This is possibly gonna sound a bit wimpish but I?ve never pulled a 100 amp main fuse before but I?m beginning to think that it might be worth a shot to try and ? reboot? my smart meter which has lost it?s ability to communicate with my power company.
Literally been waiting months for an engineer?s visit and thinking that a power cycle *might* sort it.
Obviously there?s a fair chance that it might not but if I can do it easily and safely it seems worth a shot.
Tim
I would expect the smart meter to have a supercapacitor inside to let it "ride-out" a power cut, obviously not enough power to run the 3G radio, and flash any LEDs
When a guy from Powergen came to replace the meter, I was impressed with his preparation. He was standing in rubber boots on a dry floor. He donned thick elbow length gauntlets and a crash helmet with a polycarbonate visor. He told me to stand well back. Then he pulled out the fuse, which was an anticlimax, as you'd expect.
He had, obviously, switched off the main switch in the consumer unit, as well as (less obviously) getting me to disconnect every appliance in the house.
Clearly excessive, but you can't die from too much safety.
Apparently, there is a chance that an old fuse holder/socket can shatter when you pull the fuse. So, there is a chance that you could get some massive arcing if the incoming conductors touch. I'm not sure where the next line of overload protection is in the system, but if it's back at the substation, it's probably capable of providing thousands of amps before it trips.
How is it that you can access the fuse? They are normally sealed in a box, AFAIK.
Well I would have to break the seal?.
Tim
They are normally sealed with a little bit of wire. Cut that, and you are in.
Well, yes. However, the one cut off and lying at the bottom of the box around my meter and associated gubbins has in imprinted logo from whoever was the supplier then....
There's currently just a piece of wire passed through the seal lugs. No seal. The bloke who changed the tails a) didn't put any seal at all on the fuse cover, and b) put a piece of braided cable through the meter connection cover, but did not crimp on a seal! Must have been preoccupied....
Over the last decade or however long it's been, I have been wondering whether I should notice it, and ask "if it's dangerous", and ask them to fix it...
I must stress that this is actually the state of the thing now, and that is exactly what happened, and that I have never stolen any electricity.
I think, if I understood Big Clive correctly, it does have enough power to run the radio, enough to phone home and give a fraud alert, and apparently pulling the fuse on a smart meter (can) result in power people turning up rather promptly.
Owain
does the fuse no have a lead seal ? ....
I think that's one of those things that seems to play largely in Clive's mind, similar to the supposed change to charging domestic customers for apparent power instead of real power ... yes technically it could measure it, but do ofgem even permit it?
Switch everything off beforehand and prepare yourself for the carrier disintegrating as you pull it (it almost certainly won't do that but you wouldn't want to find yourself hanging-on to a live bit if it did) with rubber gloves and isolation. As others have said, there's some doubt about whether pulling the fuse will have the desired effect.
My ex-GPO trained telephone engineer cousin removed his company fuse by waggling the fuse back slightly which allows a long thin screwdriver to access the screw that hold the entire front of the fuse block in place, allowing the fuse to be removed without breaking the seal.
Really? That would be a result! Been waiting for months for someone to come and sort it. ;-)
Why, what's the issue you have that needs sorting?
I thought it was a criminal offence to tamper with the seal. I think you need to get permission first.
PS when we did it, Scottish Power arrived in less than an hour to re place the seal. They also condemned the work my electrician had done installing the tails and put it right. An added twist is that the SP engineer did his apprenticeship with the company that originally installed the fusebox (whose name was showing). He said it could have been him.
Read first post.
Tim
When I replaced our consumer unit we had to do it in stages, the first was to get the meter moved out of the way as it partially covered the area in which the CU was going. The engineer from the DNO simply switched everything off MCBs and then main switch. At first he was going to use 16mm2 tails but noticed the cutout had a 100A fuse and used 25mm2 tails. He then simply pulled the main fuse after cutting the seals, the only safety measure he employed was to put a red plastic cover over the live lower spring prongs which seemed to clip in place. Having moved the meter and replaced the tails between cutout and meter he brought out 25mm2 tails from the meter and using a pair of Henly block type connectors joined the new tails from the meter to the 16mm2 tails in the CU.
Having seen that the cutout was sound and not likely to disintegrate when I replaced the CU I therefore had no qualms about pulling the main fuse. First thing I did was fit a stand alone main switch so that I never had to pull the fuse again. When we had the smart meter fitted the engineer did not seem bothered that there was no seal on the main fuse but did fit one when he finished and also fitted one on the lower terminal cover on the separate main switch I had fitted.
Richard
Yes, but why is it important for your meter to "communicate with my power company"? It is s genuine question. I don't have one and would probably pay lip-service to any communications to the power company.
What is the issue that is causing you strife? If it's real then write a formal complaint, if necessary wait the 6 weeks for no reply and complain to OFGEM.
Your power company doesn't care. It has fitted your smart meter and it serves no further useful purpose other than to fulfil their quotas of fitting them.
If you feel you have made a financial loss then write again asking for compensation. Perhaps you might be able to quote expected savings from owning one?
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