WHO CAN BREAK THE SEAL? - Govt Changes Rules on Service Fuses
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- Опубликовано: 8 июн 2024
- Hopes are dashed as the government rules on who can break the seal on the service head…
…sales of backup power systems soar as businesses fear a wave of blackouts this winter…
…and twin electricians, who are conjoined, reveal that they’re paid just one salary - for two people…
Electrical News Weekly 19th December 2022 in association with myenergi
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00:00 Electrical News Weekly
00:36 Who can break the seal on the service head?
01:44 Tamper protection must be provided for EV charge points
02:30 First firm in the world to use wood to 3D prints lights
03:01 Sales of backup power system soaring
04:42 Sparkys rated highest of all trades for perceived value
05:10 Get recognised with the eFIXX Awards
05:28 Conjoined twins only paid one salary between them
06:20 Coming up on the channel this week
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Change in service head rules - www.dcusa.co.uk/change/dcp-39...
Does your charger comply with product safety and standards? - www.gov.uk/government/organis...
New Goodwe charger - hub.efixx.co.uk/goodwe-hca
3D printed wooden lights - www.recolight.co.uk/world-fir...
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The question about breaking the main cut out seal should be discussed with the fact the DNO/DSO is not really complying with EWA1989 by not supplying an Mains isolator. Thus the qualified electrician has to use their engineering judgement and work live which is not advised or break the seal when a new CU/DB/Fuseboard is fitted. The DNO/DSO can't have it both ways. Supply and fit an Iso for free after the cut out or the seals will be cut.
That's a really good point to be fair. 🤔
*1)* Water, supply an isolation device (stop tap).
*2)* Gas, supply an isolation device (stop tap).
*3)* Electricity *do not* supply an isolation device.
Not only that the Electricity people try and prosecute you for isolating. *SHARKS.*
Completely agree. Before any consumer unit replacement I always suggest the customer has a double pole isolator installed from the DNO. For safety & legality. It usually costs the customer but some DNO companies do it for free.
Only issue then is that the DNO will palm it off to the meter fitters because the isolator has to go after the meter, presumably to make it harder for dishonest customers to isolate the meter to aid bypassing it. The joys of privatisation and added 'red tape'! In the old days the same person would be installing the cutout and the meter. I'm not convinced that the situation we have now is progress!
@@timbo19 You can't fit the isolator after the meter, it must be before it so that if ever changes to the meter is required, it can be done safely.
Residential customers are more likely to steal electricity, not industrial customers.
Pablo will still be doing mine.
It should be MANDATORY for your supplier to fit a cutoff switch after the meter, this is soddin' disgraceful we're even having to talk about this.......
Or just fit meters which have the isolation switches built in on the load side.
@@supersparks9466 first day on the job? You really didn’t think that through before you typed did you. Amateurs
@@blanketyblank5022 explain?
made it clear when asked to go to smart meters it would only happen if they also fit a cut off. Which they did. I plan to fit a generator change over switch with socket and a new consumer unit next year
I paid my supplier to install an isolation switch, cost £35
Having worked for SSE for my whole life and having been on numerous courses involving main fuse removal AND been supplied with safety visor and insulated gloves AND flame retardant overalls I find it difficult to see how "all electricians" could be given authorisation to pull main fuses. On one occasion I was called to a loss of supply where an extension was being built on the side of a school and was met with "an electrician" holding the broken halves of a porcelain Lucy cutout fuse. The side of the lucy cutout metal face was covered with blow marks where he had tried to lever the fuse out without first releasing the turn knobs. He kept insisting he was qualified but it reality he was dam lucky to be alive.
I wouldn't mind doing the course. By the way, if the "dummy" electricians still live and fiddle withe main fuse and blow then that's that. You can't be with everyone...
Funny isnt you see Gas Safe engineers take out the Gas meter whilst working on the system. The situation is just pathetic.
You remove the fuse carrier do the needed work, check and carefully insert the cartier back into place. Where is the flashover risk.
Just get on and sort it out.
