British gas fit meter tails?

[dannyboy123]

Does anyone know if british gas will replace my 16mm meter tails with 25mm meter tails when they replace my smart meter? I've installed a 100amp isolator and was hoping they would replace the tails between the fuse and smart meter and then between the smart meter and isolator, then when my electrician replaces the consumer unit he can just shut the isolator and replace the tails from isolator to consumer unit. The lady on the phone said she would note it on the request but just wondered if anyone has had this done?

[Rob99]

When my electrician replaced my consumer unit he also replaced the tails between the meter and the new board. It's in the regs so he had to do it.

[dannyboy123]

3 minutes ago, Rob99 said:

When my electrician replaced my consumer unit he also replaced the tails between the meter and the new board. It's in the regs so he had to do it.

How did he remove the seals on the meter? Its sealed and it's an offence to remove them?

[Temp]

Your best bet is to try and arrange for your electrician to be there when BG visit. I think I would at least have him prepare the short tails between meter, fuse and isolator just in case BG turn up without right stuff. Basically do your best to cover all bases to avoid a screw up.

[PeterW]

Have a pair there and ask - they aren’t expensive and a cuppa and a £20 may help ... 

[Onoff]

BG fitted a smart meter to my Mum and Dad's place and at the same time a Wylex REC2 isolator after the meter. They fitted new tails between the meter and REC2 but left the original 16mm, cloth covered tails now between the new REC2 and consumer unit. They wrote on their notes recommending the original tails be changed which I did.

[ProDave]

It is VERY variable what they do. Some meter fitters are good, some not so.

 

It definitely is a good idea to be there and then say something like "My electrician says those are sub standard and need replacing with 25mm tails"

Have the kettle on and the plate of biscuits ready often helps.

[Onoff]

On the biscuit front maybe something a little off piste like Garibaldi? Can't go wrong with Tunnocks either...

[Jeremy Harris]

1 hour ago, dannyboy123 said:

How did he remove the seals on the meter? Its sealed and it's an offence to remove them?

 

It's done so regularly by electricians that I'm pretty sure that the DNOs really aren't at all bothered by it.  The "standard" way to do it is to make sure everything in the house is powered off, remove  the seal, carefully pull the fuse to isolate the supply (ideally wearing gloves and a face mask if it's an older type of fuse holder), do the work, make sure everything is still off, replace the fuse and test the installation.  You then call the DNO and report that whilst doing a routine inspection you noted that the seal was missing from the fuse.  The DNO will then probably send someone out to fit a new seal, although sometimes they can be really slow to do this.  This process  is so common it has a fairy tale name, "calling Amelie" (The Seal Fairy).

 

I'd not recommend that anyone does this unless they understand the risks involved.  Get it wrong, and pull the fuse under load, and there can be a fair old flash.  Also, there are still some brittle fuse holders around that are prone to crack and can expose the terminals, making the thing unsafe after it's been disturbed.

[ProDave]

I also will not personally pull the fuse on an old cast iron fuse holder. That is firmly in the category of "somebody else's risk"

[Jeremy Harris]

2 minutes ago, ProDave said:

I also will not personally pull the fuse on an old cast iron fuse holder. That is firmly in the category of "somebody else's risk"

 

Me neither!  Mother's old farm originally had a cast iron three phase incomer, complete with molten pitch running down the wall from where the thing had got a bit warm at some time...

[Onoff]

17 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

This process  is so common it has a fairy tale name, "calling Amelie" (The Seal Fairy).

 

Invented by ME!

[Carrerahill]

10 hours ago, dannyboy123 said:

Does anyone know if british gas will replace my 16mm meter tails with 25mm meter tails when they replace my smart meter? I've installed a 100amp isolator and was hoping they would replace the tails between the fuse and smart meter and then between the smart meter and isolator, then when my electrician replaces the consumer unit he can just shut the isolator and replace the tails from isolator to consumer unit. The lady on the phone said she would note it on the request but just wondered if anyone has had this done?

They will only do work on the meter and cutout side. They will not go into your DB - however, it depends if you get a decent guy, or rather one willing to bend rules, he might do it for £20 - however, with regulation and the way things work these days, he could get himself into bother so I would expect no generally.

 

It is an interesting one, no one is meant to touch anything that belongs to the board - however, loads of installations have a new CU and tails, no cutout in sight, yet somehow the new CU and tails were installed - go figure. It happens and they will not ever have a go at anyone who has done it for genuine reasons - if they started that game then they would be inundated with requests to come and fit cutouts, come and isolate supplies etc. not going to happen.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2019 by Carrerahill

[MJNewton]

11 hours ago, JSHarris said:

You then call the DNO and report that whilst doing a routine inspection you noted that the seal was missing from the fuse.  

