Moving Meter

[dodgydiy]

Hi
due to alterations I need to move my electric meter and fusebox. SWEB will be moving the meter, but I will be moving and replacing the box myself, however there are a couple of things I need advice on.

1) The meters and boxes I've had in any house I've lived in have all been mounted on a wooden board. Is this just for convenience or is it a requirement, and if so are there any specifications (eg fire resistant).

2) As I will be away when SWEB move the meter I want to install the new box in advance. Will I be able to feed a supply to the new box from the old (treat it like an extension) and if so what size cable should I use.

3) SWEB have asked that the cable from meter to box is laid and the tails are accessible for connection to the metre.
i) What size cable do I need
ii) It will run through an external wall and under the floor . I assume it
will have to be in conduit. Will this be standard, or specially rated.
iii) They wont do any work in the house, including connecting the new
fusebox. How do I safely feed a supply to the new fusebox (as
mentioned in Q2) and connect the new cable to run outside to the
new meter box without leaving exposed live wires. I want to avoid
my wife and kids being without power while I'm away.

 

[plugwash]

from the (new?) consumer unit (fusebox) ( to the new meter site (which i assume will be a wall mount meter box) you should run 25mm tails and leave them plenty of slac to work with

i would then run temporary 2.5mm tails from the existing meter to the new meter location and join them to your new tails in a double pole henly block

then lablel them as "to cu" and "to existing meter"

 

[plugwash]

or better still use one long run from the existing meter to the CU via the new location

and you need to do the same with the main earth

also you need to check your main equipotential bonds, the new install is likely to be PME and that means main equipotential bonds absolutely must be 10mm and a lot of recs reccomend 16mm

 

[dodgydiy]

thanks for the advise, but you've started to get technical! Whats PME, and
what are the equipotential bonds. Is this going to be more than a straight swapping old CU (actally 3 CU's) for new?

 

[plugwash]

main equipotential bonds are the runs from your main earthing point (either a CU earth bar or a seperate bare metal terminal) to incoming water and gas pipes

 

[Big_Spark]

1) The meters and boxes I've had in any house I've lived in have all been mounted on a wooden board. Is this just for convenience or is it a requirement, and if so are there any specifications (eg fire resistant).

12mm MDF board is sufficient for this purpose. Domestic Consumer units are better not mounted straight to a wall.

2) As I will be away when SWEB move the meter I want to install the new box in advance. Will I be able to feed a supply to the new box from the old (treat it like an extension) and if so what size cable should I use

3) SWEB have asked that the cable from meter to box is laid and the tails are accessible for connection to the metre.
i) What size cable do I need
ii) It will run through an external wall and under the floor . I assume it
will have to be in conduit. Will this be standard, or specially rated.
iii) They wont do any work in the house, including connecting the new
fusebox. How do I safely feed a supply to the new fusebox (as
mentioned in Q2) and connect the new cable to run outside to the
new meter box without leaving exposed live wires. I want to avoid
my wife and kids being without power while I'm away.

I would suggest that you call a professional to do this. It is difficult to comment on this without seeing what you have at the mains etc. This is not a guess it type job by any means.

 

[securespark]

from the (new?) consumer unit (fusebox) ( to the new meter site (which i assume will be a wall mount meter box) you should run 25mm tails and leave them plenty of slac to work with

i would then run temporary 2.5mm tails from the existing meter to the new meter location and join them to your new tails in a double pole henly block

then lablel them as "to cu" and "to existing meter"

Plug, you can't say this because we don't know the distance between new meter & new CU.

He said the cable goes thro' wall and under floor implying a fair distance, DI tails should be no longer than 2m before you need a submain.

 

[dodgydiy]

He said the cable goes thro' wall and under floor implying a fair distance, DI tails should be no longer than 2m before you need a submain.

The ideal position for neatness and to keep CU out of reach of children is 5m (approx) from meter. What is a submain, is it expensive and would it be worth sacrificing neatness and build a lockable cupboard within 2m of meter box?

main equipotential bonds are the runs from your main earthing point (either a CU earth bar or a seperate bare metal terminal) to incoming water and gas pipes

I can't see anything obvious connected to either gas or water pipes!! Would this be right for a 50's/60's house or would they be bonded somewhere inaccessible? Would it make any odds if I bonded them anyway?

The existing CU is an old wire type containing the following:
Upstairs ring
Downstairs ring
Lights
Shower
Cooker
and we will be adding a ring for a loft conversion we are having done.
Could someone advise me as to the size/type of CU I should be replacing it with.

I will be getting a pro in to do some of the work, but I like to be sure that I know what they are talking about and that they aren't selling me more than I need, nor cutting corners.
Thank you all in advance

 

[ChrisRogers]

i think you need a pro in to do most of the work, especialy if the run is more than 2m and you have no main bonding!

 

[Big_Spark]

It is 100% a Pro Job...if the board are not happy with the work when they come to move the meter they will likely leave your supply disconnected and you'll have no power at all!!