My first Consumer unit change

[pablod]

I have my first job so I can get signed off by one of the part p bodies. I need to know the best route to take for the isolation of the supply to the unit. I'm from Brentwood in Essex and wondering how easy it is to get the supplier to fit an isolation switch inplaceof the Henley block. And what it costsThanks

 

[IQ Electrical]

is there actually anybody on here that knows what they are doing?
amateurs advising amateurs.if you really cant bring yourself to cut seal,(and by the way,if you cut one end close to the crimp and hammer a cable clip through whats left to open crimp back up it can be resealed with all markings intact),then try pulling the service fuse out slightly,usually there is enough slack on the seal to cut the power,wedge the fuse at this point and away ya go,ffs,this is called the electrician forum,though i doubt there are many on here.Im sorry to be so abrubt,but it seems to me that people these days get to call themselves electricians after doing a bit of "theory" work at college,or even worse,online,if you are so unsure then leave well alone.worse case scenario,cut the seal,reseal after with yellow crimp,cut the plastic off after crimping & sit back & wait for call from dno asking whos been tampering,heres a clue,you'll be waiting a long time.meter readers are just that now,health & safety dictates they can read a set of numbers & tap them into a machine,examining seals is beyond their remit.

Might be an idea to mention having previously removed all load by way of the main switch or removing all fuses.

 

[ezzzekiel]

is there actually anybody on here that knows what they are doing?
amateurs advising amateurs.

no , think you are the only real electrician here mate, i mean gee anyone working out how to reseal a crimp using a hammer and cable clip are you sure youre not an engineer?

 

[malcolmsanford]

is there actually anybody on here that knows what they are doing?
amateurs advising amateurs.if you really cant bring yourself to cut seal,(and by the way,if you cut one end close to the crimp and hammer a cable clip through whats left to open crimp back up it can be resealed with all markings intact),then try pulling the service fuse out slightly,usually there is enough slack on the seal to cut the power,wedge the fuse at this point and away ya go,ffs,this is called the electrician forum

Well I'm pretty sure there are a few of us on here that know what they are doing, but I don't think I can add you as one of them.

Very classy the way you deal with resealing the fuse, and the safe isolation method, spot on.

When I want to be lectured by someone with your ineptitude I'll go to the house of commons. Son when I hang my overalls up at night, they know more about sparking than you do.

 

[vaughant]

Where I work we often encounter old belmis panels which to cut a long and boring story short have the 3 phase fuses right at the very back of the board,often very stiff to remove.
Our procedure is to remove load(which you have to anyway to access),neoprene gauntlets,face shield and then remove.
I found one burnt out the other day and shorting directly to the panel,pulling around 300amps on start up then it tripped,you could hear the panel vibrating!!!
Scary stuff!!by using the gloves and face shield you do minimize the risk significantly.
Just a thought.

 

[Knobhead]

I take it you meant “Belmos”, I remember them of old. Not nice stuff at all! I was glad to see the back of it when we ripped it all out.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Has nobody here ever heard of the EAWR?

 

[ezzzekiel]

yeah its what the donkey does at the seaside

 

[Guest123]

I once used to work with someone who whenever changing a DB and there was no isolator, he refused to cut the seals, so instead used to carefully remove each tail from the main switch in existing DB and tape them up

Ah. the old ways are the best. My first CU upgrade under the watchful eye of my old gaffer was done like this.

 

[vaughant]

I take it you meant “Belmos”, I remember them of old. Not nice stuff at all! I was glad to see the back of it when we ripped it all out.

Yes,that's the ones Tony,bloody awful things,we've had a few blow up on the boys,horrible things all cased in metal with no way of seeing what's going on inside.
I had to change a contactor on my first nightshift weekend on my own,took a load of fault finding to get there and I couldn't for the life of me find how to isolate the 110v supply.

Donned the rubber gloves, dropped the sleeves and got it sorted.

I found out afterwards the 110v supply fuse is in the bottom of the cabinet and cuts the 110v to the whole unit!!!
Totally daft system.

 

[slpotts]

i get a job done malcolm,no niceties involved.i happened to have worked with a lot of people,including one forum member that have taken so long thinking about a job that i have done it before they figure out a solution.my methods may not be ideal in this ridiculous world of h&s regs etc,but they get a job done.and as for for overalls knowing more about electricity than i do,do they have a scorch mark accross the chest ?i am guessing so the way you speak,probably more likeley a sweat stain from panicking at the thought of getting a tingle?walk into any barratts shoes,clintons cards,cardfair mor priceless anywhere in uk and your probably looking at my work,not to mention many major industrial estates/buildings.You are more than welcome to follow your procedures,but which of us gets the job done first ?

 

[gooner1984]

i get a job done malcolm,no niceties involved.i happened to have worked with a lot of people,including one forum member that have taken so long thinking about a job that i have done it before they figure out a solution.my methods may not be ideal in this ridiculous world of h&s regs etc,but they get a job done.and as for for overalls knowing more about electricity than i do,do they have a scorch mark accross the chest ?i am guessing so the way you speak,probably more likeley a sweat stain from panicking at the thought of getting a tingle?walk into any barratts shoes,clintons cards,cardfair mor priceless anywhere in uk and your probably looking at my work,not to mention many major industrial estates/buildings.You are more than welcome to follow your procedures,but which of us gets the job done first ?

do you make cards and shoes aswell then

 

[DaveyD]

This thread is a nice balance to the "Domestic Installer" thread

 

[Des 56]

i get a job done malcolm,no niceties involved.i happened to have worked with a lot of people,including one forum member that have taken so long thinking about a job that i have done it before they figure out a solution.my methods may not be ideal in this ridiculous world of h&s regs etc,but they get a job done.and as for for overalls knowing more about electricity than i do,do they have a scorch mark accross the chest ?i am guessing so the way you speak,probably more likeley a sweat stain from panicking at the thought of getting a tingle?walk into any barratts shoes,clintons cards,cardfair mor priceless anywhere in uk and your probably looking at my work,not to mention many major industrial estates/buildings.You are more than welcome to follow your procedures,but which of us gets the job done first ?

Is an electrician measured by the speed of install ?
Perhaps its the 3 o'clock at Epsom that is being discussed

If it is, dont aproach those hurdles too fast,its been known to throw jockeys on their backs

quote
ridiculous world of h&s regs
Now that is more agreeable

 

[pirhead]

Distribution Network Operator like Eon

 

[malcolmsanford]

i get a job done malcolm,no niceties involved.i happened to have worked with a lot of people,including one forum member that have taken so long thinking about a job that i have done it before they figure out a solution.my methods may not be ideal in this ridiculous world of h&s regs etc,but they get a job done.and as for for overalls knowing more about electricity than i do,do they have a scorch mark accross the chest ?i am guessing so the way you speak,probably more likeley a sweat stain from panicking at the thought of getting a tingle?walk into any barratts shoes,clintons cards,cardfair mor priceless anywhere in uk and your probably looking at my work,not to mention many major industrial estates/buildings.You are more than welcome to follow your procedures,but which of us gets the job done first ?

Ahhhhhhhhh your a shop fitter, you have gone up 5 fold in my estimation, you reached the heights of a T+E jockey, I love the way you lads can throw a bit of T+E over a false ceiling, it is a joy to behold .............. and the way you use the click system and flex for the lights it reminds me of a Botticelli or is it just Botch.

You may have even progressed to using basket tray, is there no end to this.

I was totally wrong, the overalls are more qualified.