So if I was to do the right thing and not break the seal I will probably end up losing the job i.e a fuse board change to another contractor who will just cut it. Damned if I do damned if I don't.
I have been cutting the seals on main fuses for years, the same as every other electrician, how else are you suppose to change over consumer units,
I think the trade came up with an unwritten instruction to call the DNO afterwards and inform it needs a seal 🤷🏻♂️
@@ladams5356 I like you thinking, it amazing how many cut outs don’t have seals on them.
I remove cutout do the work then reseal. Nxt DNO engineer swaps my seals for theirs.
Unless the DNO can conclusively prove that there was a seal fitted in the first place, which they can't, then nobody is going to know that one was cut to remove the fuse. Every electrician: "I did not cut the cut the seal, because there was not one to cut."
45 years and I’ve not been pulled up yet
Technically, to achieve a successful prosecution, they would need to prove it was *you* that removed the seal, not that there was one present.
DNO is not nor will they ever be responsible for the installation of a double pole isolator! The isolator is "always" fitted on new installations and, depending on the supplier the isolator is free. On those that don't have an isolator and request one, I have seen prices from £90 to £110. And, in regards to proving that the seals were there to begin with, you'd be surprised as many suppliers if not all now, have addopted the taking of photos as the job of installing the meter progresses. I know of engineers that have taken as near as 90 photos on a electric and gas meter exchange, so proving that the seals were there is not imposible.
@@CarlosArruda77 Have you read EWA 1989, Part 2, Section 12 - paragraphs 1 & 2?
The only thing it doesn't actually state is whose responsibility it is. And there is no reason why it shouldn't be the DNO if they are providing the cut-out fuse.
@@CarlosArruda77 The photos just prove a seal existed, no proof as to whom removed it, could have been anyone, the homeowner even...
Ofgem - the quango who failed to spot the smaller energy firms gambling on the energy markets who were caught short by the chaos of the Ukraine invasion and hence ended up loosing huge sums of money hence the need for larger firms to bail in costing us all higher energy prices rises to cover their losses. Why are they still being delegated authority on any issue?
Hi, I'm your long-time viewer from Ukraine. I'd like to correct you a bit: it's just "Ukraine", not "the Ukraine". You can Google up some explanations why it is so sensitive if you are curious.
Thanks for your interesting and useful content, and thanks to all the UK citizens for all the help! It really matters a lot to us.
Hang on in boy.
I often wondered why the world called Ukraine, "The Ukraine", we don't have "The Britain" or "The France"!!! Wishing you and your fellow Ukrainians success against Putin.
As the Ukraine meant the border lands between Christendom & Islam, that's the correct origin. Ukraine the country was made-up by the Soviet Union out of Ruthenia and Novo Rossiya.
@@Benzknees Not true, this is a big myth promoted by guess who. "Ukraine" means "borderland" if translated from Russian, but in the Ukrainian language it means "inner country".
@@Eddiecurrent2000 Dont really have an answer other than english is odd. You wouldn't say the England or the America but could say the UK or the USA. Possibly be why people may refer to Ukraine as the Ukraine (maybe?)
I’m a meter guy, I don’t see a problem with pulling the mains fuse to work safely for electricians but I do wish you guys would seal it after with blank seals. So many unsealed fused which anyone can pull out without needing tools.
I think this is the issue. I agree with you 100%, if seals were replaced and maybe some way of monitoring the pulling of the fuse, I.e phone the DNO and notify them of intent to remove, they take some details and away you go.
@@lh2589 exactly, just blank seal get a reference number from the DNo so they can log last person onsite who’s pulled the fuse.
That is a really good point, maybe there should be a numbered seal for sparkies or something. 👍
How often do you find cut seals and whats the penalty for cutting them?
Personally prefer incoming isolators fitted next to/near main fuse, but making it easier for qualified persons to disengage and reapply seals safely is a plus 👍....
Cut seal, fit isolator, reseal. Job done. Safe and future proofing. We’re more than qualified to pull a fuse and to recognise if it’s not safe to do so
I may or may not be guilty of cutting a few hundred fuse carrier and meter seals, but if i did (not saying I do) I'd always make sure to asses the condition of the cutout and unload the downstream installation before doing so, and crimp new ones on when I'm done.
