Taff Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Hi, local power company about to lay cable up to our boundary, our plot is just grass at the minute. The plan is to install a GRP kiosk I have seen many metal versions and wondered if the GRP version is suitable? The meter box will also be positioned in the kiosk so it will be a permanent fixture. Anyone used this type type and were there any issues with the company’s involved in the installation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 You just need to make sure it has the space for the minimum backboard dimensions required by the supplier. And you'll need an earth rod/ inspection hatch in the base. I ended up making mine out of brick from the old house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taff Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share Posted February 17, 2020 Do they need an earth rod before the meter goes in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 6 minutes ago, Taff said: Do they need an earth rod before the meter goes in? Usually they do, yes, as they will class this as a Temporary Building Supply (TBS) and a TBS installation has to be TT, as they won't allow the use of any incoming PE/PEN that's provided by the DNO. This usually means fitting a small CU with a suitable DP RCD plus one or two MCBs for the temporary supply. The TT installation also needs to be inspected and tested before use, to make sure it's safe. I chose to install a caravan hookup box, as this includes an RCBO together with a commando outlet as the temporary supply connection point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 I did a temp kiosk, was a GRP “in wall “ meter box on two fence posts, next to my garage that was being built. When the garage was built I swung the meter box into a hole in the wall of the garage as it’s permanent location , I didn’t have to pay the DNO to move it as the cable was long enough ?. p.s. don’t hit a GRP kiosk with a JCB, it will end in tears, guess how I know ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 16 hours ago, joe90 said: When the garage was built I swung the meter box into a hole in the wall of the garage as it’s permanent location , I didn’t have to pay the DNO to move it as the cable was long enough That is my plan for tomorrow, however talking it through with the lead brickie last night we cannot decide whether to build the hole and then slot the meterbox in or fit the box propped in position and then lay bricks around it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taff Posted February 18, 2020 Author Share Posted February 18, 2020 20 hours ago, Jeremy Harris said: Usually they do, yes, as they will class this as a Temporary Building Supply (TBS) and a TBS installation has to be TT, as they won't allow the use of any incoming PE/PEN that's provided by the DNO. This usually means fitting a small CU with a suitable DP RCD plus one or two MCBs for the temporary supply. The TT installation also needs to be inspected and tested before use, to make sure it's safe. I chose to install a caravan hookup box, as this includes an RCBO together with a commando outlet as the temporary supply connection point. What I meant to say was do they need an earth rod before the electric connection is established, the step before the meter that goes in, if that makes sense! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 45 minutes ago, Taff said: What I meant to say was do they need an earth rod before the electric connection is established, the step before the meter that goes in, if that makes sense! Not usually, no. We had our supply put in before I'd fitted the caravan hookup box as our TBS. The DNO just left a scribbled note in felt pen giving the value they'd measured for Ze and reminding me to make sure the TBS was a TT installation. TBH, I'm not even sure that the supplier who fitted the meter did any checks, although they may have done. By the time the meter fitter came around I already had the earth electrode in and the small CU wired up, with just a pair of tails left ready to connect to the meter. The only snag with doing it this way around is that you can't test the installation until after the meter is installed. Not a problem for me, but it could mean an electrician coming out twice, so it's probably better to get both the DNO supply and meter fitted before you get the TBS installed. Good idea to provide an isolator switch, as not all meter fitters are installing them now. Makes life a lot easier if the suppliers side can be isolated from the consumer side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taff Posted February 18, 2020 Author Share Posted February 18, 2020 49 minutes ago, Jeremy Harris said: Not usually, no. We had our supply put in before I'd fitted the caravan hookup box as our TBS. The DNO just left a scribbled note in felt pen giving the value they'd measured for Ze and reminding me to make sure the TBS was a TT installation. TBH, I'm not even sure that the supplier who fitted the meter did any checks, although they may have done. By the time the meter fitter came around I already had the earth electrode in and the small CU wired up, with just a pair of tails left ready to connect to the meter. The only snag with doing it this way around is that you can't test the installation until after the meter is installed. Not a problem for me, but it could mean an electrician coming out twice, so it's probably better to get both the DNO supply and meter fitted before you get the TBS installed. Good idea to provide an isolator switch, as not all meter fitters are installing them now. Makes life a lot easier if the suppliers side can be isolated from the consumer side. Thanks for that the sparky will be on site so that could be sorted prior to the meter going in. Powgrid are there this week so wanted to make sure everything is in place ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taff Posted February 18, 2020 Author Share Posted February 18, 2020 20 hours ago, joe90 said: I did a temp kiosk, was a GRP “in wall “ meter box on two fence posts, next to my garage that was being built. When the garage was built I swung the meter box into a hole in the wall of the garage as it’s permanent location , I didn’t have to pay the DNO to move it as the cable was long enough ?. p.s. don’t hit a GRP kiosk with a JCB, it will end in tears, guess how I know ? Oh dear you didn’t did you ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 If fitting an isolator switch in the tails, then I can highly recommend this one: https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/products/1667266-100a-dp-electricity-meter-isolator-switch