Isolator

[Duncan P]

Electrician came from Siemens to change meter, and get rid of old 3 phase wiring which he did, asked him if he would fit a 100amp isolater for me which I had bought, he said it was against the law and he didnt have part P certification.

So I offered him 40 notes and he still declined. He said I had to ring up and get them to pull the fuse and the I could get my own electrician to fit the isolator, then they could refit the fuse.

Sounds like lots of hassle when surely most people would have just fitted it - or would they not?

 

[breezer]

bloke is honest, and doesnt have the kit

 

[industryspark]

are we referring to a 100A double pole isolator between the meter/main fuse?

dont the suppliers fit these for very little anyway if requested. ive heard figures of £30 so pretty cheap really.

 

[Duncan P]

meter and CU. The guy had the tools phillips and wirecutters - he fitted a new meter and I wondered if he could fit the isolator onto the board, he said this was illegal too, needs a new board apparently.

never mind, anyone know a good electrican near norwich?

 

[breezer]

you missed out cable, which he wont have, also he is probbly on a time limit to get them done.

simple that it may sound to you, its often "simple jobs" you wish you didnot start

 

[streetlighter]

If i was offered 40 notes id have fitted it no problems. Providing i had some tails and the ensclosure was suitable.
When i called up Scottish power for a meter change i requested an isolator switch fitting they agreed and sent out two separate job cards. The guy turned up and tried to get out of it as we had an old ELCB between the meter and CU but i insisted and got a nice new MEM 100a Triple pole switch installed.

 

[Lectrician]

What is the facination of these isolators!

I hate them, they are a pointless exercise IMO

 

[securespark]

Why?

They mean that you can work safely on the system without having to bother the DNO to reseal. That's a good thing, isn't it?

 

[Steve]

Who bothers with resealing?

And I think what Lectrician is getting at is that in a domestic property, the frequency to need to isolate the CU is very low - so why bother with the isolator.

 

[Gaz the Sparky]

I understand what you are saying about isolators I think they are good thing though

i've had two emergency call outs this week where i had to call the DNO out to pull the fuse and reseal

the first job had no isolator and the 100ma trip in the split load board had burnt up and was no longer working. so i had to wait for the DNO to come and reseal the cutout. this is when an isolator is handy i could have isolated the board and changed the trip.

The second job had an isolator which had burnt up the neutral cable hadn't been conected properly and the isolator had started to burn and melt resulting in no power again. I had to call the DNO again to reseal the meter and suply fuse and I had to renew the tails to the board.

I still think they are a good thing though its just another thing that can go wrong

I'll post some pictures of the said isolator later cos i know we all like pictures

GTS

 

[industryspark]

Lectrician wrote

What is the facination of these isolators!

I hate them, they are a pointless exercise IMO

dont agree, surrely they are a good thing. saves pulling the main fuse which in some circumstances can be dangerous (alright not often but they at least eliminate the risk). and it is technically not aloud for sparks to mess with suppliers equipment so again this would be eliminated along with calling for reseal.

think we should move with the times personally.

 

[Gaz the Sparky]

Pictures of the isolator sorry for poor photo quality taken with my phone in the pitch black

GTS

 

[Lectrician]

And thats one of the many reasons I HATE THEM - Another loose link in the chain. I have removed many that look just like that - REMOVED THEM - not replaced.

So - The main switch in the CU burns out, and you need to change it................50% chance it could have been the 'main' isolator that burnt out.

Sorry - they are pointless, are another link to go wrong, take up space, serve no purpose.



Drop them.

 

[RF Lighting]

I'm with you on this.

No need to fit them, and one thing less to go wrong.

I also avoid Henly blocks if I can.

I only fitted one last year.

 

[mdbalson]

I'm with you on this.

No need to fit them, and one thing less to go wrong.

I also avoid Henly blocks if I can.

I only fitted one last year.

But the Regs say that you have to have one if you have two CCUs, so that you have one point of disconnection.