I can see why the supplier/dno would take issue with it being left unsealed or messed with by the homeowner, but I think a qualified electrician who knows what they're doing should be granted permission to do this.
A lot of good points made by others on the safety of consumer unit changes and the refusal for Mains isolators to be fitted as a rule. The Smart Meter roll out was the obvious time to do that. I also love the idea of such an isolator being built into the actual meter itself, however (unfortunately !) meters are managed by suppliers and not DNOs.
The issue for Government about allowing “qualified” electricians to pull the fuse lies in the definition of “qualified”. Bodies such as NAPIT etc., don’t “qualify” anyone and they certainly don’t check or quality control the industry. It’s difficult to see how the Govt could license the profession without entirely changing the whole qualification and authorisation approach.
It is a shame that most suppliers don't make it compulsary to have an isolator installed on every smart meter instal. In fact, off course they don't do it because of the cost, which will be passed on to the customer at a later date when the customer requires one to be installed. Also, there are traditional meters with a red cover with a seal, inside the main cover and covering only the cut out live and neutral, with a cut out switch on the meter that can be turned off. Off course, suppliers now don't want anyone touching their meters other than their own engineers. It is however, ironic because in the smart metering industry, any meter fitter will be touching, if not moving the entire existing electric meter setup in order to acomodate a hotshoe. Many things happen in this industry that under normal circumstances shouldn't be happening but when it "convinient" do happen.
Why does the DNO not just fit a proper isolator at the time of install the meter install or change? It flies straight back at them with the only way to do proper safe isolation. No one wants to actually sort it out which is about normal for this country while the DNO's cream off silly amounts of money for sending out Pablo to fit them. Yet another government failing. Ruling that the DNO's can only do this doesn't address the problem. With more and more consumer units being swapped and EV charging points being required it's even more of an issue. New properties generally have them. Make that the new demarcation point rather than the tails in the meter. How can you have a dematcation point that you can't actually touch? My old non smart siemens unit had a proper switch that allowed you to isolate the supply. When the useless smets 1 dumb ass meter was fitted that ability was lost.
Of course if you own a smart meter, you not only have to pay extra for Reactive Power, they will know the moment the electricity service head fuse is removed.
Could get rid of the seal-breaking issue entirely by making a whole-installation isolation switch between service head and meter, or perhaps meter and any other equipment, mandatory.
Between meter and equipment would be better as it leaves the meter itself live as a deterrent against tampering. Once there's a REC isolator fitted (and there's a clue in that acronym as to who ought to be doing that as part of this government meddling) the seals can be left alone.
It is interesting- In Jamaica and US I can cut the seal, do what I need to do, and call the utility so they put on a new seal... Because when you are replacing panels or such you need to remove the meter to work on the circuit..
It is highly unlikely that there will be power cuts this winter. As of now, there is no shortage of gas and our storage is being refilled after some draw down when it snowed a couple of weeks ago. LNG tankers are queuing to offload so households will have gas for heating and power stations gas for production. The other concern was France and it’s nuclear fleet. These are coming back on stream as predicted.
Hi Joe, electricians always help themselves and cut off seals even change tails in the CT cabinet. It seems pretty common
Ofgem are wrong on this. I am authorized by the EAW act to remove the fuse, I MUST isolate if I wish to work. So once again, theyre out of touch with reality
_Suitably qualified!_ The law focuses on the word *competent.*
The seals are available on Amazon, along with the crimping tool.
Breaking the Seal and GoodWe. I did have a chuckle
How many more regs will they invent for EV wallboxes? Every couple of months a new one, one could get the impression they're trying to get rid of foreign manufacturers by changing the requirements piecemeal like that.
I have a suggestion for the next change, and it even makes sense: conformal coating for the PCBs for outdoor units.
I've never batted an eyelid. I thought cutting seals off was what side cutters invented for.
I give free energy saving advise and it still amazes me the households that are still using halogen lamps. What happened the old public information videos.
