isolator what type for my fusebox (see pic)

[George (dicegeorge)]

what kind of isolator type for my fusebox (see pic)

i bought the house in june and am trying to suss it out. i've just ordered a change over of supply from the card one so can i ask for an isolator to be fitted with the new meter?

there are many old wires which i want to identify, and to repair the ring circuits.

today i found two cut off wires which are still live!

i had a new consumer unit fitted (bottom left) which powers 3 sockets, from which ive run lights to the roof so i can see the woodrot etc...

i plan to slowly move all the other circuits down there, as i suss them out.

as i am repairing things this is legal , isnt it, and shouldnt i use the new colours of wires..

george

Chris J Dixon wrote: in some areas they have been fitting isolators for free on request (sometimes you have to provide the isolator).

[John Rumm]

The type of fusebox (CU) does not really have a baring on the type of isolator since I guess you are talking about a master one that sits between the main cutout and the rest of the installation. As such it would be in its own enclosure. Could be as simple as a 2U wide box with a switch in it:

(in that picture the PBJ[2] tails come in from the meter rather than the cutout - but it sits before the tails are split by the henley).

[2] Like some in your picture:

new CU will have its own isolator, but this will only kill the power to that CU - you have a number of other CUs being fed from the Henley blocks top left ish...

(the picture is a bit too fuzzy to see much detail of what is going on with the supply side of things - another photo straight on taken to the left a bit would help)

No harm in asking...

Old wiring setups can be a voyage of discovery. In fact unless you can see everything everywhere you are never quite sure what you will find next...

(memories of saying to my neighbour "what's that slight bump in the wall, and why does my cable detector read it as live?". Ten mins later I had dug a 5A junction box out of the plaster above the kitchen sink where it was providing a spur off a spur to a set of sockets - he had forgotten installing it 30 years ago)

Fair enough...

What do you mean? it is all legal. Or are you referring to non notifiable under part P?

New colours are the only acceptable ones now.

[Colin Wilson]

Call the supplier and get them to add it to the lads' worksheet for that day - around here, they tend to need it on their job list to get it done...

[Chris J Dixon]

Just for the record, I think your attributions have become confused.

Chris

[Andrew Gabriel]

Yes, I think I wrote that somewhere.

[Paul D.Smith]

...snip...

I have two apparently "new" circuits in my house which do nothing. On moving in I remove all the fuses from the box and began putting the fuses in one-at-a-time to identify circuits. After identifying all sockets/lights/boiler/cooker etc I was left with two circuits without fuses but with nothing apparently unattached around the house. And now, they're not the other end of a ring main badly wired because I did check there was no returning live.

My work colleagues wondered whether my neighbours are now confused as to why their lights don't work ;-).

Paul DS

[Dave Plowman (News)]

'New' circuits with fuses? I'd say they'd be approaching 30 years old if fitted with fuses.

What size is the cable? What size were the fuses?

If you're really interested you can buy cable tracers quite cheaply these days. I've bought this one and it works very well. :-

[Paul D.Smith]

...snip...

They're old colour but standard looking twin+E. They look like 2.5mm2 to me and the presence of fuses probably has more to do with the previous occupants apparently being taken to the cleaners by any tradesman entering the premises rather than age (there are other instances of bodging that I won't bore you with).

I've also found lots of old rubber/lead covered stuff but I'm relieved to say that's not connected to anything as far as I can tell.

As above. The fuses are 15A if memory serves. I did suspect possibly storage heaters since we had one circuit that was clearly designed for that purpose and ended at a suitable junction box. However this was on a different fusebox (we have 3!) and was plainly visible and identifiable.

But the problem with this is that I have to have access to both ends of the cable. I can see the one end (attached to the fuse box) but I have no idea where the other end is! It vanishes into the space between downstairs ceiling and upstairs floor, never to be seen again. There are no untraced switches, sockets, bits of electrical equipment anywhere. I've even looked very carefully for any sunken/outsticking bits of wallpaper in case they've covered/encased anything but thus far I've not found anything.

Paul DS

[Dave Plowman (News)]

No - if you disconnect the cable from the fusebox (and make sure it's dead) you can clip the red wire from the sender to either conductor, set it to test, and then trace the cable route using the receiver. The cable becomes a sort of aerial. Works very well - you can even tell which cable is which out of several bunched together. It will detect the signal through a wall or floor provided you get the receiver tip no more than about a foot away from the cable.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Just to add, if you earth the black wire on the sender you'll increase the power of the transmitted signal down the wire which may or may not help.

[Paul D.Smith]

Sounds very handy. I'm about to get quotes for a complete rewire but had I known about this tool when I moved it might have proved to be very useful. I suppose it might still if the sparks get worried about strange cables vanishing into walls ;-).

Paul DS