Main electrical supply cable asbestos or other outer insulation?

[kevkdg]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me what material the main supply cable is wrapped with (I believe this cable is owned by the DNO).

My concern is whether it is Asbestos?

The below photo of the cable taken just below my cut out shows the unpainted section facing the wall to be very fibrous.

Also, another query is whether anyone has any ideas as to what my DNO Cut Out Fuse might be rated. I am on a looped supply with my semi-detached neighbour. I have a Henley Series 3 Bakelite cut out unit. There is no sticker indicating the fuse fitted and neither my DNO or energy supplier have any records and neither will come out and check. I am getting a car EV charger installed, the DNO have advised that this is OK with them even though I am on a looped supply (may need a CT clamp to throttle back the car charger) BUT all EV charger installers keep asking me is what rating the fuse is. I assume either 60 or 80 amps. DNO want £120 plus VAT to increase it BUT it may not need increasing if it is already 80 amps.

Thanks

 

[kevkdg]

Looking at the lead where it enters the head, I am going to guess (and it's only an educated guess, without dimensions) that it's bog standard 0.0225 sq ins. aka 7/.064. Don't quote me on this but it might be 110A in free air and 125A buried, distribution rating, or that might be for 4-core. Put another way, unless both houses have EV charging and showers, it won't bat an eyelid. Even with, you won't hurt it, although DNO policy might be to unloop for 2X 100A

@Lucien Nunes Many thanks for your reply.

I think ideally I just need 80 amps (my neighbour will not be changing from 60 amps). So I hope this can be done without the cost of unlooping (as that will be best part of £2k).

Does the looped connection on my neighbours cut out go through his fuse or are they "looped" before his fuse.

Does anyone know what the max fuse rating of a Henley Series 3 Cut Out is.... just wondering if it will take 80 amps or whether the DNO will need to replace my cut out and charge me even more?

 

[snowhead]

The loop is before the neighbours fuse.
Occassionally they're looped after the fuse but you see the other cable coming out the top of the cut-out

 

[brianmoooore]

I wouldn't worry about it. If it's 60A, and eventually pops, apart from being without power for a few hours, it won't be your problem.

 

[kevkdg]

Only issue is the EV charge point installer will set the EV charger to throttle back when the CT clamp reads it is getting near to 60 amps total usage. Where as if an 80 amp fuse was in place it would be set 20 amps higher.

 

[brianmoooore]

If the DNO can't be bothered to tell you whether the fuse is 60A or 80A, then assume it's 80A. If it does turn out to be 60A, and pops, then they'll fit 80A as a replacement, or even 100A, and it won't cost you a penny.

 

[kevkdg]

Hi @Lucien Nunes

I had a SMART meter fitted yesterday and managed to grab a photo of the incoming cable where it connects to the cut out. With reference to your earlier reply in this thread, I wondered if it might help ascertain the capacity of the cable?

 

[kevkdg]

On a separate note, the chaps installing the SMART meter re-used the 16mm tails from the main DNO fuse cut out (containing 80 amp fuse) to the meter, but then used 25mm tails from the meter to the newly installed isolator which they also installed. I am wondering why they didn't use 25mm from cut out to meter. Might this be due to the size of the terminals and/or entry holes for cable in the older Henley Series 3 Bakelite Cut out. They wrapped insulating tape around the tails where they enter the holes just to ensure no gaps. I think the tape sits just above the cut out cable entry holes and does not extend through it.

Should I flag this?

It was also confirmed that an 80 amp main fuse is fitted. Although they didn't have any stickers for the fuse holder for future reference.