People are not interested until I explain the 4 GU10 50w halogen lamps in the kitchen are burning £60 a year where LEDs burn £6 for the same light output
Another great News@Pen show Joe
👊😎👍💙
I was always told that if the seal is led and has a crown on one side and a three digit number or the supply company name say L.E.B ie London electricity board on the other side then that seal is classed as a Government seal and is elegal to remove by any one other than DNO staff . But if it is a blank crimp type then you can remove them. Also the seals are and the crimp tool are readily available to buy from Places like B&Q RS components and most electrical supply stores.
The changes will not stop or deter people from braking the seal and removing the supply cutout . As there is always those people who are more than happy and willing to break the law. And that will never change.
Great news weekly as always Joe.👍merry Christmas to you and all at eFIXX hope you have a good one i look forward to seeing more from you in 2023
Cheers Sean, hope you enjoy a bit of down time over the hols! 😊
There was a time, many years ago, that there were no private electricity supply companies, they were all owned by the government.
So yes I can well see that Crown imprinted lead seals were used.
Today, the electricity supply companies are private limited or public limited companies and not considered part of the government.
I doubt the distinction between a Crown imprinted seal and a plain seal matters now.
Having done some limited amount of research, I am unable to find anyone that has been prosecuted for solely breaking the seal. There are people that have broken the seal and stolen electricity and they have been prosecuted for "abstraction of electricity", which is essentially theft, but theft applies to tangible objects. For electricity they don't call it theft in law, they call it abstraction.
I don't think it is worth the Courts' time and cost of prosecuting for a 30 pence seal.
And the case is unlikely to result in a successful prosecution because the prosecution cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was *you* that broke that seal, unless you admit to it ..
I used to own a property it was very old cottage with old fuse board by the front door. We had to be careful shutting the front door because if we shut it hard the company fuse fell out! Great safety idea you didn't need to worry had you switched the lights off!! LOL
I can't understand why we don't have an isolator built into the outgoing side of the meter itself. Yea it might cost a bit more for the actual meter but surely that has to be a better solution than a separate isolator.
Smart meters already contain a bistable relay to enable remote disconnection so all it would take is a signal level switch on the meter to command the relay to switch off. The cost would be peanuts. This switch would have to take priority over any remote command that might try to turn the power back on.
In 20 years I've had no seals on fuse or meter . The national provider at the time removed my meter when the house was empty and never refitted any seals
I was curious about what a “tamper proof” charging point was. The regulations do indeed require a “tamper proof boundary” to be present for the charge point “to protect internal components”. Not only that but it requires the owner to be notified if the boundary has been breached, or if software has been changed.
These regulations seem rather overzealous in the context of domestic charge points. Tamper proof screws inherently render the product unserviceable, and if you were to replace the product in the future (likely with V2G capabilities coming up) then you’d essentially have to destroy the product or cut the cable (meaning you had better have some slack built in), or use screws that were “tamper proof” without actually being so. You can forget basic modifications (adding new CT clamps for example).
I just wander what the regulations on security are trying to achieve. I understand unauthorised charging is a hazard, but frankly there’s always an MCB / RCBO at the consumer unit inside a secure property to isolate to prevent that, and it certainly doesn’t require fancy software methods to accomplish its goal.
In Germany it's quite simple who can break the seal: If you're a master electrician* you can apply to get on the installers list of the DNO. It's only a formal act, they want to see the certificates of the qualification. If on the list, the electrician and his/her employees are permitted to break the seal, and re-seal it afterwards. You'll have to keep record of the whereabouts of the seals and what work you performed there when you use them. Back in the days the seals were special seal wire and a lead seal. Now it's still that wire but in combination with a special plastic seal. They require a special kind of pliers, and they usually imprint the DNOs name on the seal.
*After the 3.5 years of dual vocational education you'll have to take the advanced education. This can either happen in 2 years in full time, or 4 years in the evening school after work. This is only about handling a business properly and how to qualify and educate apprentices. It's not about the professional qualification.
