DNO fuse in a house of horrors

richardg · Mar 18, 2021

Just been this sent this remotely by a former client who is just about to move into her ‘new house’, survey report did not flag any problems - builder was asked for his knowledge and said all’s good and now a smart meter fitting turned up and looked at this and scuttled away in terror?
where to start!! - please correct me if I’m mistaken is the main DNO fuse the original 1940s cut out? Thought these were all swapped out in the 80s? Do you have to call electricity board and ask for a change with these old main fuses? Waiting for more photos but from a quick glance it looks like a house of horrors - the distressing part for the owner is they have just finished plastering and painting ready to move in!
When it fails the EICR do they have a claim against surveyor?
Could become messy very quickly?
Thanks for any advice

snowhead · Mar 18, 2021

The "Smart" meter fitter has probably Scuttled off because of the 5 wire meter and Teleswitch more than anything else.
If the cut out was thier issue then they should have reported it to the DNO and discussed it with the customer.
Cut outs are only changed when reported.
Looks like there's an Off peak Consumer unit to the right somewhere.

Whatever reason(s) they abandoned for they should have left a full list.
It may have been they were allergic to spiders.

timhoward · Mar 18, 2021

I’m not familiar with that cut out but assume there’s a fuse inside - older hands will know.
You’ve then got Henley block splitting the supply, going to the CU top right and to the MEM isolator which might not be used. The tails to that look old and worn.
The meter also feeds the radio switch for Economy 7.
Are there tails coming out of the radio switch just off photo? Maybe going to another CU.
My first questions would be looking at bottom of radio switch to see if still used, looking at TNS Earth path to CU, and what the MEM switches are for. I’d be hoping to b e able to remove the MEM on the right.
It’s certainly a mess but might not be quite as bad as it looks.
Edit - obviously the missing CU front is an issue.

littlespark · Mar 18, 2021

I think main earth or main bonding going through a choc block and taped up might be an issue.

it may be that the house tests fine, and just this end needs tidied up....
more likely there’s a fault that’s going to need some redecorating again, or there’s simply not enough sockets for them, and they will need some work doing.

why customers go for aesthetics first and functionality second, it’s beyond me

DPG · Mar 18, 2021

Is that double socket fed with a flex straight from the consumer unit?

telectrix · Mar 18, 2021

DPG said:
Is that double socket fed with a flex straight from the consumer unit?

looks like it.

timhoward · Mar 18, 2021

I assume some of those tails are single insulated?
New meter tails to Henley block, new tails to new CU, and then the real fun starts!

DPG · Mar 18, 2021

Be nice to get that sorted out. At least access is good and there's loads of room

pc1966 · Mar 18, 2021

The meter - Henley tails look the oldest of the set, probably single-insulated.
Any idea where the new colour tails go?
Already mentioned is the C1 for no cover on the fuseboard (assuming still live)
Worth getting the DNO to look at the cutout anyway, you would need it off to change anything and I for one would not touch it!
Also the pipe clamp on the supply cable for an earth looks suspect, probably a replacement for an older DNO connection but they might want that replaced anyway for a safer method of attaching to (presumably) lead sheathed cable such as a constant-force spring.
The all-green earths suggest it was last rewired (at least in this area - see new tails!) before 1977 with the G/Y stuff came in.

UNG · Mar 18, 2021

richardg said:
View attachment 83389
Just been this sent this remotely by a former client who is just about to move into her ‘new house’, survey report did not flag any problems - builder was asked for his knowledge and said all’s good and now a smart meter fitting turned up and looked at this and scuttled away in terror?
where to start!! - please correct me if I’m mistaken is the main DNO fuse the original 1940s cut out? Thought these were all swapped out in the 80s? Do you have to call electricity board and ask for a change with these old main fuses? Waiting for more photos but from a quick glance it looks like a house of horrors - the distressing part for the owner is they have just finished plastering and painting ready to move in!
When it fails the EICR do they have a claim against surveyor?
Could become messy very quickly?
Thanks for any advice

What a mess and unless the buyer got an EICR done before exchange of contracts I doubt they have any claim on anybody, the surveyor is not electrically qualified so quite often will suggest an EICR is carried out then it is up to the buyer or the buyers solicitor to get one done
If it was me I would sack the builder as he doesn't appear to be the sharpest tool in the box to suggest that mess is ok
Contact the DNO report the service head and the 951 clamp for the main earth, had exactly the same set up swapped by ENWL before Christmas

timhoward said:
I’m not familiar with that cut out but assume there’s a fuse inside - older hands will know.