 

Or, so I've heard, you can buy seals off eBay for only a few quid if you're worried about what the DNO might say/do. 

 

To be honest, unless there is evidence suggesting theft, I don't think they are all that bothered and would rather any work was done safely than having to work  live. I've certainly never heard of anyone being 'done' for removing a cutout seal, not least probably because it would be very hard to prove. 

[Jeremy Harris]

Just now, MJNewton said:

 

Or, so I've heard, you can buy seals off eBay for only a few quid if you're worried about what the DNO might say/do. 

 

To be honest, unless there is evidence suggesting theft, I don't think they are all that bothered and would rather any work was done safely than having to work  live. I've certainly never heard of anyone being 'done' for removing a cutout seal, not least probably because it would be very hard to prove. 

 

 

Seals are easily obtainable, but they are all impressed with the specific number/code that is supposed to  identify the person who fitted it.  Given that there are now tens of thousands of people, working for DNOs, their sub-contractors, suppliers, and their sub-contractors, who have sealing pliers I somehow doubt that it's really possible to identify anyone from a seal.  I also doubt that anyone would ever bother to check, let alone try to find out who may have fitted a seal.

[Onoff]

Just now, JSHarris said:

 

 

Seals are easily obtainable, but they are all impressed with the specific number/code that is supposed to  identify the person who fitted it.  Given that there are now tens of thousands of people, working for DNOs, their sub-contractors, suppliers, and their sub-contractors, who have sealing pliers I somehow doubt that it's really possible to identify anyone from a seal.  I also doubt that anyone would ever bother to check, let alone try to find out who may have fitted a seal.

 

I've seen non numbered seals used by DNOs contractors. Worse still they've fitted a new head once before and fitted no seals whatsoever!

[Jeremy Harris]

3 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

I've seen non numbered seals used by DNOs contractors. Worse still they've fitted a new head once before and fitted no seals whatsoever!

 

Somehow I found a few new seals and wires in our meter box.   Must have been dropped by the last meter fitter, whilst I was chatting to him about the need to change the wiring around in the meter box (the new E7 meter he fitted doesn't have a built-in isolator, unlike the one he took out).

[dannyboy123]

20 hours ago, Onoff said:

BG fitted a smart meter to my Mum and Dad's place and at the same time a Wylex REC2 isolator after the meter. They fitted new tails between the meter and REC2 but left the original 16mm, cloth covered tails now between the new REC2 and consumer unit. They wrote on their notes recommending the original tails be changed which I did.

That's exactly what I want. When the consumer unit is fitted we will replace the tails between the consumer unit and isolator. Did they also replace the tails between the main fuse and the meter?

[ProDave]

As an electrician, if doing a consumer unit change with old cotton meter tails, to avoid opening the meter seal, I will run new tails from the new CU and terminate them in henley blocks by the meter to the old tails, leaving enough length to connect into the meter.  Then phone the DNO to report a "dangerous condition" (unsafe tails) and they can connect my new tails into their meter.

[MrMagic]

Just to help anyone looking at this topic in the future... this picture helps with defining who is responsible for what...

Obviously replace SSE with your local leccy network operator (DNO). Supplier in the above diagram refers to the company you actually pay for your electric. When I had a meter swap recently they upgraded tails between the cutout and meter. Tails on the meter -> CU had already been done by the spark. 

 

With regards to seal removal and resealing, I expect it varies by DNO - in my area (SSE), sparkies are actually allowed to pull the main fuse to work safely.. but they have to inform SSE and they also have to had 'signed out' 5 serial numbered temporary seals from the local SSE depot.

[Jeremy Harris]

27 minutes ago, MrMagic said:

With regards to seal removal and resealing, I expect it varies by DNO - in my area (SSE), sparkies are actually allowed to pull the main fuse to work safely.. but they have to inform SSE and they also have to had 'signed out' 5 serial numbered temporary seals from the local SSE depot.

 

In Part P land, it depends on the body the electrician pays his/her dues to as to whether or not he/she can pull a main fuse.  Some of the accreditation bodies seem to allow some of their members to do this, with DNO consent, some will not.

[MrMagic]

Yarp. The usual suspects are covered - NICEIC, NAPIT, Elecsa etc