You nailed in the head! You said "SIMPLE"! Since when the United Kingdom do SIMPLE? Do you know how long it takes to change a meter in America? 15 minutes average and the power is not even switched off. It can even be done without the customer being home. Now that's SIMPLE.
@@CarlosArruda77 The power is interrupted for that time. You loosen a screw and then simply pull the meter out of a socket and put the new one back in. During that time the power is interrupted, if not you should check the meter socket if someone bypassed the meter.
And in Germany the DNO changes the meter, it's their property. They usually come over every ten years to change the meter (the old Ferraris ones), the new digital ones must be changed more often. The meters here are gauged, and after a certain amount of time they must readjust them to the standard.
@@Marcel_Germann I was told otherwise. That the meter was just on a buzbar type of thing. Interesting. Still, much more practical than 8 screws and cables.
@@CarlosArruda77 It is fixed by a ring in positon, like a big hose clamp, with a screw. You must loosen that screw, remove the ring, then you can pull the meter out of the socket. It is like a big plug in a socket, so you have contacts on the meter and spring loaded terminals in the meter base. The meter connects the two lines and makes a connection to the neutral which is necessary for the metering of the demand. But if you pull the meter the electrical installation is disconnected from the mains, until you plug the new meter in.
It is faster to replace indeed, but you still have a short period of time without power.
But in the UK you're still faster. Here in Germany three-phase is the standard in domestic dwellings. So we have the screws for L1 in, L1 out, L2 in, L2 out, L3 in, L3 out and the two neutrals. But I prefer that the 3x230/400V over the 120/240V of the American split-phase system (or in case of three-phase, sometimes also in domestic dwellings there it is 3x120/208V).
@@Marcel_Germann thanks for replying mate. It sure is informative and helps one to understand in more depth the different ways out there. 3phade lads don't like it here in the UK as the money is like £2k more per year and the jobs are few and miles apart so one is worse off in terms of pay because we'd have to forfeit bonuses one would be making if installing only single phase. You have a great Xmas and all the best to you, your loved ones and everyone body else out there. Take care and be safe.
my guess is Argie Bargy and Halloumi ! All the best Paul
Halumi & Inspirational
Halloumi and GoodWe are my guess, good video
I guess a lot of seals are going to be cut last month...
Mandatory installation of isolation switches should be a thing by the meter installer and for it to remain the responsibility of the DNO.
Otherwise, there's going to be a market for electricians wearing high voltage PPE for working on live cables to install isolation switches. Probably make a fortune doing it too!
Whenever I change a consumer unit; I'm yet to find a property that actually has one of these seals when I arrive. I do, however, fit the seals before I leave with ones I bought off eBay. Thus leaving the property in a much safer condition than before I started.
Us electricians haven’t been supposed to break the seal for years but ….so nothing changes
Not yet...
There are 2 types of sparky. Ones that did a 4yr apprenticeship and ones that did a couple week corse n don't even know how to make every cable off.
Electricity at work regs
No live working
Well I pulled mine and not even a sparky - just a person with common sense
The question of breaking the seal's has always been a grey area for years. I have been in the electrical industry for a very long time and this as always been accepted.(unofficially). If the DNO has installed shrink wrap labels and seal's this is a different matter. It's normally indicates that there has been some issues with this installation. If the DNO was to install an isolator between the meter and consumers equipment and this issue will not exist.(this cost has to be passed on somewhere) Isolation is available on request. This is normally carried out by sub contractors who are qualified Electricians. So this could be a problem for upgrade of a consumer unit or the correct size meter tails. The DNO cannot have it both ways. When the DNO install new metering equipment they do NOT install the isolation equipment. Simple answer is due to the cost. The much bigger picture is the subcontractors that install new meter equipment and amount of electrical fires due to fast track training cannot be ignored.
'Halloumi' and 'emotion' are my guesses at the two words.
Top guesses Kendal, tune in next year to see if you got it right. 😃
I know some one... Not me of course, that uses swa armour and ferrules to reseal them.
The service head should have an inbuilt isolation switch.
BlackOuts and BrownOuts. There is a difference.
