Electric Company & Henley Block

[sebmaster]

Hi,

I am trying to get a CU changed from economy7 to full day rate so I can use it to power sockets etc outside.

The guy from the power company came over this morning and said he had been told to remove the economy7 time-switch, making the CU redundant.

As I expected the person on the phone didnt understand what I wanted doing and so the guy left as he wasnt allowed to change the work spec.

He did say though that the power company wouldnt change the meter tails and I would have to get an electrician, however I know that the power company is required to break the seals on the main fuse and henley block.

Does this mean that if I called the company back, all they would do is remove the fuse, then I would have to change the tails, then call them back to replace and reseal it?

 

[JohnD]

don't understand what you want

Do you want to keep an economy 7 suppy for another purpose, such as storage heaters?

What electricity tariff are you on?

How many CUs have you got?

A photo showing your CUs, meter, service head and the various cables beteren them would be a great help.

 

[kkynaston]

Hi,

I am trying to get a CU changed from economy7 to full day rate so I can use it to power sockets etc outside.

Does your old econ 7 board have RCD protection?
If not what are you going to do about it (RCBO's, replace main switch?)[/b]

 

[sebmaster]

Hi JohnD,

Weve cancelled the economy7 tariff so only full rate now as we are removing the storage heaters.

Ive replaced one of the fuses in the economy7 CU with a 32A MCB, as that radial will eventually be used to power sockets/lights etc in the garden.

What I want is for that CU to be connected 24/7, as opposed to just coming on between 12-7am, so the tail from that CU needs to be connected to the henley block direct.

Ill get a photo right now.


EDIT:

Hi kkynaston,

It doesnt have RCD protection, I wanted to use an RCBO but it was too big for the older CU, so ill put in a mini CU in the summer house with RCD protection.

 

[sebmaster]

Hi, here is the picture:

View media item 2117
Off to the left is another CU for the loft, but apart from that everything is there (excuse the mess )

I was hoping id be able to call out the power company and they would remove the timeswitch, freeing up a point in the henley block and then just connect the CU direct, is it just a case of calling them up and explaining myself better or will they not do that period?

 

[Ocam]

Apologies if I'm wrong, and I'm sure somebody will correct me if that's the case, but that looks like a job for an electrician, not the power company.

Edit: From what I've read on here, an electrician will break the seals on the fuse.

 

[sebmaster]

Hi Ocam, thanks, ill call an electrican out to remove the timeswitch and connnect the CU.

Thanks alot for your help guys!

 

[JohnD]

As you have multiple CUs, you ought to have a clearly-marked 100A DP Main Switch to cut off all power to the installation.

This should be after the meter and before the Henley block.

Your electrician will be able to install it, though the company fuse has to be pulled to make the meter tails safe. Your electricity supplier might fit one, you could ask them if they do it free or at low cost (some will).

One of the advantages of having a main switch (apart from being able to cut all power in an emergency) is that it isolates supply to the CUs for maintenance or replacement.

I can't see where the main earth comes from, is there a large G&Y going into the side of the company fuse block? If not, ask if they can provide you with PME at the same time, again it might be free or cost £50-£100 which will be money well spent if your existing earth is unsatisfactory. You will have to provide an earth block and sufficient 16mm G&Y for them to connect to their earth point (otherwise they may use your existing old earth wire and seal it) and for your electrician to connect to your CUs and your main bonding (or you can do main bonding yourself, it is not notifiable and is a simple DIY job and we have instructions in the WIKI)

It is important that you have confirmation from the company of all the work they are going to do for you, or they may send a meter-changer again who will not have the time or materials to fit a main switch or PME.

BTW your "main CU" is an old brown Wylex Standard which is in the region of 30 years old and it's time you had it replaced. If you had a large modern CU fitted, with RCBOs or split RCDs it could take all your circuits and give you a simpler, safer and better installation. Modern CUs are available in up to 21 ways as standard, and larger to order.

 

[sebmaster]

Hi JohnD,

I had an electrician round earlier who quoted for removing the time block and changing over the CU.

There is a seperate earth however it is undersized.

One more question, I remember reading on here that radials dont necessarily need to be continuous, so could I, for example, have 2 radials fed from one MCB?

 

[jason1958]

> One more question, I remember reading on here that radials
> dont necessarily need to be continuous, so could I,
> for example, have 2 radials fed from one MCB?

A radial can have any topology.
- A radial of 2 cables into the CPD is 1 *final circuit*
- However the CPD *should* be labelled "radial" to avoid someone at 4am thinking it to be a "broken" ring final circuit

That said, if you are replacing the CU, add more ways and have each radial on its own MCB/RCBO. Just ensure whatever you go with has at least 1 spare way, too often a new unit gets put in without any spare ways Also worth buying 1-2 spare CPD (MCB/RCBO) at the same time so you a) have matching spares b) can expand without replacing the entire CU should the design change (because they DO change).

I personally prefer 4-5 radials over 1-2 ring for redundancy.
If there is ever a chance of the house being rented out then a "one final circuit per room" can be a very good thing (each room gets a mini-CU for power & lighting, Emlight, Smoke).

 

[sebmaster]

Hi Jason1958, much clearer now.

Thanks alot everyone!

 

[securespark]

You say you have a separate earth. Where does it come from?

I'm a bit concerned you may have a TT supply with no RCD's.

That you don't want.

 

[ebee]

Quote" (each room gets a mini-CU for power & lighting, Emlight, Smoke)."

Surely that would make it a house of multiple occupancy and smokes should be interlinked and therefore on one circuit?

 

[sebmaster]

You say you have a separate earth. Where does it come from?

Hi Securespark, dont worry, the earth does come from the electrical company, im sure its a TN-S supply.

 

[jason1958]

Yes ebee it would, very much so, thank you for adding.
I quickly added smoke at the end as much a subliminal suggestion to the OP to get smokes added.

AICO smokes are ok, if the OP can't interlink due to decoration use the radio bases. Costs a bit more, but smoke alarms really do make the difference - it is not fire than kills (30mins), it is smoke (which is minutes).