Balfour Beatty are coming on jan 14th to upgrade my house main electricity fuse (to 100A). No fee is involved. I've been told they cannot work live, and so will have to dig a hole in the pavement (I assume this is to disconnect something). But surely there is no magic switch under the pavement ? Anyone know what they will actually do ? Simon.
Perhaps they intend to replace the feeder cable at the same time - although I'd have thought that they'd charge a (hefty) fee for that...
If all they were doing was replacing the main fuse, this doesn't actually mean 'working live' IMHO. So it means they must be replacing the header or incoming cable.
Replacing the incoming cable would involve moling and a hole in the house as well as in the pavement. I guess they'll change the header and fuse block etc in the house. I'll just have to wait as see what they do. Simon.
At a guess, you have an old metal-clad bitmen-filled cutout. Strictly speaking, the main fuse is part of this assembly, but people tend to refer to the whole thing as 'the main fuse'.
They'll dig down to the service cable, make a temporary cut, change the termination on the end of the cable and then put a straight joint onto the cable. Time you're actually off, about an hour, give or take.
And how to they aviod doing that live ;-)
Oh, plenty of approved procedures for live work on various bits of lv equipment, the problem is working on - for instance - a metal-clad cutout[1], which can't easily be carried out, mainly coz it may well involve a lump hammer, a chisel or old screwdriver and perhaps a gas torch......
[1] which don't exist anywhere on the system coz lots of chief engineers reported many years ago to the appropriate ministry that all these obsolete items had been changed......[2] [2] Not that I'm cynical, you appreciate.
In my case it was simply open a substation door, and change a fuse..
Just to report back ... Well they came, located the cable with a cable detector, dug a hole, then said they couldn't find the cable. At the same time, the guy inside said "what's the problem". I said I just wanted 100A fuse and an isolator, and british gas had said the fuse had to be done by e-on first, then they would put in a isolator. Well, he had a good look, said the termination is fine. Its old brown plastic, but no problem with it. And he also told me the digital meter contains an isolator ! Its under a plastic flap with a small screw, and a label saying "electrical contractors only". I also noticed the meter says 100A on it. So the guy changed the main fuse to 100A (think it was 60 before), and I have an isolator anyway. Saves paying british gas for one !
I reckon the cable runs under next doors path and hallway, then splits both ways into the meter cupboard under the stairs. Anyone know what depth electricity cable is usually installed (1930s house).
Apparently, tomorrow someone will follow up and replace part of the block paving they dug up. Of course if they'd asked first, they would never have had to dig the hole at all.
Simon.
450mm
-- JGH
18" would be quite typical.
Of course, subsequent landscaping and building can change that. My father managed to find his electricity cable just below the front lawn ~50 years ago after landscaping to level the garden, although fortunately it seems to have been laid inside a sewer type pipe.
...nah, them milliwhatsits hadn't been seen in Engerland by the
1930's - them was genuine English inches - all 18 of 'emAWEM
On Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:53:03 -0000 someone who may be "Andrew Mawson" wrote this:-
As I understand it the UK government promised to convert weights and measures to metric in Victorian times. They should have done it well before the 1930s and it is their incompetence which has prevented this sensible change being made a hundred years ago.
prevents me
the various Ministries - they should all be sent back north of the border to wreak havoc in their own back yard I reckon
AWEM
On Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:19:31 -0000 someone who may be "Andrew Mawson" wrote this:-
Scottish MPs have never had a majority in Westminster. Indeed, all the MPs from Scotland, Ireland [1] and Wales have never been able to outvote all the English MPs. Therefore, any problem caused by Westminster is always the fault of English MPs:-)
I am aware that there are some MPs originally from Scotland who represent English constituencies. George Galloway and Malcolm Rifkind are two examples. However, they are English MPs as they represent English constituencies. In the same way there are MPs originally from England who represent Scottish constituencies.
[1] Whether we are talking about Ireland or Northern Ireland, depending on the period.
Including (whilst PM) T Bliar, who, was (partly) educated in Durham, at a private school near his constituency.
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