Issue with cutting seal is that it doesn’t get resealed. Therefore creating a code 2 non compliance.
You should reseal it after
Code 2 😄 🤣 😂 really
Oops my safety snips slipped for safety reasons
I can’t grasp what the problem with removing that fuse. In Sweden there are three seals on the incoming supply, an authorized electrician is allowed to break the two seals that aren’t hindering us from disassembly of the actual meter itself. Cut the seal and report it to the network company for replacement of the seals
There have been instances unwitting fuse removal of cut-out structural failure and explosion ( mega rare but )
Here in Germany, they can even remove the meter (just not put it back). We just had some major rework done, a completely new meter box and main CU (same thing here) got put in. The electrician pulled the meters from the old board, put them aside and installed the new box, including the connection to the head. He then pulled the through-connect lever on the meter mounting panel so we had power and sent the paperwork to the supplier. They eventually show up, clicked the meter into its mounting plate and sealed up the busbar chamber and the head.
Or should have. For some reason, they only put seals on one of the busbar chamber doors and also ignored the head. We suspect the technician got confused by the additional empty mounting plates that got put in in preparation for things like solar, heat pump and EV charger remote control that may come in the future. But is it really that weird to put in expansion space when you have to replace a unit anyway? We'd have to replace the whole unit if we wanted to add something that goes onto the busbar; that's not like adding extra breakers that can go in a second breaker box...
As long as i keep finding cut outs without an isolator, I'll keep cutting the seals, simple!🤷♂️
Already had 1 min cut off on boxing day 🤔🤣🤣🤣
Anyone..plenty of them on ebay to replace + the £££per kw these days will force many more to pull the fuse and do what the heck they want
I'm not an electrician but why isn't an isolation switch fitted on the house side of the electricity meter.
I'm I misunderstanding something.
You are not. That is the obvious solution. The Electricity supply industry, and the regulations surrounding it, is a complete mess
@eFIXX If the seal is already broken can an electrician pull the fuse? My understanding was the illegal thing is damaging someone else's property, hence why there a lot of electricians tend to find the seals have already been cut... This is at least a step in the right direction, there used to be a couple of companies that would install an isolator at a relatively cheap price as a REC but in my area WPD banned them... Its silly really, if they had just put an isolator on the new smart meters this would not be a discussion.. Electrician turns up 1. its a smart meter, isolate and carry on, 2. its not a smart meter, get customer to get a smart meter for free.. I don't have a smart meter but if it had an isolator I would have got one by now..
Some really good points in this comment. Not sure if the seals are already broken, removing the fuse can be hazardous if the blades can be touched before they break contact. 🤔
Exactly, if they just rolled out isolators as a part of the smart meter rollout it would eliminate the problem of needing to pull the fuse for future work.
But once again it's not about solving the issue in a sensible way. So the seals will continually "magically" disappear leaving it as a risk to people.
@@efixx For goodness sake, don't be a wuss, just don't touch them, or wear proper gloves.
About time.
Haloumi and Monday
Halloumi and argy bargy are my guesses
In France they have a 500mA DP RCBO as the main disconnector _(Disjoncteur différentielle)_ *and* isolator combined. We are decades behind them.
We rely on a tube fuse. The thin wire inside heats up and snaps. Primitive in comparison.
Well it's actually a HRC fuse with breaking capacity of 33kA, many times that of a RCBO and provides reliable protection against serious faults for a very reasonable price.
It will still be providing protection as designed in fifty years or more.
@@flange0r
*1)* An *_Interrupteur différentiel_* (ID) is the most commonly used and gives earth leakage protection only, and is the equivalent of an *RCD* in the UK.
*2)* A *_Disjoncteur différentielle_* is a combined unit that gives earth leakage AND overload protection. _Disjoncteur Differentiels_ are usually rated at 500mA. Equivalent to an *RCBO* in the UK.
Both are DP and are also the main switch.
500mA is not tight enough for people protection, so RCBO/RCDs have to be fitted after the main _Disjoncteur Differentiels_ in the consumer unit. _Disjoncteur différentielles_ (RCBO) are pretty well standard on new installations.
