CU replacement and seal break

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We would like to replace the old fuse box with a modern Wylex consumer unit with RCDs and proper breakers.

However there are no switches between the REC main cable and the fuse box. This means that there will be live cable coming into the consumer unit and it would be foolish to try to replace unit with main live cable hanging around.

Apart from the electricity meter, in between the consumer unit and the main cable there is a ceramic box that could be opened by breaking a seal. I guess that inside there is a switch or a fuse that can be removed to isolate the electricity supply.

I called the Regional Electricity Company to ask whether 1) they would stop the supply of electricity while we replace the consumer unit. 2) they would reseal the ceramic box after we opened. it looks like they do not do 1), but they do 2) after they have certified that the installation is done properly.

Can anyone help me understand how this works?
 
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Basically everything before the meter belongs to the Electricity supplier,everything after the meter belongs to you.

You should NOT break a seal to pull the service fuse without permission of the relevant electic company (I know you have gained permission),if you do you can be prosecuted.

Why not ask them to fit (or connect after you have fitted) an islolator between your side of the meter and the CU so that you can isolate the incoming voltage and work on your new CU as and when necessary?

When they come back to reseal the broken seal they will probably ask you what work has been carried out and test and inspect the new works,advise you if it's ok and issue you with a certificate if they're happy with it.

Always check and double check before you carry out any works yourself.
Apologies if that sounds patronising (it wasn't meant to)
 
Marquee:
......if you do you can be prosecuted.
Will you clarify that one please? What exactly can you be prosecuted for; is it criminal damage to the seal?
 
The seal you are going to break does not belong to you.

The technical name for the type of offence you would be committing,I'm not sure of.
 
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i think you can also get done for theft,they would say you broke the seal to steal electricity. in short, its not worth touching, literally
 
The REC I called plainly told me to go ahead and break the seal. They would hten come to the property and reseal it. What they did not tell me is
1) How do I prove I have been authorized?
2) How much it will be to reseal the main cable.
3) What is required to get approval? I will use a highly skilled electrician that has never worked in the UK. So he will not be aware of bureacreaucy and he will not be an approved electrician.


I also thought that the idea of having an isolator was the perfect decision. However, it looks like none of the RECs mantain the distribution network and people who answer the phone do not have access to technical expertise. So I stopped pursuing this, when I had had enough of being re-routed from a department to another.
 
Acchillo,

To clarify, is the ceramic box between the meter and consumer unit or between the incoming supply and the consumer unit?

I'd be very wary or taking the word of a guy (or girl) on the phone.

If you post the old name for the electricity board in your area, I (or someone else) will post back the name of the distributor you should contact. Unfortionately, no-one seems to keep an up-to-date list on the Internet.

--
Michael
 
The REC will not normally test anything beyond the meter tails, they will expect to see a completion cert signed by the installer, also usually required are,
Main bonds upgraded to relevant size
Meter tails upgraded to relevant size
Main earth upgraded to relevant size

As for cutting seals I have never heard of anyone being prosecuted, stealing electricity is a different matter and has to be proved. I recommend you get an electrician to do the work and test it
 
you arent technically supposed to cut the seals but many sparkys do it all the time

worst comes to worst you can just say it was done by an electrician you no longer have contact with and they have no way to disprove this

it is not normally to be recocmended for diyers to pull the service fuse though as some older designs can leave exposed live parts either during pulling or when pulled so take care if you do it

also if you do pull it make sure no current is flowing to prevent arcing
 
plugwash said:
you arent technically supposed to cut the seals but many sparkys do it all the time

worst comes to worst you can just say it was done by an electrician you no longer have contact with and they have no way to disprove this

it is not normally to be recocmended for diyers to pull the service fuse though as some older designs can leave exposed live parts either during pulling or when pulled so take care if you do it

also if you do pull it make sure no current is flowing to prevent arcing
Agreed, i had my old wylex wired consumer unit swapped to an MK split load unit a couple of weeks ago. I wouldn't have had a problem doing the work myself but wanted an approved company to come in and do the work. That way i have an invoice and a test certificate so that i shouldn’t have any issues in future either with the REC or if i sell the house. For the £42 (inc vat) it cost to have my old wired unit removed and my new unit fitted to my exact configuration it wasn’t worth doing it myself. And as the spark said for my installation if I play about with the CU just make sure everything is switched off on my side of the meter before pulling or replacing the service fuse.
 
shedssssssss said:
"... i had my old wylex wired consumer unit swapped to an MK split load unit a couple of weeks ago. I wouldn't have had a problem doing the work myself but wanted an approved company to come in and do the work. That way i have an invoice and a test certificate so that i shouldn’t have any issues in future either with the REC or if i sell the house. For the £42 (inc vat) it cost to have my old wired unit removed and my new unit fitted to my exact configuration it wasn’t worth doing it myself."

