Supply fuse

[JohnW2]

as far as i am aware it was done live. I wasn't there when it was changed - there was no mention of digging up the road though, it was just two guys, an old boy and his apprentice

That is what I understood you to be saying, and it's also what RF said used to be the practice in his area. If it were done live, as I've said, it sounds pretty crazy to me, given the uncertainties about what will happen when one takes a club hammer (or worse) to a cast iron and ceramic device!.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Guitarguy]

I work for the local DNO and routinely change these live, you don't just beat it and smash it to bits, it has to be done carefully with great care taken not to 'ring the bell.'
Once you've split the two halfs of the cast iron chamber and prised them off, it's just a case of blowing the bitumen down with a blowtorch and then re insulating the cable cores and crutch with heat shrink taking care not to move anything- this can and does cause incidents if it is not done properly!
We are not allowed to change split or three phase live. They have recently decided that the really old asbestos filled ones must be cut outside and re serviced and not changed like this

 

[JohnW2]

I work for the local DNO and routinely change these live, you don't just beat it and smash it to bits, it has to be done carefully with great care taken not to 'ring the bell.' ... Once you've split the two halfs of the cast iron chamber and prised them off, it's just a case of blowing the bitumen down with a blowtorch and then re insulating the cable cores and crutch with heat shrink taking care not to move anything- this can and does cause incidents if it is not done properly! ... We are not allowed to change split or three phase live. They have recently decided that the really old asbestos filled ones must be cut outside and re serviced and not changed like this

Terrifying - rather you than me!!

Is time/cost the only alleged advantage over cutting the cable outside? Has the practice resulted in any serious injuries or deaths in your DNO of which you are aware?

Kind Regards, John

 

[SteveP86]

Fused neutral in that I bet