All MCBs/RCBOs/RCDs in the consumer unit are mandatory DP. Hence they have combined L & N bus bars, called _combs._ The French/Germans/Swiss etc, are way ahead of us. Look at a French Schneider consumer units, they leave us standing.
The fuse works & is very simple in it's operation also Very reliable! Other methods fail, can stick failing to operate as intended! something's don't need to be overcomplicated.
@@johnburns4017 yes it's all required because French domestic supplies are 15, 30 or 45A "puissance limitée" and max out at 60A single phase, so operation of this OCPD by users is expected.
The L+N busbars you talk about were historically required because all breakers were double-pole - you might for instance find 220v delivered using phase-phase in BE or NO, but with the advent of RCBOs are now more common in UK now.
Just a lot of things are different.
@@flange0r
In France you are on a standing _tariff,_ that is priced by the maximum amps you consume. This is set on the *_Disjoncteur différentielle_* (RCBO) by EDF and sealed. Undoing the seal a fine is issued. If say, set to 30A and you consume more, it cuts off the supply. The _disjoncteur différentielle_ is an amp settable RCBO. The later versions can have the tariff (amps) set remotely.
If say, you are set to a 30A tariff and want to be on 45A as you have bought an induction hob, they will up the amps you can consume putting you on a higher standing tariff. The cost pr kW/H is the same on any tariff.
Halloumi / Penn?
Cutting the seals on the incoming fuse is removed by the prior installation of an isolator! Problem solved.
Here in Italy is strictly forbidden to cut seals on the meter, you can get into serious trouble for doing so (it's a crime) and nowadays with smart meters they will find out instantly if you try to do so. Of course they do so because they don't want the possibility that one can connect before the meter itself and thus steal power.
The only thing an electrician can do is connect to the terminal of the meter itself, the incoming side is not accessible and everything is sealed, and can only be touched by the electricity distribution company, that must be called in case the meter or the supplying cable needs to be moved (in new installation the meter is on the outside of your property so it's not that big deal to move it).
But we don't also have fuses so there is no such need, the meter limits the power electronically thus there is no fuse that can blow if you take too much power (only a breaker on the meter itself that is tripped with a solenoid and can be reset by the customer itself like any other breaker), and for the same reason if you want to isolate the installation you simply turn off the switch on the meter itself (that can also be turned off remotely by the power company if you don't pay the bill).
They're not allowed to cut off your power here in the UK and fortunately it's still optional to have a smart meter. Smart people won't have them.
It’s the same in the U.K. too
Stuff the regs regarding that.
Many yrs ago i strictly adhered to the regs and found that that was dangerous AND or incredibly time consuming ( waiting for the supply co to turn up) the amount of times i had to very gently ease out a live 16mm tail from an old metal csu because i wasnt allowed to remove main cut out fuse.
I dont know ANY sparks that dont cut the seal. Common sense prevails. I did blow an 80A fuse once & couldnt see for about 3 minutes, from then on i remove the main fuse.
Hallumi is the slipped in word!
Seal, what seal...
The Indian guys. When companies do pay it is always sorted by "Head count" not body count. Therefore 2 heads, 2 pay packets. Easy.
2 words "Halloumi & Landmines" or is it 3 words As in Land Mines?
I've been cutting and resealing service fuses for 15 years. Who gives a toss 🤷
Haloumi and Destitute
why is the sound volume of your video so low....
We have a ban on cutting seals in work until the requirement for safe isolation to return supply of another utility kicks in and the seal gets cut to install a temporary generator. Like every decision in life, does another safety need trump the risk of damage to you pulling a cutout.
Argy-bargy- Halloumi??
It depends on your DNO. Simple
Argy-Bargy and Haluomi ?
Too many regulations create restrictions and in the end those wishing to be electricians will need a degree, as do nurses need now.
Conjoined Halloumi
What a load of crap this is the suppliers should fit an isolator after the cut out if they want the seals to remain in tact , this would avoid the need to pull the fuse which in this day and age is ridiculous it’s time we moved into the 21st century .
