Meter lifespan

[Filo]

Hi all, i believe that my meter is faulty, is there a legal time period for a meter as i have ben in this house for 20 years now and the meter has never been changed, i wondered how long a meter is supposed to last

 

[Filo]

surely someone must have an idea

 

[efiste2]

There is definateley a legal time, I THINK it may be 10 years, although im not certain. We used to do what i think were called ESMA meter changes, that had to be done as it was a STATUTORY thing..........long time ago though .....look out for ROO on here, hes bang up to date with DNO metering!!

 

[Steve]

I think its more like 20 years, though who holds the records and what-not is a mystery since the energy markets were opened up.

 

[oharaf]

My meter is around 40 years old and the DNO could not give a sh1t about it, despite requests from me for up grade.

They don't seem overly bothered about FUSED Neutrals in the service head either (6 -8 weeks)

and my customer has no earth, the DNO told me they would be round in about 6 to 12 weeks and that I can fit an earth spike in the mean time!!!

When I asked if they would stand the cost of an earth spike they said absolutely not, I have asked for this in writing, just incase my customer dies of earth leakage, then at least his insurance will pay up for his wife as it would not be his fault...

To top off when I 'enquired' about Ze for the address I was told it is 0.8 ohms, mmmm which book has that come out of?????

 

[Spark123]

I don't think the DNO has to provide an earth, but they should maintain one if it is already there.
As far as the electrode goes, if you install one that is your problem and your responsibility to do it correctly, not much to do with the DNO.

 

[RF Lighting]

It's the standard response for no earth from YEDL.

I have been advised by them to rely on a parallell path (a gas pipe!!) as a temporary earth until they arrived 6 - 8 weeks later.

 

[oharaf]

So RF, can you still test for sufficient earth? , or do you just cross your fingers and hope?

I cannot see how you can test for Ze without an earth??

 

[RF Lighting]

You can't test for Ze until the DNO has been along and repaired things if there is no incomming earth.

You can check there is an earth on the parallell path, but I think your best option it to temporarily TT the supply as per the DNOs instructions, and remove the TT parts once they have provided a proper terminal.

You must not just put your EFLI tester onto a pipe and do a test. This could result in all exposed metalwork rising to a dangerous voltage.

You should fill out your paperwork as a TT supplied installation, and then retest and certify once the installation is connected to the suppliers earth.

If you were to do anything else, and something went wrong then you would be in real trouble.

How can you prove the DNO told you to leave the installation in a dangerous condition? It will be your ass on the line, not theirs.

 

[consumer done over]

funny how the consumer is required to adhere to part p, obtain certificates, pay notification fees, have inspections etc etc but the Government has done fa to compel DNOs to provide a safe supply in our houses and look after their equipment....

 

[RF Lighting]

Isn't that what the ESQCR regs are in place for?

 

[securespark]

I have been advised by them to rely on a parallell path (a gas pipe!!) as a temporary earth until they arrived 6 - 8 weeks later.

That's horrendous, Rob! You think they'd know better...

PLEASE: If anyone reading this has been advised similarly, it has never been accepted under electrical regulations to use a gas pipe as a means of earthing and since 1966 (14th Edition), it has been against electrical regulations to use a water pipe for the same purpose.

So, if you have NO earth terminal, then install an earth electrode (rod or similar) and a 100A 30mA RCD as a minimum to ensure safety until you decide on a permanent solution.

Take care if you are installing a rod to avoid underground drains, pipes and cables, etcetera.

If you have an earth terminal, but the Ze ( External Earth Fault Loop Impedance) is too high or non-existent, then your DNO is duty-bound to repair the fault.

It helps if you have a Ze reading to give them when requesting help from an engineer: tell them your Ze reading is beyond accepted limits for your supply type and as such that it is an emergency situation.
They have engineers available to respond to just this kind of emergency and you should expect assistance from them within the next few hours.

I visited a house in Staffs once. It had a TN-C-S supply & was built in 1975. The Ze value fluctuated, but the worst was 1500 Ohms. The conversation went like this:

Me: "I have a high Ze on a TN-C-S supply."

Her: "How high?"

Me: "15....."

Her: "Blimey, that is high!"

Me: "...hundred Ohms."

Her: [Thud........]

Turned out the NE link had never been tightened up properly since the supply was installed...

Isn't that what the ESQCR regs are in place for?

Of course!

Guidance to the Electrical Safety, Quality & Continuity Regulations 2002 here:

http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file26709.pdf


Guidance to the Electrical Safety, Quality & Continuity (Amendment) Regulations 2006 here:

http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file30696.pdf

 

[consumer done over]

could you post the range of acceptable Ze values?

This would hel when writing to the DNOs.

 

[Click-Sure]

Yeah, CN are good like that too.

Me: Hi, I'd like to report a dangerous supply cable.

CN: What leads you to beleive it is dangerous?

Me: Well, its the main incoming cable down the wall from the incoming overhead supply and the insulation has long since parted company with the cable.

CN: Is it easily accessable?

Me: From the flat roof of the garage it is yes.

CN: We don't class that as urgent, we will write to the householder with an appointment within the next 6-8 months.

Me: What about the flat roof contractor who's planning to start tomorrow? Not only that what if the uninsulated cables that are right side by side arc and blow a hole in the side of the house?

CN: Inform the roofer not to go up there then.

Me: Supervisor please!

The supervisor understood the gravity of the situation and an engineer was with me before you could say "the trucks are always rolling" in a voice similar to that of Fat Tony in the simpsons

Not only that, nobody I've ever spoken to at CN can decide how long unfused meter tails are allowed to be, some say 1 metre, some say 5, some just dont give a rats a$$.