Help with possible bypassed meter - EK!

[Dangle_kt]

Hi,

Moved a few months ago. sockets still seem live even though CU is switched off. Have to remove these two huge porcelain fuses things to get the power to cut out (they are in an old metal case, with a broken seal - not broken by us) and spark like mad when we reconnect them to return power.

Recently had alarm fitted and the guy said he thinks the previous oweners might have tried bypassing the meter!

The meter still turns though and we leave the CU on all the time cos we aint scroungers!

We were meaning to get it fixed - but it sounded expensive and we have alot of other work to do on the house.

This is drawing to a close now - kitchen in, fully replastered all rooms, etc. etc. - anyway last week the electrics in our kitchen blew!

SOOOOO

We are going to have to get that fixed - no spark will touch it though will they if it is dodgy? And bypassed meters etc.

I have only gathered this from what i have read - i might be wrong, but i think they have duty to leave a house safe - and i guess it aint at the moment.

It doesn't need a full rewire, just the bypass bit sorting and prolly a new consumer unit with cables running down the garage wall into the kitchen (so no ruining our nice plaster!!!)

Can anyone offer any advise?

I am really worried we will get done for the bypassed meter, but you can tell it was done years ago and our bills have been coming through so they can tell we havn'ty been stealing.

Can anyone give me a rough indication of costs involved?

*GULP*

Thanks guys/girls!

 

[breezer]

costs see forum rule 9

pictures would help, see forum info for details

 

[dingbat]

Have to remove these two huge porcelain fuses things to get the power to cut out (they are in an old metal case, with a broken seal - not broken by us) and spark like mad when we reconnect them to return power.

You should NEVER try to remove fuses under load. Doing so can be extremely dangerous. If there is a fuse in the neutral (rather than a solid link) then you have a potentially lethal situation.

We were meaning to get it fixed - but it sounded expensive and we have alot of other work to do on the house.

Sorting out the main fuse is the cheapest thing going. Contact your DNO (District Network Operator) - you can find out who that is from this website: http://www.energynetworks.org - and tell them you have an obsolete main fuse that you believe to be dangerous. (If you say you think there are exposed live parts they'll be over like a shot!) They should sort all of that out, either for free or for a nominal charge.

...kitchen in, fully replastered all rooms, etc. etc. - anyway last week the electrics in our kitchen blew!

It doesn't need a full rewire, just the bypass bit sorting and prolly a new consumer unit with cables running down the garage wall into the kitchen (so no ruining our nice plaster!!!)

From what you've told us I have a sinking feeling. You didn't get this checked out before you did the cosmetic work, did you? You have done what so many DIY-ers do... not taken any advice.

Call in at least three sparks and get their opinions. (Sounds like a rewire to me.)

 

[Dangle_kt]

costs see forum rule 9

pictures would help, see forum info for details

ok prolly a better way of me putting it would be...

will the electricty board have to fix it, or will a spark be able to?

IS fixing bypassed electricty meter (i dont even know if this is the case yet) a nightmare job?

I appreiicate the reason for the rule - all i'm after is a little bit of help.

Cheers!

 

[breezer]

no one can you a price

it also depmeds what has been done, hence asking for a picture, so we can see

 

[Spark123]

I don't think any domestic electrician will touch anything to do with your meter, only the DNO people can really touch that. The wiring in the kitchen can, after the meter has been sorted out, be done by an electrician.

 

[Dangle_kt]

I don't think any domestic electrician will touch anything to do with your meter, only the DNO people can really touch that. The wiring in the kitchen can, after the meter has been sorted out, be done by an electrician.

Thanks - this is exactly what I want to find out - the reason I am nervous about asking DNO people(whatever that stands for) is that they might try and fine me or ask for more money on the bill....

How do I know I am not going to be getting myself into trouble for the previous owners stupidity?

Anyone know the process they follow, or what they do?

 

[Adam_151]

I can't imagine you can get in to trouble for what a previous owner did, however its possible that they might try and charge you for an esitmate of how much the meter reading has been out while you have been there.

I'd personally just tell them your service head is old and get them to send someone out to replace it, I guess if you get a decent enough person on the ground and you explain your concerns then they may just change the head, disconnect any bodges from their equipment and not mention it to anyone.

As dingbat says, you shouldn't be touching main fuses, expecially not if they are old (issues with old fuses is that they can break when being pulled and create a short circuit on the unfused side ::O and that when re-insterted by have poor contact and be a potential fire risk)

Then after the DNO have sorted their kit, you can have an electrician have a look at your install

 

[Softus]

Call in at least three sparks and get their opinions. (Sounds like a rewire to me.)

Erm, why three? Unless you pay them all then you'll be wasting the time of at least two of them.