Years ago I was told if it comes to it they would you rather cut the seal on the head than the meter . The house I lived in had no seal on the head for years even when mentioned to the meter reader ( remember them ? ) got it sorted eventually.
This week's hidden words could be Argy-bargy / Penn?
If there is no isolator I imagine most Electricians will continue with...
Cut the seal, pull the fuse, fit an isolator and re-fit the fuse.
Who can prove anything?
Unfortunately the half hearted regulatory approach prevails. Whilst there will remain statutory control over who is allowed to break the seal on the supply head, the DNO does not provide any form of regular inspection, and the meter readers are a long lost trade, they will not be able to prove when, or by whom the seal was broken. In many cases accidental damage may have occurred in the meter cupboard and corrosion or rodent damage may have played a part. Common sense would be to allow qualified electricians to provide safe isolation and thereby indicate that they acknowledge the respect qualified electricians deserve. They could consider a registration scheme for the seals and to ensure that they are genuinely tamper proof which might discourage the cowboys from removing them. It may also help if the DNO was required to install a double pole isolator on the consumer side of the supply head which should have been a requirement years ago.
That’s a good one I can use next time, a mouse must have chewed through the seal!
The conjoined twin, difficult one. Is he fully able to perform 2 jobs simultaneously at all times? What if the job they are assigned only requires one electrician, would it be fair to have to pay both? I would say that it would be dependent on what wether they can perform the work of 2 electricians at all times. I think either way it would be a controversial decision though
One for the philosophers... and HR.
They need to eat 2 sets of meals 2 sets of clothing
Contrasting the UK's energy crisis with the Ukraine war zone is ridiculous! My expectations are of continuous uninterrupted power supply in the UK. There's no good excuse.
Argybargy - lighthearted
Top guesses Gabor, tune in next year to see if you got it!
The world economic fund and international monetary fund own the governments of the world,
Secret words
Argy-bargy and halloumi
Fantastic guesses Pawel make sure you join us in the new year to see if you got it! 😃
Any work for uk electricians in Ukraine?
Argy-bargy / Halloumi
Good guesses Matt, make sure you're listening in the New year to see if you got it! 😃
Guess at the two words - argybargy and halloumi :)
I will be even more controversial as to what DNOs should be providing - as the main risk of a surge damaging consumers equipment, or electric shock/fire as a result of a broken supply neutral come from the DNO side, they should be the ones providing surge/PEN protection at the origin of each installation. Won't happen as that would cost them money.
PS issues caused by them saving money in the past by the way!
Halloumi / Storm
Never going to stop cutting the seal on the main fuse and no one else should either. Just ignore all this unnecessary government interference.
Rather than a pat on the back it sounds to me as though electricians have fared pretty poorly on the survey results. Not in the top 5 on tidiness, quality of work or professionalism so on that basis government has made the right decision in not allowing "qualified electricians" to break the seals on incoming suppplies! I am a chartered electrical engineer - not an electrician - and whilst I don't claim to know the 18th edition as well as some of the RUclips specialists such as John Ward and others I certainly know them better than my local rural electricians who, on the basis of conversations I have had with them recently, have not even read the 18th edition. I think that until ALL electricians are brought up to the appropriate standards it is premature to seek further restrictions on who can or cannot undertake electrical work in the UK.
Just do it live 😜
Halloumi and Argy-bargy
Luminaires and Halloumi
Good guesses Kelly, tune in next year to see if you got it right! 😃
Sorry but if it was left to energy supplier contractors to cut the seal and isolate the power nothing would get done, you ring them up and ask them to come out to do a disconnect and all you would get is there is a 4 week wait sorry but you need it doing now not in 4 weeks time, it's not like you can see into the future and pre book an appointment, the powers that be obviously don't live in the real world.
Stupid box ticking DNO are negligent themselves by allowing 400 to 500 loss neutral faults per year and not upgrading their systems for renewable tech, car chargers ect.
They need to wake up and work in conjunction with any level 3 qualified sparks. Instead of being short sighted and not being pragmatic.