There appears to be an oil like substance leaking from the intake side of our Service Head. I’ve uploaded some pictures to show you exactly what is happening.
The first picture shows our entire mains set up. The Service Head, a 100 amp Bill unit (the fuse inside is a 60 amp BS88) was put in when the house was built in 1968. The meter was replaced in 1989. I don’t know why, we got a letter from the then East Midlands Electricity Board telling us that they needed to replace the meter, which they did one Saturday morning. The consumer unit, originally a brown 4 way Wylex standard, was replaced last year.
The second picture is a more close up image of the Service Head, and the third shows a close up of the intake, where the leak can clearly be seen. Note the intake cable (PVC Concentric/Split Concentric I assume) appears shiny from the oil that’s gradually seeping down the cable.
The final picture shows the intake as it emerges from the floor. When I first saw this I thought it was water/damp coming from underneath the house, but it’s oil from the Service Head. This then travels down the cable under the house, where there’s the occasional drip on the basement floor.
The oil is black, not the green goo substance discussed in other posts on here. If I wipe the intake cable with a tissue, the colour is the same as when you wipe the oil from the dipstick in the car. It’s not gushing out, if I wipe the cable clean it’ll be another week or so before it collects on it again. The Service Head doesn’t get warm, and there’s no smell of burning or anything like that so I don’t think there’s any immediate danger. I’ve read about some older Service Heads filled with some form of bitumen compound. Was this done in the late 60’s, if so why? Could it be bitumen leaking from a Service Head of this age? If not, what is the likely cause?
Does anything need to be done to rectify the problem? If so, what is the urgency? How would it be remedied, by opening the unit and cleaning it out (NOT something I’m considering doing myself because it’s not my property and the obvious danger of unisolateable exposed live parts). Or would a new Service Head be needed?
Any advice or explanations would be gratefully appreciated.
Tim
The first picture shows our entire mains set up. The Service Head, a 100 amp Bill unit (the fuse inside is a 60 amp BS88) was put in when the house was built in 1968. The meter was replaced in 1989. I don’t know why, we got a letter from the then East Midlands Electricity Board telling us that they needed to replace the meter, which they did one Saturday morning. The consumer unit, originally a brown 4 way Wylex standard, was replaced last year.
The second picture is a more close up image of the Service Head, and the third shows a close up of the intake, where the leak can clearly be seen. Note the intake cable (PVC Concentric/Split Concentric I assume) appears shiny from the oil that’s gradually seeping down the cable.
The final picture shows the intake as it emerges from the floor. When I first saw this I thought it was water/damp coming from underneath the house, but it’s oil from the Service Head. This then travels down the cable under the house, where there’s the occasional drip on the basement floor.
The oil is black, not the green goo substance discussed in other posts on here. If I wipe the intake cable with a tissue, the colour is the same as when you wipe the oil from the dipstick in the car. It’s not gushing out, if I wipe the cable clean it’ll be another week or so before it collects on it again. The Service Head doesn’t get warm, and there’s no smell of burning or anything like that so I don’t think there’s any immediate danger. I’ve read about some older Service Heads filled with some form of bitumen compound. Was this done in the late 60’s, if so why? Could it be bitumen leaking from a Service Head of this age? If not, what is the likely cause?
Does anything need to be done to rectify the problem? If so, what is the urgency? How would it be remedied, by opening the unit and cleaning it out (NOT something I’m considering doing myself because it’s not my property and the obvious danger of unisolateable exposed live parts). Or would a new Service Head be needed?
Any advice or explanations would be gratefully appreciated.
Tim