 

[Dangle_kt]

Call in at least three sparks and get their opinions. (Sounds like a rewire to me.)

Erm, why three? Unless you pay them all then you'll be wasting the time of at least two of them.

Getting three quotes is just good business practise. One quote doesn't mean a thing.

If a business isn't willing to quote then they ain't really the sort of company I'd like doing work for me.

 

[Softus]

Getting three quotes is just good business practise.

This customer isn't a business, so your statement is indescribably nonsensical.

One quote doesn't mean a thing.

If a business isn't willing to quote then they ain't really the sort of company I'd like doing work for me.

In that case the only businesses who do work for you are those who have to charge more to cover the increased overheads spent on those two-thirds of their quotes for which they can't charge anyone. It's just an enormous waste of the country's resources.

 

[Lectrician]

I have to agree - I hate having to quote for some people, knowing they are going to get other quotews aswell - whats the real point. You have to turn on the charm - even if you can't stant the person.

I bet there is a second small CU hidden somewhere, or the OP is staring at but not seeing.

A photo of the metering would be good.

When you pull the old fuses, is the main CU off? And what is plugged into the 'dodgy' sockets? If nothing, then the fuses you are pulling must be looped to other buidlings aswell (not that uncommon). If so, you may be in a mutli-occupency type building? And if so, could have some sockets fed from a different flat - I have seen this done either on purpose (stealing), or in error - walls moved etc.

 

[dingbat]

I can't believe you've even bothered to challenge this, Softus.

It's an open market and contractors expect to be in competition with each other. I don't expect to get every job I quote for, but it's in my interests to play the game. It's not a waste of the country's resources, it's just a very normal business overhead

From the householders point of view, how can they know they are getting the right price and the right advice if they only see one contractor? The many one-man-bands plying for trade out there represent a wide spectrum of knowledge and experience and to randomly choose just one would be foolhardy. (In my experience there are long-established so-called 'electricians' whose practices border on the criminally dangerous.)

If, however, you get two or three concurring opinions with similar quotes, you can have greater confidence in your choice.

I'd go further, too. If you get three widely varying opinions and prices then you should seek additional quotes and keep going until you find a consensus.

(As for firms who won't quote, that's their choice. It may be that they are so good they are booked up for months and don't need the work, or it may be that their experience allows them to sniff out potentially troublesome jobs and customers. The fact remains though, that if you seek only one quote and it subsequently goes badly for you, everybody will tell you that you should have sought more.)

 

[breezer]

dingbat, you did not notice, today softus has his alkward / pedantic head on.

I agree with you, you should always get more than one quote, no matter what it is, except in the real world its called "put it out to tender"

eg, any trade.

person 1 says X but small print says they will not take away rubbish (old what ever they are removing)

person 2 says Y including taking all rubbish (see above)

person 3 says Z including taking all rubbish (see above) but z is slightly more than y, but you "felt better" with person 2

so person 2 gets the job

even forum rule 9 says

9) Please don't ask costs / prices (Ball park figure). Get several quotes, then you will know for sure

as i mentioned softus has the wrong head on today.


(air raid siren starts) incoming from softus

 

[Softus]

I can't believe you've even bothered to challenge this, Softus.

Not believing it won't make it go away.

It's an open market and contractors expect to be in competition with each other.

My competition comprises, almost entirely, a bunch of people who are unreliable, unfriendly, incompetent, lazy, criminal, expensive, short-termist and, quite possibly, extremely stupid. This is why I have no need to advertise, or to quote.

I don't expect to get every job I quote for, but it's in my interests to play the game. It's not a waste of the country's resources, it's just a very normal business overhead.

Things that are normal are not always efficient. I think it's fatuous to argue that there is no waste going on just because it happens a lot to you and to a lot of other people.

From the householders point of view, how can they know they are getting the right price and the right advice if they only see one contractor?

In a word, trust. Easy to lose, impossible to measure, but undeniable in its potency.

The many one-man-bands plying for trade out there represent a wide spectrum of knowledge and experience and to randomly choose just one would be foolhardy.

At one point did I advocate making a random choice?

If, however, you get two or three concurring opinions with similar quotes, you can have greater confidence in your choice.

If price is your only criterion, then I agree. Notwithstanding that, if you get a quote from more than one tradesperson, and use only one of them, and pay the other two nothing, then you waste the time of those two.

I'd go further, too. If you get three widely varying opinions and prices then you should seek additional quotes and keep going until you find a consensus.

That would be a masterful way of increasing the count of those whose time is wasted.

The fact remains though, that if you seek only one quote and it subsequently goes badly for you, everybody will tell you that you should have sought more.)

That isn't true - I won't, so not "everybody" will.
__________

(air raid siren starts) incoming from softus

You flatter yourself.