service fuse blown

[topbanana]

the service fuse has blown on a house i'm working on fitting a kitchen.
its within an old hinged metal box.
porcelen holder and rewireable.
the tenants were using oven, shower, and a host of other items which it seems is why it blew!?
i've searched the forum and it seems my client should ask for an upgrade to a 100amp fuse and ask for an isolator at this time,would that be correct?
i'm in cardiff,the swalec area. does anyone know any idea of time taken to get out to do the job?
should i ring this eve, for them to come out tomorrow. i, nor the tenants want them out till then.
any thoughts please?

 

[andy]

the service fuse has blown on a house i'm working on fitting a kitchen.
its within an old hinged metal box.
porcelen holder and rewireable.
the tenants were using oven, shower, and a host of other items which it seems is why it blew!?
i've searched the forum and it seems my client should ask for an upgrade to a 100amp fuse and ask for an isolator at this time,would that be correct?
i'm in cardiff,the swalec area. does anyone know any idea of time taken to get out to do the job?
should i ring this eve, for them to come out tomorrow. i, nor the tenants want them out till then.
any thoughts please?

contact DNO. they will replace fuse. normally replaced with 100A if poss. i think you'll have to ask them in advance to fit an isolator at the same tie, and they might charge exra for it

 

[BSBS]

I came across the same setup a while back only this time the fuse hadnt blown but someone had used a piece of 6mm copper wire in place of the fuse wire.. i just contacted DNO and someone was out an hour later to have a look and they replaced the cutout the the following morning..

The guy who came out did say that if i ever found a cutout like that again not to touch it and to contact them imediatly. Apparently an engineer had a near fatal shock of one a few years back becuase the phase cable had shorted to the case and the case hadnt been earthed correctly..

 

[topbanana]

thanks very much guys.
i think i'll ring them first thing.
i'll post what happens

 

[topbanana]

all done
gent from western power came out within 2 hours of me calling.
they said when i called that they aim to be out within 3 hours.
they rewired the main fuse to get the power back on and i then received a call within 15 mins to say they'd be over within 30mins, which they were, (different gang), to replace the old unit with a modern service fuse, 80amp they said but it says on it 100amp.
the first guy told me that a cut off switch would be a different gang again and would require an appointment. the cost would be about £25.
left that for the moment.
all in all very satisfied.

 

[andy]

all done
gent from western power came out within 2 hours of me calling.
they said when i called that they aim to be out within 3 hours.
they rewired the main fuse to get the power back on and i then received a call within 15 mins to say they'd be over within 30mins, which they were, (different gang), to replace the old unit with a modern service fuse, 80amp they said but it says on it 100amp.
the first guy told me that a cut off switch would be a different gang again and would require an appointment. the cost would be about £25.
left that for the moment.
all in all very satisfied.

what you should have done is got an isolator and added it yourself when the fuse was blown. or ask them nicely and they might have connected it for you

 

[Adam_151]

80amp they said but it says on it 100amp.

I expect its a carrier rated at 100A but the fuse they have fitted is actually 80A

 

[topbanana]

the first guy did mention something similar, but it was all done so quickly i didn't have a chance.
what would be the rating and type of switch i'd need, if it ever happens again, i'll know what to get.

 

[plugwash]

normal advice seems to be to get a 100A CU main switch and mount it in a modular box.

carefull where you make the holes in the box if you do this though you wan't the tail to go into the modular box and STRAIGHT into the terminal without any bending.

 

[topbanana]

cheers for the tip.
won't be fitting it myself as service fuse has got a shiny new plastic security tag.
and they'll know its me or rather not them when its not replaced.
info just in case it occurs again. thanks again all.

 

[Lectrician]

WPD fit 80 amd fuses as standard. If you want more, they assess your needs and cable sizes etc.

Why do you want a switch - something else to go wrong. Once a CU is connected to the mains, how often do you really need to isolate it??

 

[topbanana]

WPD?
I agree that its not completely neccesary, and its not my house, but if its done now it wont need to be done again.
and for the cost of £25, its doesnt seem prohibitive.

 

[Lectrician]

Western Power Distribtion - WPD.

I just think it something else to go wrong - and what happens when you want to replace that switch

 

[topbanana]

we allknow what will happen then.
thanks, its a point ill bear in mind.

 

[PartPapproved]

I had an isolator fitted for one of my jobs the other day and was chatting to the guy from western power, he told me that although the carriers say 100 amps they are only really capable of taking about 93amps hence thats why 99% of them, even new ones only have 80 amp fuses in. apparently they have had a few melt out on them.