Consumer Unit Chaos

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Recent posts of dodgy CU's has prompted me to dig out an old piccy once hosted by darkernet.

This Standard Wylex board is fed via the metalclad unit below it, via a 15A 3036 and cotton covered tails of about 6mm2....

ConsumerUnitChaos.jpg
 
Begs the question of why the 15A switchfuse, and did it blow often, looks to be an 8way wylex board, much load on it?

The switchfuse appears to be unearthed, as does the (redundant?) switch fuse above the meter

Whats with the disconnected wylex board on the right?

Did you get the job to replace it all? did you snip the meter seal and replace the 3 cloth tails with 1 lot of pvc 25mm²?
 
What about the spare wylex board on the wall to the right? I'm almost afraid to ask where that was originally supplied from.... :?
 
:shock: :shock: Lovely :lol:

Makes me feel a little better about my Dad's setup :lol:

Whereabouts was this? My house was only built in 1990 and EDF are coming round to replace the meter in July as end of life - surely the relavent DNO haven't ever come out to that and left without at least a mention!

Gavin
 
Bit of a dodgy install, but not too big a job sorting out. The correct way to go with this is to get the DNO to upgrade the tails (it's a criminal offence snipping the meter seal) and fit a DP Main Switch. From there it's a straightforward board change.

PS. Looks like the installer has used coat hangers to provide a link between the top switchfuse and the MET.
 
newspark_paul said:
it's a criminal offence snipping the meter seal
I guess in theory it's criminal damage, but given the value of a seal, I doubt that a court would look kindly on a prosecution.

Looks like the installer has used coat hangers to provide a link between the top switchfuse and the MET.
Good grief. So he has.
 
newspark_paul said:
(it's a criminal offence snipping the meter seal)

But how many properties do you know that actually HAVE one? I know mine didn't until after my house was rewired and the leccy peeps came to fit me a new digital meter. From what I hear they're notorious for getting snagged on things and breaking 8)

Edit: For meter seal I read master supply fuse seal :roll:
 
How did the DNO replace the main fuse and meter (at some point), and not notice that the installation it is feeding is quite unsafe? The worst bit about that picture is that it appears someone has been tinkering very recently, using blue tape on the neutral on the meter. :shock:
 
blue tape has been arround for years.

and why is a guy on performance related pay doing a mass cutout replace (theese seem to happen quite a bit afaict usually as part of a replacement of wiring in the street) going to give a **** about the customers install.
 
Adam_151 said:
Begs the question of why the 15A switchfuse, and did it blow often, looks to be an 8way wylex board, much load on it?

The switchfuse appears to be unearthed, as does the (redundant?) switch fuse above the meter

Whats with the disconnected wylex board on the right?

Did you get the job to replace it all? did you snip the meter seal and replace the 3 cloth tails with 1 lot of pvc 25mm²?

No, never according to the customer.

It was!

It was for S/Heaters.

Yes. No, UU did it*. Yes.

* I argued with UU about the earthing arrangements, which was an EC14 on the sheath. They said it was fine, I showed them my Ze readings of 0.95 and 0.89 (not much over, but over nonetheless) and forced them to fit what you see in the picture.

ban-all-sheds said:
newspark_paul said:
Looks like the installer has used coat hangers to provide a link between the top switchfuse and the MET.

Good grief. So he has.

Actually, no.

It's the old solid strand bare copper earth wire twisted together with another.

Just looks very like a coat hanger!

Crafty: the blue tape was crispy when I took it off. Ancient. Must have been put on when meter changed years before.

pcboffinuk said:
Whereabouts was this? My house was only built in 1990 and EDF are coming round to replace the meter in July as end of life - surely the relavent DNO haven't ever come out to that and left without at least a mention!

Just round the corner from my house in Bramhall.

Ha! Well, UU are supposed to change meters round here every 20, but mine was the same age as the house (1961) until I hollered at them last year I wanted to fit a 9.5kW shower and wanted a 100A one, not a 40A one...they grudgingly agreed.

So, my next meter should be in 2050, then...... :?
 
It looks to me like the old s/f is earthed via a bare copper conductor which is twisted together with another coming from the "redundant" s/f above the meter.
The new digital meters being fitted at present are a result of a million pound fine dished out to energy companies for non accurate metering. Almost all "old" style meters are beyond accurate calibration for any relevant period of time.
When Meter readers, fitters etc come and see no seal...they either ignore it or fit another..nothing is ever done.
The picture above is a classic example of a potentially dangerous practice of sharing neutrals. Usually carried out by stetson wearing so called electricians. It may not be the case above but you can see the probabilities.
Bunched cables into a meter is a serious "no-no" and will always be reported to the enery companies as a matter of policy. A couple of quid and a Henley block would have sorted that.
"Cloth" covered cable is actually Vulcan imperial rubber cable (VIR). I once wired a wide span crane at Ford motor company in Dagenham. The foreman on site was an old Motor winder called Fred Briggs ( bless his socks ) who hated change...even the change to PVC. He insisted I use VIR and managed to get it in from BICC for me to use. I was covered in Red and Black dye for weeks. It perishes as we all know but the new stuff is quite robust. I hasten to add that it was in 1981.
[/b]
 
At least, the Cable Head unit or (Service Fuse Block) is in decent condition, and even comes complete with a PME earth facility.

Usually you see a nice modern installation, with MCB breakers, hanging off a century old lead covered supply cable, into a cast iron service fuse block, with a rusty tenby clamp for the main earthing conductor!
 
The service head was changed at my insistance because the earth originally came off an EC14 on the sheath....

It is not PME, but TN-S. You can just see at the bottom of the pic, abit of g/y covered braid coming off the sheath, which is attached to the brass earth block on the service head.
 
did changing the head bring the Ze down to an acceptable value?
 

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