home electrics changing consumer unit

[jonas]

my consumer unit has not got enougth fuses up and downstairs lighting on same fuse same with sockets. want to change consumer unit, do i have to get the electricity board to disconnect the tails from the electric meter if not how do i get the casing of the meter? or is it safe just to disconect the tails from the consumer unit after first turning of the power on the consumer unit

 

[plugwash]

someone is going to have to pull the service fuse

technically you are supposed to ask the rec to come and do but they can be really slow and troublesome somtimes

due to this most sparkys i know just get on and pull the service fuse but this is not reccomended for diyers due to the fact that live parts will be exposed while pulling and may be exposed once it is pulled

if you do pull it then make sure you only touch plastic parts and make sure that the CU main switch is off when pulling and reinserting to prevent

 

[Lectrician]

The fact that Jonas thought that switching the CU off at ITS switch would safley isolate the tails indicates to me that it is beond him to change the CU.

I would not like to see any DIYER undertake such a task at all, simply asking for trouble.

RCD's, MCB's, RCBO's, TT, TN-S, TN-C-S, PME, 25mm, 16mm, 10mm, Main Equipotential Bonding.

If you have no grasp of the above, dont even try changing a CU.

 

[murraysnudge]

Lectrician, I agree with what you say about Jonas not appreciating that the tails are live but the service fuse is just a fuse and there is no reason why a competent diy person shouldn't pull it. There is no skill involved, it just needs an appreciation that live parts are exposed with it out. You may as well say don't remove a light bulb because you may stick your fingers in the fitting.
Yes, I have pulled several(for myself)and I am diy.

 

[Millennium_Boy]

someone is going to have to pull the service fuse

technically you are supposed to ask the rec to come and do but they can be really slow and troublesome somtimes

due to this most sparkys i know just get on and pull the service fuse but this is not reccomended for diyers due to the fact that live parts will be exposed while pulling and may be exposed once it is pulled

if you do pull it then make sure you only touch plastic parts and make sure that the CU main switch is off when pulling and reinserting to prevent

... potential arcing and danger of welding the fuseholder into the base, and the danger of the fuse blowing in your hand and leaving you with serious burns or worse.

 

[plugwash]

i was sure i had typed arcing on the end of that....

but your right its not there in the post. strange

 

[plugwash]

most sockets whether designed for plug in fuses or for feeding portable appliances are not really intended to be disconnected under load

there are a few exceptions though for example nuteric powercons (lovely connectors unfortunately forbidden for domestic use as you can dismantle the line connectors without tools)

 

[Zoonie]

many people mention to pull the rec's fuse,which means cutting the seals,i thought that was something not to do,due to the fact that you can get into trouble with the electricity board.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It's the seals on the meter that you mustn't touch

 

[plugwash]

its the seals on the meter body they really care about

the meter terminal seals and the service fuse seals they don't care about too much

 

[plugwash]

also most modern CUs have the incomer on the oppisite side from the old wylex standard boards

so in near 50% of CU change jobs you have to open the meter terminal cover to fit longer tails

 

[securespark]

They do care about meter terminal cover seals! If you breach those, you can steal electricity......

 

[plugwash]

you can also do it if you open the service fuse seals

and a lot of modern CUs have the incomer on the opposite side from the old wylex standards so the tails from meter-CU have to be replaced

we had a new CU fitted as part of having an extention built and there have been no seals on our service fuse or meter terminals since then and the rec haven't said anything or resealed yet

with that in mind it would be very hard for them to prove who did it and when even if they did care

 

[Lectrician]

Changed a fuse board some 5 or 6 yrs ago in a cottage. Went back (different owners would you beleive, those stickers on the CU's do a good job) to install an electric cooker circuit. Meter seals still open

 

[dingbat]

I always re-seal them when I'm finished. At the very least it stops the kids from getting their fingers in. I once attended a property where the shroud on the main fuse wasn't replaced (it was sitting there, on top of the block) and live parts were accessible to small fingers.