Would you not want to check the terminations on both ends of the tails after you've manipulated them into place?
Not in all areas. The DNO I work for do not do this.
Contacting DNO to fit isolator
- Thread starter cupsandtrousers
- Start date
Sponsored Links
On my current job the client had a new supply , service head and meter installed as the current supply ran right across the area where they were to flatten out and resurface to allow cars to be driven round the side of the garage onto the new ramps..
I installed an isolator with 25mm tails installed and measured off ready to install into the DB once everthing else was ready.. NEDL turned up did there bit and left and then the meter guy turned up to read the meter unaware he was here to install a new one
no tails either but luckily I had some spare however I had to disconnect my tails from the isolator as he wasnt allowed to connect his tails in whilst mine were in
Thanks, thought I was losing it, for a while....
PPE like this, you mean?
Although, you'll note that the load is still connected
PPE like this, you mean?
Although, you'll note that the load is still connected
Sponsored Links
Mrs 17thMan continually moans at the loss of her marigolds
Isolating the supply to change or work on a fuse board is a right PITA.
I don't understand the view that isolators are a waste of time. Why is it a waste of time to be able to safely work on a CU that has no power feeding it.
I have seen loads of examples of the main switch incoming cables showing far to much copper, and it makes you wary working around them.
If the supply is dead you can safely cut tails to the right size and re terminate.
You can do a far neater job pulling new cables in and organising the others when you know the board is safe.
I love it when I see an isolator if we are going to change a board, as I don't have to rely on another person/organisation to allow me to work, and I don't have to work round their schedule.
Recent example. We had to change a board so phoned the maintenance people and after the usual 'you need to speak to this department' and being kept on hold for 15 minutes you finally get to speak to somebody that knows what you are on about.
So you ask will you fit an isolator
A - No we don't do that
Q - But I need to isolate the supply
A- Well we will send someone round to pull the main fuse then come back to put it back in.
So you agree a date but they won't give you a time apart from between 8-10 am to pull and 3-5 to replace.
OK. so the day arrives and a young lad in a van with some company logo i have never heard of pulls up.
Are you from Siemens I ask.
A - Err, yes, what do you need doing
I tell him that I have booked him to pull the fuse and return to replace.
He then goes on about how much work he has to do and will not be able to come back.
Well I need to switch the power back on, will some one else return.
This lad is unsure, so I ask if he could just fit an isolator. which thankfully he did.
When it came to pulling the fuse I was interested how the a 'Trained' person would do this.
Procedure
Quick check on mobile phone to read a text message
Switch the CU off without asking if it was OK to turn off the supply
Cut seal (Yes it had some)
Pull out the fuse (No PPE at all , no suprise)
Took him half an hour. Stuck his sticker on to say polarity had been checked and witnessed, though no testing was done.
The only testing gear he had was a socket polarity tester, and he did not even use that.
Power up and he was gone.
A few DNO post on here. Is that the correct procedure?
There must be a better way.
I don't understand the view that isolators are a waste of time. Why is it a waste of time to be able to safely work on a CU that has no power feeding it.
I have seen loads of examples of the main switch incoming cables showing far to much copper, and it makes you wary working around them.
If the supply is dead you can safely cut tails to the right size and re terminate.
You can do a far neater job pulling new cables in and organising the others when you know the board is safe.
I love it when I see an isolator if we are going to change a board, as I don't have to rely on another person/organisation to allow me to work, and I don't have to work round their schedule.
Recent example. We had to change a board so phoned the maintenance people and after the usual 'you need to speak to this department' and being kept on hold for 15 minutes you finally get to speak to somebody that knows what you are on about.
So you ask will you fit an isolator
A - No we don't do that
Q - But I need to isolate the supply
A- Well we will send someone round to pull the main fuse then come back to put it back in.
So you agree a date but they won't give you a time apart from between 8-10 am to pull and 3-5 to replace.
OK. so the day arrives and a young lad in a van with some company logo i have never heard of pulls up.
Are you from Siemens I ask.
A - Err, yes, what do you need doing
I tell him that I have booked him to pull the fuse and return to replace.
He then goes on about how much work he has to do and will not be able to come back.
Well I need to switch the power back on, will some one else return.
This lad is unsure, so I ask if he could just fit an isolator. which thankfully he did.
When it came to pulling the fuse I was interested how the a 'Trained' person would do this.
Procedure
Quick check on mobile phone to read a text message
Switch the CU off without asking if it was OK to turn off the supply
Cut seal (Yes it had some)
Pull out the fuse (No PPE at all , no suprise)
Took him half an hour. Stuck his sticker on to say polarity had been checked and witnessed, though no testing was done.
The only testing gear he had was a socket polarity tester, and he did not even use that.
Power up and he was gone.
A few DNO post on here. Is that the correct procedure?
There must be a better way.
There are few like him about at the moment, due to a lot of metering companies (or just companies wanting to get into metering) starting up quickly to do the Smart meter side of things.
Pay peanuts, get monkeys etc.
As I said above we don't do the fuse pulling and coming back thing in our area and have always fitted isolators.
As for correct procedure, theres no way one of my seals would end up on something I've not tested!
No it isn't, by rights he should have put the martindale socket tester in a socket to check things were correct before powering down then:
Wear full face mask , flash jacket and rubber gloves to pull the cutout fuse after snipping seals.
Remove neutral tails and any earth wires from the cutout, check supply with a pair of test lamps to prove there is a neutral, then check polarity and voltage and EFLI.
Replace removed tails and check tightness of all screws including the meter and have a final check before replacing the cutout fuse with correct Ppe worn.
Plug the martindale socket tester into the same socket as used earlier as a final check and seal up cutout and meter.
It sounds pedantic but that's what u are supposed to do
He just sounds either lazy or badly trained.
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
