Nice soft bendy tails

davesparks said:

In my experience EDF seem to go out of their way to avoid actually doing a job most of the time

Click to expand...

I know, I've never known any other company put so much effort into avoiding work. Almost every job there is some excuse.

Richard Burns said:

They were apparently worried that they would not make a good connection (really?).

Click to expand...

I would expect a better connection than with a more solid conductor. IIRC there were tests done on this subject and published in one of the ESC Switched On magazines, though I can't find the copy here right now. The tests also included straightening and twisting the strands before connection.

reently on a job of mine (new build) they refused to install supply cable into an external meter box because it would have meant them working under scaffolding.

telectrix said:

with 25mm tails, i pull them up into the CU a few inches extra, strip the ends about 1",then bend ends over when I've got them in a bit of free space. trim ends to get rid of the unequal strands due to bending, then pull down so the ends drop int the main switch terminals. sometimes i even manage to get them thee right way round. .

Click to expand...

I could do with a few extra inches

UKPN will not connect tri rated cables into ct chambers.
https://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/internet/en/help-and-advice/documents/CT_guide.pdf

davesparks said:

The 7 and 19 strand are both 6181Y, made to the same British standard and both fall in to the category of ‘class 2‘ stranded conductors so unless the meter manufacturer has explicitly specified that only 7 strand cables be connected (highly unlikely) then the EDF guy was wrong and you would have had a fair case against EDF.

In my experience EDF seem to go out of their way to avoid actually doing a job most of the time

Click to expand...

I tried that argument. I actually presented all the information i posted above to one of their technical guys who agreed and authorised it.
Unfortunatley when the second engineer came out he refused to connect it too..
I presented the emails from this senior technical guy, but his "senior field manager" disagreed.
In the end i just had to change the tails because the flats needed energizing.

I rang the senior technical guy back a few weeks later, he said they had a meeting and the outcome was that they wanted each meter manufacture to carry out a series of tests (under lab conditions) to certify that the tails would compress properly in the terminals and wouldnt work there way lose after a few simulated knocks and wiggles.
He said unfortunatley they used 5 or 6 manufactures so until they get satisfactory test results back from all of the manufacturers, they will be disallowing them.

@spinlondon these are not tri-rated.

Certain DNOs use hard drawn copper for the cut out tails which is a complete pain to shape. My present 25mm cable is a little too soft at the moment due the hot weather but will return to the passenger footwell later in the year.

Another thing to be wary of with the present warm weather are Seal Snakes, these usually hide in the service cable capping but have been emerging into meter boxes due to the heat, quite venomous so have a poke around with a stick before putting your fingers in.

Funnily enough, local DNO have been using 19 strand blue over blue & brown over brown for a couple of years now. Some of them even make quite a neat job of it too.

Apparently they had some sort of exclusion deal preventing wholesalers supplying the same to us for a limited (24 month?) period. Which is now at an end....

I know someone who fitted 19 strand on a job similar to above a few years back and he had to rip the lot out as EDF refused to connect.

The disparity between meter fitters drives me mad. EDF insist on being 100% second fixed with dead test results and on the other end E.ON who use Morrison Utilities are happy to fit an isolator at any point after the service head is fitted. In fact they aren't too happy if there isn't room for them to fit an isolator. On the other hand EDF never fit an isolator in my experience.