Tar coming out of MET

[Carloss]

hi all,

went to a job a few days ago and there was loads of Tar dripping out of the MET, Why does this happen..... incoming supply got a tad warm? if someone could tell me more about it i would be very grateful.

no pictures aval.

carlos

 

[RF Lighting]

Are you sure you mean the MET?
It was common practice to fill the bottom half of the service head with pitch as an insulator, also a fair old quantity of incomming cables were partly insulated with tar.

As tar has a reasonably low melting point (as you may have seen on the roads today) then a warm cutout with cause the tar to melt a bit and dribble.

It is usually nothing to worry about.

I would post you a couple of examples to look at but photobucket seems to be broken.

 

[RF Lighting]

Here is a somewhat antiquated cutout but you can clearly see the tar in the bottom part of the cutout.

This is the only picture I have of one that is 'bleeding'
You can see it on the MET and on the cable.

 

[plugwash]

presumabblly that tar is there for a reason and so significant loss of it would be a worry. Or was it just a belt and braces thing?

 

[JohnD]

I think I remember seeing on the SSE "Electrical Advice to Householders" that if you see melted tar dripping from your service head, and it is still hot, you should place an emergency call for repair and turn off your installation.

I'll see if i can find the reference...

edited - here we are - but it was Meter, not Service Head. Wouldn't hurt to call though :
http://www.southern-electric.co.uk/Home/CustomerServices/LeakingMeter.aspx

"Leaking Meter

There is a substance like black tar leaking from my electricity meter. What should I do?

If the substance is hot and has a strange smell, you need to contact our Emergencyline immediately on 0845 770 80 90.

If Southern Electric is not your local network operator, click here for our list of emergency phone numbers.

If it is cold and there is no smell, phone our Enquiryline on
0845 7444 555. They will pass your details on to our engineers who will contact you to make an appointment to change the fuse.

If Southern Electric is not your local network operator, phone us on 0845 600 2006. Our advisers will take your details and pass them to your local network operator who will contact you to discuss the work"