There are two fuses in those service heads both live and neutral are fused
Also the live and neutral are the wrong way round under current standards

snowhead said:
The "Smart" meter fitter has probably Scuttled off because of the 5 wire meter and Teleswitch more than anything else.
If the cut out was thier issue then they should have reported it to the DNO and discussed it with the customer.
Cut outs are only changed when reported.
Looks like there's an Off peak Consumer unit to the right somewhere.

Whatever reason(s) they abandoned for they should have left a full list.
It may have been they were allergic to spiders.

The service head I had swapped a few months ago the DNO guy opened it wearing full safety kit, he needed a blowtorch to warm the pitch up to open the cover and again to release one of the rewireable fuses that just crumbled, before he even opened it he already had the jointing team on route and wouldn't leave site till they arrived that may be why the smart meter fitter didn't report it and did a runner probably screw his target up

7029 dave · Mar 18, 2021

At a guess the meter installer walked, because potential asbestos in that cutout.

richardg · Mar 18, 2021

Thanks for the comments - luckily spoke to a electrican at my local wholesaler who used to work for supplier, he mentioned those old fuses crumble when being removed and they have to wear full protective gear as they can literally break with live wires poking out - also mentioned they can contain asbestos.
Going to have to book in a visit once the DNO changes the fuse and earth clamp and get stuck in with an in depth 100% EICR?
Shame the client didn’t call me after putting an offer in and we could have gotten the work done before -
I’ll post some more photos once the client pops round later today - ?

UNG · Mar 18, 2021

7029 dave said:
At a guess the meter installer walked, because potential asbestos in that cutout.

Asbestos is the least of your problems opening one of those service heads assuming it can be opened easily.

Just checked some pictures of the service head I got swapped the meter was changed in 2013 so the meter fitter must have been able to open it to pull the fuses unless it was done live, 7 years on and it was not possible for the DNO guy to open it without resorting to a blowtorch to soften the pitch that was sealing it closed and the fuses crumbled

pc1966 · Mar 18, 2021

UNG said:
Asbestos is the least of your problems opening one of those service heads assuming it can be opened easily.

Thankfully I have never had any real arc-flash incident, but I have seen enough videos to know that is the point where you put down your screwdriver and back away carefully, leaving it to folk trained to deal with those cutouts.

FatAlan · Mar 18, 2021

richardg said:
Thanks for the comments - luckily spoke to a electrican at my local wholesaler who used to work for supplier, he mentioned those old fuses crumble when being removed and they have to wear full protective gear as they can literally break with live wires poking out - also mentioned they can contain asbestos.
Going to have to book in a visit once the DNO changes the fuse and earth clamp and get stuck in with an in depth 100% EICR?
Shame the client didn’t call me after putting an offer in and we could have gotten the work done before -
I’ll post some more photos once the client pops round later today - ?

Maybe worth checking with client whether they still want E7 (or the second meter). When I moved in to my current place I had two old style meters with the rotating discs. My supplier at the time was SSE who also happened to be the DNO. I managed to get them out and remove the second meter and also replace the main one. If you co-ordinate with DNO on the cut out you may be able to get the whole lot tidied up in co-ordination with the supplier especially with the push to get smart meters in ? . PS one of my old meters was making a loud annoying squeak so when I reported it on-line I mentioned that I was fearful that it would catch fire. Looks like they pick up on key words like 'fire' as I got a very quick response?

DNO fuse in a house of horrors

richardg

-

snowhead

-

timhoward

-

littlespark

-

DPG

-

telectrix

-

timhoward

-

DPG

-

pc1966

UNG

-

7029 dave

-

richardg

-

UNG

-

pc1966

FatAlan

-

News and Offers from Sponsors

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

YOUR Unread Posts