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Phase Identification

Highly unlikely but do you think the property had two phases originally with maybe an earth terminal where the green disk is? I realise you have a TT system but the colour of the disks plus the "newer" cut-out below the green makes me wonder.
 
Highly unlikely but do you think the property had two phases originally with maybe an earth terminal where the green disk is? I realise you have a TT system but the colour of the disks plus the "newer" cut-out below the green makes me wonder.
A theoretical possibility, but I don't think so - all four incoming cables have clearly been there 'for decades' (and FWIW all look identical, and are externally clipped together in pairs).

I've been trying to think of the explanation for the different RH ('green')cut-out. It's certainly been like that for as long as I can remember. We had a fair bit of work done on the supply immediately after we moved in (about 24 years ago) - not the least because we inherited three separate single phase meters (and a 3-phase VO ELCB, rather than any any RCDs), and it's possible that they replaced one damaged cut-out at that time. I just can't remember - but I might somewhere have a photo of the very original setup - I'll have a look!

Kind Regards, John.
 
Thanks for the photo John, that makes it much clearer. I'd say that's almost certainly a case of the second possibility I mentioned then, i.e. of the local board using one of a variety of different identification schemes before red/white/blue became the standard.
Yes, possibly. We are (were) talking about East Midlands Electricity Board - anyone out there familiar with any of their 3-phase supplies, and whether they have red/blue/green and/or A, B, C identification (or red neutrals :-)) ?

Kind Regards, John.
 
Not sure about the old EMEB, but I've certainly seen references to some area boards using green as a phase color in the past. I believe at least one board (can't remember which) used red/white/green (not necessarily in that specific phase rotation; it might have been red/green/white).
 
The Red neutral is quite common on that type of cabling as the DNO do not want to carry 2 drums of cable about. If they were connecting up a whole street, it would be quite a lot to haul around. "Current" rules do state that no inner insulation should be showing though.
 
The Red neutral is quite common on that type of cabling as the DNO do not want to carry 2 drums of cable about. If they were connecting up a whole street, it would be quite a lot to haul around. "Current" rules do state that no inner insulation should be showing though.
Thanks. Are you suggesting that the inner insulation of the three phase conductors (which I can't see) are also probably all red? In addition to outlawing the visible inner insulation, do the 'current rules' also require some sort of visible identification of which conductor is which?

Kind Regards, John.
 
Thanks. Are you suggesting that the inner insulation of the three phase conductors (which I can't see) are also probably all red? In addition to outlawing the visible inner insulation, do the 'current rules' also require some sort of visible identification of which conductor is which?

Kind Regards, John.[/quote]

They are most probably all the same colour

Our rules state that no inner insulation is showing, on some older equipment that is impossible, and all incoming tail's to the meter are labeled with one piece of tape and the outgoing tail's with 2 pieces of tape.
 
They are most probably all the same colour
That's interesting - and not what I would have expected.

Our rules state that no inner insulation is showing, on some older equipment that is impossible, and all incoming tail's to the meter are labeled with one piece of tape and the outgoing tail's with 2 pieces of tape.
Fair enough, but I'm not talking of meter tails - but, rather, the incoming DNO feed. If all four incoming conductors have the same colour insulation, is there not a requirement for them to be labelled in some way - not the least to distinguish the neutral from the phase ones, even before we get to phase rotation?

Kind Regards, John.
 
(also, the order R/B/Y would have been unusual, wouldn't it?):
No.

RYB indicates phase rotation, so you'd only have RYB labelling to the cutouts if the phases rotated left to right. If the cutouts got wired so that the rotation was from right to left, this would be indicated by swapping Y and B.
 
(also, the order R/B/Y would have been unusual, wouldn't it?):
No. RYB indicates phase rotation, so you'd only have RYB labelling to the cutouts if the phases rotated left to right. If the cutouts got wired so that the rotation was from right to left, this would be indicated by swapping Y and B.
I realise that, but thought (perhaps incorrectly) that it was much more common/conventional to wire things (e.g.those cutouts) in the RYB order.

Any thoughts on what you would expect the RBG to mean in terms of phase rotation?

Kind Regards, John.
 
Before anyone makes comments about 'free electricity', the cables coming out of the supply side of the LH phase and N go to the meter of an adjacent property, which was once part of what is now my house!

OK but where are the cable from the outgoing side of L2 and the neutral going to :mrgreen:
 
Before anyone makes comments about 'free electricity', the cables coming out of the supply side of the LH phase and N go to the meter of an adjacent property, which was once part of what is now my house!
OK but where are the cable from the outgoing side of L2 and the neutral going to :mrgreen:
You're a trusting lot, aren't you- I guess I should have pre-emptively mentioned those as well :-) In view of the nature of your work, I presume you could have a very good guess. Whatever, the answer is that they are the feed for the E7 timeswitch.

Considering the main subject of this thread, I'm interested to see you describe it as 'L2' :-)

Kind Regards, John.
 
The phase rotation at the service head is not important to us in the big scheme of things, we are only concerned at the meter. If the phase rotation is correct at the meter, all is well and go ahead. If it is wrong, then we will alter it at the meter but not altering the customers rotation.

As for the tails going to you time clock, you are getting free electric as you are getting the potential for the clock before the meter :lol:

On your next meter change, it will probably be altered :twisted:
 
As for the tails going to you time clock, you are getting free electric as you are getting the potential for the clock before the meter :lol: On your next meter change, it will probably be altered :twisted:
I realised that but, like Paul, I assumed that was standard. After all, it's not 'my' clock (I presume it belongs to the meter operator) - and I would imagine that the last thing they would want me to be able to do would be to interfere with the supply to it. I suppose they could take it's feed direct from the meter, hence sealed, if there are any spare 'holes' left after all the phase in/out tails, and the feed from the clock, have been accommodated. The arrangements has remained as you see through at least two meter changes.

Kind Regards, John
 

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