Fitted one recently and was really impressed, probably the best terminations I've seen for something like this. I've no connection to them, other than as an impressed customer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 4 hours ago, epsilonGreedy said: That is my plan for tomorrow, however talking it through with the lead brickie last night we cannot decide whether to build the hole and then slot the meterbox in or fit the box propped in position and then lay bricks around it. my temp connection was months before the garage was being built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taff Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 They were happy with the GRP install, I now need to organise a meter, do I need to earth it myself prior to meter installation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 8 minutes ago, Taff said: They were happy with the GRP install, I now need to organise a meter, do I need to earth it myself prior to meter installation? There's no earth connection needed for the meter, just whatever you decide to use as a temporary building supply. That needs to be wired as a TT installation, with an earth electrode and an RCD providing protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taff Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 4 minutes ago, Jeremy Harris said: There's no earth connection needed for the meter, just whatever you decide to use as a temporary building supply. That needs to be wired as a TT installation, with an earth electrode and an RCD providing protection. This GRP will be the permanent supply so we will just run it through straight to the houseThey were happy with the GRP install, I now need to organise a meter, do I need to earth it myself prior to meter installation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Until the house is built with a signed off electrical installation, you must have the temporary building supply (assuming you want to be able to use power before the house is complete) connected as a TT installation. The meter fitters will need something to connect to, in all probability, so it's a good idea to get, as a bare minimum, an isolator switch and pair of tails ready for the meter fitter to wire to the meter. If the house consumer unit is going to be more than 3m away from the incoming supply, then you need to fuse the cable supplying the house, so fitting a switch fuse as the isolator makes sense. As before, there is no earth connection on an electricity meter. What is it you are planning to do with the electricity supply before the house is finished? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taff Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 I’m told we can install the fuse/isolator switch in this box which is about 10 meters away from the house then run cable to the property, we may decide to move the meter to the house once complete. not sure what they would put on the end of the cable at the house end if we didn’t move the meter! Yes It’s to supply the builders with a source during build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 33 minutes ago, Taff said: I’m told we can install the fuse/isolator switch in this box which is about 10 meters away from the house then run cable to the property, we may decide to move the meter to the house once complete. not sure what they would put on the end of the cable at the house end if we didn’t move the meter! Yes It’s to supply the builders with a source during build Before the meter is fitted you will need something for the meter tails to connect to. As you're going to need to run a protected 25mm2 run of SWA to the house eventually, you will have to have a switch fuse, so it makes sense to fit that now, as the meter fitter can connect to it. You will need two of these, one for each phase. You will also need to have some form of small consumer unit installed for the TBS (temporary building supply). I used a caravan hookup box, as it was weatherproof, had an RCBO to give the required protection and included a 16 A commando outlet that could run stuff on site. These come in a range of types: https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/categories/caravan-hook-up-16-amp-range . You will also need an earth electrode installed with the earth wire connected to the TBS box. The TBS box can be fitted close to the kiosk and fed by tails from one of the switch fuses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 This is what we were required to build: And how it ended up looking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 23 minutes ago, Conor said: This is what we were required to build: And how it ended up looking This diagram has a very major omission, and should not be implemented as shown, under any cirumstances. There is NO over current protection, apart from the main fuse, which may well be rated at 100 A. As it stands, this diagram shows an unsafe installation. If the RCD was replaced with an RCBO, or if an RCD was used in series with an appropriately rated MCB or fuse, then it would be OK. I'm more than a bit surprised that any DNO or supplier would publish such a diagram, TBH. It looks as if that diagram was very sensibly ignored by the electrician who installed the TBS, with things installed as would be expected, with a DP isolating switch fuse immediately after the meter, then a CU that I hope contains both earth fault and over current protection to the two commando outlets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Funnily enough, the spark had nothing but bad things to say about the DNO and their requirements / standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 1 minute ago, Conor said: Funnily enough, the spark had nothing but bad things to say about the DNO and their requirements / standards. I'm not surprised, given that diagram they provided! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 I was given the same advice by the meter bod, wouldn't connect until there was a commando socket but refused to aknowledge the need for protection on it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taff Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 So apart from the folk on here, they ain’t got a clue what they are doing? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taff Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 9 hours ago, Conor said: This is what we were required to build: And how it ended up looking Is that what you had to install prior to meter install? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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