upgrade cu/meter tails to 25mm

[Spike]

Hi this is my first post, so bear with me, if not explaned it good enough.
Just coming back into domestic side of things after 10years on industrail installaion.

Changing cu and tails + earthing, who can we call to get too wire in tails and re-seal meter/main fuse.
I know if I pull fuse, change cu putting in 25mm tails. Then connecting old and new tails together with splitter box, then replace fuse. This is what used to happened over ten years ago, then ring electricity board. They would send engineer to change tails on meter and re-seal tags, no charge.

Whats the way now,can we re-seal fuse and meter, or do we still ring electricity supplier?
Because I've spent 4 hours this morning ringing electricity suppliers and asking if they can send engineer to change tails and re-seal meter. Answer, i'm getting is;- get an electrician to do it.

Beyond frustration

Can any one give info on doing above or numbers to call. Area Derbyshire/Leicestershire

Cheers Spike

ps. nice site, good reading and info

 

[telectrix]

suggest you cut seals on meter or cut-out yourself and re-seal.removing cut-out fuse is sometimes the only way you can find it's rating anyway. since de-regulation most suppliers will tell you to do this. to cover yourself, you could ring the supplier and inform tham that you have done this.

 

[IQ Electrical]

Or you may be lucky and find the seal has already been removed, I'm always taken aback at how many times I'm lucky!

 

[telectrix]

i often find that seals have gone for a fish meal when my cutters slip

 

[Deleted member 19807]

personaly i don't touch the meter. but working live is against ewr regs, so i do a risk assesment and then remove the suppliers fuse. Be carful as i have had one fall apart in my hand, i then reseal with wire and lead seal. I joint my new tails with a henly block to the ones from the meter.

 

[Rory166]

Whilst many electricians remove cutout fuses this is not legal. The correct procedure is to request the meter operator to fit 25mm tails to an isolator. The new CU can then be connected to the isolator as convenient. The only time a cutout fuse should be removed would be in emergency and the DNO immediately notified and the supplier to reseal. Resealing with lead seals is illegal, the secretary of state has a register of sealing plier serial numbers and flag seals with the meter operator id should be used. Removing the seal from the meter is considered worse than the fuse and more likely to result in a report to revenue protection.

Rory

 

[Deleted member 19807]

it depends who your dno is, when i call mine to get an operator out they ask me if i am with the nic, i say yes and they say remove it myself, they even give out temp seals to the local sparks so we can temp reseal and then give them a ring to reseal with their gear. I would suggest you ask your local dno and see what they have to say about it.

 

[hillbillie]

It also depends on the building.

In many flats there is an block for the whole building, tucked away somewhere in the common areas, this will be fused, individually for each flat, and from there tails go to the individual flats. In these flats will be another service head, with the appropriate fuse and tails to the meter d/b etc. In this circumstance the service head in the flat is the property of the flat owner and not the dno (the dno own the main incoming head and won't take responsibility for the service heads in the flats themselves). Consequently there is absolutely no law against ripping out the fuse in a service head in this instance, it will be up to the owner of the property.

It is still against the rules to tamper with the meter though, whether or not the head just before it is the responsibility of the dno or not.

 

[white armour]

I'm with IQ on this one, usually the seal fairy beats to the supply fuse when it comes to changing/upgrading tails.
Always re-seal ones that I find after seal fairy visit though. Think the DNOs are getting a bit more accepting of the situation after consultation with the various scheme providers.

Regards WA

 

[rocker]

If any DNO reckon's it will get a conviction for a competent person removing a fuse then.... well I defy them to try. It would be chucked out of court faster tha you could blink.

If the DNOs would get themselves sorted out it may be a little better, but when they say 'we'll be out in 8 weeks and we'll charge you 150 for the priviledge', I'm sorry but I have a business to run. I'll cut the fuse and re-seal myself, and I'll sign to say I've done so if any customers are worried about the consequences.