How to install a second consumer unit

[masona]

As soon as I've found my roundtuit I was going to start with the customer services number, and see what they say. I was thinking about having the meters moved to the outside at the same time - does anybody know what sort of charge is usually made for that?

I know this is a bit late...

You have to buy the white plastic casing for the meter depending on the type you want,you can put this into the wall yourselves saving money and they charged me approx £730 for the gas and electric meter with all the connection.This was approx 2 yrs ago and the cost depends where you want the meter to moved to...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

SEVEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY POUNDS?


%&@@$* +£##!

 

[masona]

Apparently I've been told that's cheap for gas and electricity

What could I do about it It has to be done by transco plus a corgi reg plumber and a electricity company plus a electrician.So quite a number of people involves including the company inspector.

Bearing in mind both gas/electric meters are brand new and moved approx 5m to the front side plus breaking up concrete drive & digging up a deep trench for the gas supply and also the electric company personnel was joining the electric cable lives with special clothing and made goods afterward.

£730 cheap or expensive I have no idea but I wanted the job done and we've got no control over it.

See what the others think ?

Coming away from the subject my wife who works for curtain company part-time just fitted a complete curtains in a new house £9400 I feel better now

 

[supersparks]

i dont think its that bad personly, would have been cheeper if you had done tha labour, but why get dirty when your wife makes that much?!
btw do leccy companys need to see a certificate before thay will connect a supply? or do thay just do it? and what do they do if on the day they come, and the bord isnot ready, or even there for them to connect to? they jsut put their meter in and b"gg*r off?

 

[ChrisRogers]

btw do leccy companys need to see a certificate before thay will connect a supply? or do thay just do it? and what do they do if on the day they come, and the bord isnot ready, or even there for them to connect to? they jsut put their meter in and b"gg*r off?

also if their is a cu there, does there have ot be any circuits connected to it?

 

[supersparks]

gd point wonder if they would a switchfuse with nothing connected to it

 

[masona]

i dont think its that bad personly, would have been cheeper if you had done tha labour, but why get dirty when your wife makes that much?!

I would've done the labour but they wasn't sure where the best place to dig the hole and also was a bit nervous hitting the mains electric cable giving me a free electric shock treatment If my wife could earn that much I would be retired and have a new job role in the kitchen

 

[dingbat]

wonder if they would a switchfuse with nothing connected to it

Yes, they will. I've just been phoning around my local suppliers and electricity board. Since I first posted here I've been enrolled directly onto Part 2 of C & G 2360 (I've already got lots of science quals and lots of work experience, so they said not to bother with Part 1). I'm also studying for 16th Edition as of next week, so I've done a lot of homework and gained a lot of insight from lads on the course...

Most elec boards will happily upgrade an existing supply by upgrading the fuse, supplying new tails and fitting an isolator. East Midlands Electricity will charge about £23 to pull the cutout and the same to reseal it, but they would rather fit an isolator and have done. Because they are responsible only for the supply to the house they will not ask for any kind of certificate - the fuse they fit is to protect THEIR circuit, not yours, so everything after the isolator is up to the homeowner.

Go for the new split load consumer unit - you can get a perfectly adequate, pre-assembled one for £60 from Screwfix.com at the moment, then get a sparky to connect it up for you. Expect to pay £150-200 for the job, which should take most of the day if he tests your circuits before he connects up. (Obviously there may well be extras if your existing wiring doesn't conform)

 

[supersparks]

Yes, they will. I've just been phoning around my local suppliers and electricity board. Since I first posted here I've been enrolled directly onto Part 2 of C & G 2360 (I've already got lots of science quals and lots of work experience, so they said not to bother with Part 1). I'm also studying for 16th Edition as of next week, so I've done a lot of homework and gained a lot of insight from lads on the course...

how you get that to be brought into light? did you got to interview and tell them? because im in much the same situation there, although not qualified i have been doing leccy work for about 7 years, worked with and for electricians, wonder if i can skip ' this is how you wire a plug'?

 

[dingbat]

how you get that to be brought into light? did you got to interview and tell them? because im in much the same situation there, although not qualified i have been doing leccy work for about 7 years, worked with and for electricians, wonder if i can skip ' this is how you wire a plug'?

Well, having spent a lot of my life doing all kinds of problem solving practical jobs in mechanical/electrical/electronic field work at home and abroad, I did a masters degree in software engineering and got myself into the IT & Communications business... just as IT and Comms crashed. Result? Redundancy. So I taught IT at a local Further Education College and it just depressed me the lengths the government will go to to cram everybody into a qualification, no matter how unsuited the student or how worthless the piece of paper. I always fancied going it alone, so I chatted to the tutor who teaches electrical installation and that's what he recommended. (I still have to do the Part 1 assignments, but I don't need to do the exam as the Part 2 exam is obviously at a higher level.)

Part 1 is aimed largely at apprentices starting out and covers a lot of stuff about turning up for work, dressing yourself and not picking your nose. (Plus ordering long stands, buckets of steam and sky hooks) It's also a lot more hands on and serves as an introduction to working practices. But, if your grasp of electrical theory is up to scratch (and you're obviously happy about the practical side) why not go to your local FE College and ask them? The least you should do - in preparation for the possible consequences of Part P - is take the 16th Edition and Test & Inspection courses.

Best of luck!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

... Plus ordering long stands, buckets of steam and sky hooks....

Don't forget the 6BA holes and a tin of striped paint....

 

[supersparks]

cheers and you, i have to go to an interview for the placement on the course, wonder if its worth m,e taking pictures of past work thats the only thing im not looking forward to doing, the bl**dy basics, its all very well if you dont know them, but when you do its damn boring, btw anyone know where you can get hold of past papers on the web? or send off for em? wouldent mind finding out what i get in them....

 

[dingbat]

You could take pictures; it won't do any harm. But from my experience the only thing they'll be bothered about is whether or not you'll pass the course. FE is private businesss these days, with income to generate and targets to hit. As for doing the basics, I've been surprised by how little theory the guys who have just spent two years doing Part 1 are comfortable with - they come to me with all their sums!

 

[BR]

In Ireland the electricity company will install meter and service head as soon as the electrician issues a completian certificate. This cert states the all work on the innstlation has been completed and is ready for connnection, although I have seen cases when it clearly has not been. These 'self certification' certificates are issued by the contractor himself and supplied by one of two 'unions' if you like. These unions are completly seperate of the electric company, they make a regester of their members available to the public and also set rules and regulations which must be complied with in adition to the IEE regs. Strangly enough, even if an electrician is fully qualified he cannot certifie that the installation is ready for connection unless he is a member of one of these unions. Is the case similar in the UK?

In relation to removing the service fuse and seals on the installation, regestered (members of one of these unions) are provided with their own seals for use on the service head although many leave it unsealed? What is the case in the U.K?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

....Strangly enough, even if an electrician is fully qualified he cannot certifie that the installation is ready for connection unless he is a member of one of these unions. Is the case similar in the UK?

Not yet, but after years of lobbying by industry bodies like NICEIC new regulations have been proposed by the Govt and this situation will soon apply here.