Metal protection for exposed meter tails

[tricia]

Hi

I have two 25mm^2 meter tails (plus the 16mm^2 earth cable) coming through an
internal brick wall into our sitting room at skirting board height. They then go down
under the floorboards.

I need to provide some metal/mechanical protection over them but 1.5inch capping
[obviously] will not suffice.

Can anyone suggest what [product] I can get to put here and where to get it from?

Thanks in advance.

 

[securespark]

Looking at the problem from the other end, is it possible to re-site the tails so they are concealed?

Why do they disappear under the floor? If they are standard DI tails, they should not be more than 2-3m long anyway.

Can you post a piccy?

 

[tricia]

Hi

Well, they were installed by the electricity board and I think their limit was 4m.
They are about 4m long anyway. (Supplier is now Powergen, was SEEBOARD
before that.)

I don't have a piccy, but in short, the CU is high up on the wall in the hallway
and the Service Head is on the other side of the wall, low down and to the right.
So, the tails go (in reverse) from the CU, 2m down the wall, thru the wall
at skirting board height to the sitting room, then down about 10cm to go under
the floorboards, then right by about 1m and pop up again thru the floorboards
to the service head and meter in the sitting room. (Great location, not)

So, the 10cm of vertical cable is exposed at skirting board height.

I was going to get some sheet metal folded to suit to go over the wires (like a top
hat.) Is this OK?

Finally, above the CU I have two 20cm lengths of meter tail cable going from a
main switch (double pole isolator) to the CU itself. As these cables go up, across
and then down, I was going to protect them with a sheet of galvanized steel over
them too. Is this OK or would this sheet need to be earthed as it is near the CU???

Thanks in advance

 

[paulh53]

Any type of metal that is used to protect cables should be suitably earthed,

 

[felix]

I can see why you'ld want to protect a cable at skirting board level but at the CU end, with only 20cm of cable high up on a wall, I'd say that a visible cable is much less likely to be damaged than a hidden one.