I don't actually know but aren't they just washers?
You wouldn't want steel ones which would rust as well.
You wouldn't want steel ones which would rust as well.
Service Head replacement - who pays?
- Thread starter fathertobe
- Start date
Sponsored Links
I thought they were just ceramic cup washers.
Not that I can find any on eBay (only steel ones). Unless they've stopped making them/using them?
Not that I can find any on eBay (only steel ones). Unless they've stopped making them/using them?
Well,yes, as I said ....
... but as I also said ....
Kind Regards, John
One imagines that they would probably have metamorphosed into plastic ones by now. Plastic washers of all types (including cup washers) are certainly available.
Kind Regards, John
Sponsored Links
Sure, that's what the the ceramic spacers between board and wall were (I've got dozens of them!) - and, as you say, there are modern equivalents. However, we're talking about the giant ceramic 'cup washers' that were often seen on the front side of the board (i.e. 'supporting' the screw head).
Kind Regards, John
K
kai
I am surprised that they never thought of using Stainless Steel Screws to mount the boards with!
Today they probably would (and we no longer use ceramic cup washers, or whatever you want to call them), but brass would have been a much more credible thing for you to ask about in relation the past.
IIRC, it's only about 100 years ago that stainless steel was first patented, probably only half that period, or less, since it has been widely mass-produced for general use, and less even that that since it became a sensible price. I doubt whether it's much more than two or three decades since stainless still screws became 'widely/generally available' (at sensible prices), yet the 'ceramic cup washers' have probably been in use for a century or more.
Kind Regards, John
Bring back the "Black Japs" 
Seriously, maybe the ceramic things shrouded the screw to stop the old LEB engineers inadvertently shorting to earth
Seriously, maybe the ceramic things shrouded the screw to stop the old LEB engineers inadvertently shorting to earth
The ceramic cup washer was used on the front and back of the board, all identical.
What were the cylindrical ceramic spacers (of which I have a boxful in my cellar) then? I could have sworn that they used to go between boards and wall.
Kind Regards, John
They still do, the cup type I've never seen fitted as new since I joined the industry but seen many in use on older installations
I got called to look at a very similar cutout recently, in an old workshop at the back of a large house that had been forgotten about for years, one out of the two phases and the neutral had gone open circuit somewhere so I had the whole lot relaid and replaced with a modern 3 phase service...unfortunately the old stuff got thrown out before I could salvage it
It was the same as the OP's in that the cable termination at the bottom is the original but 'drop on' plastic cutouts had been used to replace the old metal rewireable cutouts on the top. Meter man shouldn't have a problem working on that, the bit he's got to touch is plastic after all, and there's hundreds of metal clad cutouts that have been 'replaced' in this manner, retaining the original cable termination. I'm surprised they didn't bother replacing the neutral block with a Henley block, I suppose it depends when it was done.
The delay for having it replaced could be because it is two phases, we are allowed to change single phase and plastic 3 phase cutouts live, metal 3 phase cutouts must be made dead by cutting the cable in the street. Based on that I'd say they will need to cut it to change it, and as it's non-urgent it could take some time to sort out.
It was the same as the OP's in that the cable termination at the bottom is the original but 'drop on' plastic cutouts had been used to replace the old metal rewireable cutouts on the top. Meter man shouldn't have a problem working on that, the bit he's got to touch is plastic after all, and there's hundreds of metal clad cutouts that have been 'replaced' in this manner, retaining the original cable termination. I'm surprised they didn't bother replacing the neutral block with a Henley block, I suppose it depends when it was done.
The delay for having it replaced could be because it is two phases, we are allowed to change single phase and plastic 3 phase cutouts live, metal 3 phase cutouts must be made dead by cutting the cable in the street. Based on that I'd say they will need to cut it to change it, and as it's non-urgent it could take some time to sort out.
DIYnot Local
Staff member
If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.
Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.
Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local
Sponsored Links
