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Plastic switch in external meter box

aligarjon
Can i fit a plastic switch fuse such as an 800kmf in the external meter box or does it have to be metal.   I am not interested in the dno view, they always seem to be happy with our switch gear in there around here so long as we leave them enough room.



Gary
  • 0
    Even that one below the KMF switch if securely covered to IP2x/4x might be serviceable for years. The most important aspect is that all the terminations are tight.  Now the likelihood of that being the case in this instance is debatable.

    Legh
  • 0
    Nikp:

    How the hell does someone walk away from a job like that. 


    If I had done that, I'd run, not walk. ?


    My affliction is being perfectionist. I imagine that there is a middle way.


  • 0
    you cannot fit the lid, as some of the wires come out the front via what should be the gap between body and lid...

    I agree if that was not the case, it's probably not actually immediately dangerous, (apart perhaps from the ends of the bus-bar) but it is, to put it as nicely as possible, dog rough, and almost impossible to see what is going on and check with confidence.


    I think sometimes a well done DIY job is preferable to a contractor in a hurry to be honest.


    My point with that picture is that it is work like that which is the real CU fire risk, and the cause of the updated regs,  and it is being done by folk calling themselves the professionals.

    The KMF, or a REC2 or a single RCD in a single plastic box, is a lot less risky, as there are far fewer connections, and the chance of getting it wrong is almost nil.


    Mike
  • 0
    "I am not interested in the DNO view"

    You should be, because without a competency certificate signed by a DNO you are not able to work live on their equipment.

    An unauthorised "isolator" is not covered by the suppliers insurance.

    The fitting of an unauthorised "isolator" will loosen the meter tails irrespective of a withdrawn fuse so the meter terminals will have to be checked afterwards. This of course requires seals to be broken and replaced, again only persons with a competency certificate are able to do this.

    Your best course is to request a suppliers isolator via the customer. The suppliers meter operator will attend, fit, and you being there at the same time can reconnect the tails.

    Ascertaining whether a plastic isolator/sw/fuse is allowable under the "wiring regulations" would be futile anyway because that question has been thrown around for years and no one from the "institution has stuck their head above the parapet and given a definitive answer. 

    Regards, UKPN.
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Your best course is to request a suppliers isolator via the customer. The suppliers meter operator will attend, fit, and you being there at the same time can reconnect the tails.


    I didn't read the OP as seeking to install an isolator, there could be one there already. My reading is that the OP wants to use "meter tails" greater than 3 m in length, hence the need for a secondary overcurrent protective device as use of the DNO cut-out fuse is not permitted for meter tails exceeding 3 m.


    The OP wants to install this secondary overcurrent protective device in the DNO meter box enclosure for reasons only known to the OP.


    It is past my bedtime so may have been typing utter $£%* so, as usual different viewpoints may follow!


    Regards


    BED
  • 0
    " you cannot fit the lid, as some of the wires come out the front via what should be the gap between body and lid... "

    Oh come on..its been set up for the photo. Not even  a 5 day trainee clown would produce artwork as elaborate as that.

    Regards....
  • 0
    " The OP wants to install this secondary overcurrent protective device in the DNO meter box enclosure for reasons only known to the OP. "

    Lol....It's either a very large meter box or a very small tail extention.

    Regards
  • 0
    OK, I have a white plastic box on the wall of my house; or in fact, two of them. One has the DNO's and supplier's tackle and the other has a switch-fuse. I reckon that both are my boxes on my land. My land! So where is the legal basis for the DNO "owning" one of them?
  • 0
    UKPN:


    Ascertaining whether a plastic isolator/sw/fuse is allowable under the "wiring regulations" would be futile anyway because that question has been thrown around for years and no one from the "institution has stuck their head above the parapet and given a definitive answer. 

    Regards, UKPN.


    That's not true, the words are in BS 7671 itself.

    Consumer unit is defined in the standard. It's an assembly with a main switch and protective devices for the control and distribution of electrical energy.


    An independent stand-alone isolator, or alternatively an isolating switch/fuse or isolating fuse/switch is not "similar switchgear" ... otherwise we couldn't fit standard shower isolators or cooker control units in domestic premises. It could also be argued that an enclosure containing a single RCD, say for a shower, is not "similar switchgear" as it does not include for "distribution", it's a dedicated device (similar, the SRCD).



    However, in full agreement with you, UKPN, on the position regarding fitting an isolator and loosening meter tails ... bring back 2-screw type terminals, or lugs, for larger CSA cable.


  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    I reckon that both are my boxes on my land. My land! So where is the legal basis for the DNO "owning" one of them?


    On that logic, you own the DNO service cable, cut-out and meter Chris!


    Regards


    BOD


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