid. (I'm sure you'd never find anything like that in the real
world, of course :-)


Err What about MICC? I have seen the aftermath of a burgular alarm installer
who checked with his volt stick, then put in his cable clips, tap tap tap
BANG !

It should detect higher impedance leakage than necessary to light even a
neon (since the volt stick measures almost pure electric field, through
air + its plastic cap + whatever insulation is on the cable etc).
However there may well be situations where there's a live conductor
whose field is shielded by a grounded conductor:

If you were to read the instructions it says that.


SJW
A.C.S. Ltd.

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 01:34:52 -0000, Chris Oates wrote:


I tend to check the circuit I'm going to work on is live, volt
stick these days...

Maybe it's just my relatively ancient RS voltstick but I find I have to
hold it just so at the back end of the handle and hold the translucent
probe bit just so in relation to what I'm testing to get a reliable
indication. Thus I calibrate it by holding it close to a known live and
adjusting my hold to get it to light up then, without changing my grip,
move over to the conductor I'm testing.

(Then check with the neon stick and flick of the finger.)

All the same even with volt stick I still cautiously check that the
wires are dead. I suspect a voltstick wouldn't detect a (relatively)
high impedance leakage that could still make for a nasty jolt.

It should detect higher impedance leakage than necessary to light even a
neon (since the volt stick measures almost pure electric field, through
air + its plastic cap + whatever insulation is on the cable etc).
However there may well be situations where there's a live conductor
whose field is shielded by a grounded conductor: I suppose a
hypothetical example would be coax with mains on the centre & ground on
the braid. (I'm sure you'd never find anything like that in the real
world, of course :-)


John S