What???? £42 for a CU change? Have you missed a zero off or is somebody trying to put themselves out of business?? He can come and sub for me any time!
 
plugwash said:
it is not normally to be recocmended for diyers to pull the service fuse though as some older designs can leave exposed live parts either during pulling or when pulled so take care if you do it

also if you do pull it make sure no current is flowing to prevent arcing

I pulled our service fuse the other day to add a new cct to the fusebox (not strictly necessary, but didnt fancy working so close to live tails in an old wylex fusebox*), even with the CU switched off there was still a small spark when I removed the fuse which must be due to current drawn from the meter? It did leave some quite large exposed live parts too so you must be aware of that and I will be covering it up when I replace the CU soon.


* I can't believe how dangerous the old wooden wylex fusebox looked when I took the front off! Wires just crammed in everywhere. I will get around to fitting the nice new 12 way MK split unit soon - I am not putting any more circuits in the existing box :eek:
 
dingbat said:
What???? £42 for a CU change? Have you missed a zero off or is somebody trying to put themselves out of business?? He can come and sub for me any time!
Yeah decent job was made of it to, i got charge £23.50 per hr and the job 1.5hrs. That was to removing the existing unit and add in the one i'd bought, it probably would have taken an hour if it werent for all the chatting and the bacon butties :D He then did the visual inspection and tested it for the minor works NIC cert and gave me an invoice :)

The company i used is a family run company and has been around for 30+ years i think, the spark that came out was the owners son (early 20's). I even bunged him a couple of quid for all the advice he gave me regarding the circuit i'm putting in to my utility room outside :) Got quoted £45 for an inspection of all the electricals or a little over £100 for a full inspection / report (NIC one i think that u can use when selling a house etc). I'll be using them again :)
 
shedssssssss said:
dingbat said:
What???? £42 for a CU change? Have you missed a zero off or is somebody trying to put themselves out of business?? He can come and sub for me any time!
Yeah decent job was made of it to, i got charge £23.50 per hr and the job 1.5hrs. That was to removing the existing unit and add in the one i'd bought, it probably would have taken an hour if it werent for all the chatting and the bacon butties :D He then did the visual inspection and tested it for the minor works NIC cert and gave me an invoice :)

The company i used is a family run company and has been around for 30+ years i think, the spark that came out was the owners son (early 20's). I even bunged him a couple of quid for all the advice he gave me regarding the circuit i'm putting in to my utility room outside :) Got quoted £45 for an inspection of all the electricals or a little over £100 for a full inspection / report (NIC one i think that u can use when selling a house etc). I'll be using them again :)

methinks it wasnt a full cu change, maybe a single circuit test....
if not then thats total crap- or you had it done in the 60s.
its impossible he changed the whole CU as parts would have cost that at the least alone
 
supersparks said:
methinks it wasnt a full cu change, maybe a single circuit test....
if not then thats total rubbish- or you had it done in the 60s.
its impossible he changed the whole CU as parts would have cost that at the least alone
Ok i'll define what i mean and what was done shall i.

I had an existing wired fused wylex (sp?) unit in, i'd bought a fully loaded MK split load unit (£58 inc). "All" the spark did was remove the existing unit (taping together all the circuits as he removed them from the unit), pulled the service fuse and removed the CU from the wall. He then wired up a inspection lamp to a hennly (sp?) block because the CU is in my cellar so no natural light, he stuck the service fuse back in and mounted the new CU. It did need moving slightly because the existing circuit cables were all neatly cut to lenght for the old unit (grrr).

Once the new CU was on the wall he routed all the cables in and stuck the circuits where i wanted em on the rcd / non rcd side. Once done he removed service fuse again and connected the incomers. He stuck a box thingy on some of the circuits and said they tested fine, he also checked the earth bonding and found there is no earth going to the water main (it goes to the hot water cyclinder instead) and noted that down on the NIC sheet.

Either way thats not "total rubbish", that is what happened fair enough if i'd label what he did incorrectly and u assumed i meant some else but frankly as with a couple of ppl on this board ur attuide in ur post and manner is poor imo.
 

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