Service alteration - electric

[Russdl]

1 minute ago, ProDave said:

No problem at all. I am about 25 metres from my supply box to the house.

 

Excellent, I shall relax - slightly - again.

[Simplysimon]

just bringing this to the fore again, i've got a quote for power and had thought to put it on the boundary, however, that's a hedge. what will i need to provide for supply co.?

 

cheers

 

[Russdl]

@Simplysimon (right, lets see if I can do this, quote from another thread that is)

 

In another thread where I asked about Service alterations prior to demolition @MikeSharp01 posted pictures of a 'block house' he'd built on his boundary for all his service, and IIRC from @JSHarris's blog he did something not too dissimilar, but closer to the new property.

 

I 'm leaning towards @MikeSharp01's solution for my own plot and was searching eBay the other day seeing if I could find a second hand roadside electricity enclosure, those big old green metal things, and make that work, but I couldn't find any perhaps because I don't really know what there called. 

 

Any way, here goes with Mikes picture.

 

(Crikey it worked!)

 

On 31/05/2018 at 21:52, MikeSharp01 said:

Here are a couple of snaps of our block house before we demolished the old house. The front has gas an electric meters and the back has electric distribution (to the house / garden room / garden / lighting and car charger point) and the comm cabinet with the phone line in with wired router and alarm system.

 

 

 

 

[Simplysimon]

thanks @Russdl that's what i was searching for but could't find, i think you are searching for one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portastor-VRE-cabinet-Electric-substation-steel-case-with-lifting-roof-heavy-dut/312171976864?hash=item48aee658a0:g:WqIAAOSwAXhZ253C

 

cheers

[PeterW]

23 minutes ago, Simplysimon said:

thanks @Russdl that's what i was searching for but could't find, i think you are searching for one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portastor-VRE-cabinet-Electric-substation-steel-case-with-lifting-roof-heavy-dut/312171976864?hash=item48aee658a0:g:WqIAAOSwAXhZ253C

 

cheers

 

What about one of these ..??

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F192502804252

[Russdl]

Thanks @Simplysimon & @PeterW, I’d found those sorts of things but I was looking for something much older, I don’t really know but maybe a circa 1960’s - 70’s one (or much older) with a few more curves and maybe a bit more character, they’re probably out there with the old post boxes and telephone kiosks but I’m buggered if I can find any.

 

Failing that I think I’ll probably plagerise @MikeSharp01‘s design. 

[Simplysimon]

for those who know, would one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GRP-Electric-Kiosk-Housing-Meter-Box-Cabinets-Enclosure-SDE1-W750xD450xH1250/253718485438?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 be suitable to mount at the boundary?

 

cheers

 

[ProDave]

4 minutes ago, Simplysimon said:

for those who know, would one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GRP-Electric-Kiosk-Housing-Meter-Box-Cabinets-Enclosure-SDE1-W750xD450xH1250/253718485438?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 be suitable to mount at the boundary?

 

cheers

 

Yes, that's a Rolls Royce job.  Far cheaper to buy a flush mount standard meter box and build a wall or fence to put it in.

[PeterW]

Yep as long as it sits on a concrete base. Put a couple of 4” swept elbows in opposite corners to get ducts in and out and then you can always backfill the rest of the duct 

[Simplysimon]

thanks guys, @ProDave one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electricity-meter-box-surface-mark-2/302783808700?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 do? and will it still need to mounted on the concrete base?

 

cheers

[ProDave]

That is the surface mount version of a meter box. This is the flush one. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electric-Meter-Box-Recessed-UK-standard-domestic-meter-box-EBP0011/272284487833?hash=item3f656b9099:g:JisAAOxygo9Q7DF5

 

I used two side by side in a little bit of fence. Sometimes the DNO get a bit uppity if you put too much stuff in "their" meter box

 

 

 

[Russdl]

I've changed my plans slightly and the TBS will be 'temporary'. But I'm getting confused about what/where/who/how etc. I can't call anyone until the morning and I won't sleep with these (hopefully minor things) playing on my mind, so I'm hoping you'll be able to check my plans thus far...

 

I'll be trenching (IAW with the DNO guidelines) from their pole, and under a footpath, so that the hockey stick comes up in to our garden about 1m from our low fence which separates our garden from the footpath. I have a wide (700mm) lockable meter box that will be mounted on 2 wooden post. Inside this large meter box I plan to have the meter and Temporary Building Supply.

 

Whats bugging me is:

 

1. Is there a minimum distance from the fence to the meter box/TBS (it will open in towards the plot)

2. Can I have the Cut Out, Meter and TBS all in one big box? (a bit late to ask that question, but maybe not too late!!)

 

As I understand it, the DNO pull their cable through my duct and put the Cut Out in my large meter box and dissappear. Then the service provider attach a meter to the Cut Out and disappear.

 

3. Do the service provider leave a meter with nothing hanging out of it and then my electrician connects tails to the meter and on to the TBS or do they leave the meter tails in Henley Blocks.

 

This is probably nigh-naff and trivia but it's vexing me, any light shining would be much appreciated.

[ProDave]

1) No, ours is right on the boundary with next door.

 

2) some DNO's get uppity if you take up space in "their" meter box.  Use a small mini CU right in the top right corner of the meter box and you will probably get away with it with little more than a grunt of discontent.

 

What happens next is highly regional dependant.  I would suggest the TBS CU is present with meter tails already connected so the meter monkey can connect them to the meter.  Having an EIC might smooth the waters if there is any uncertainty.

 

In our case SSE supply a meter with a built in isolator and the electrician makes the final connection.

[Russdl]

At the risk of looking stupid (Google was no help)

 

@ProDave EIC? What’s that?  

 

Thanks for the rest of the reassurance. 

[Jeremy Harris]

EIC = Electrical Installation Certificate

 

Our supplier wanted one for the consumer side installation before they would fit the meter.

[Russdl]

1 minute ago, JSHarris said:

EIC = Electrical Installation Certificate

 

Ah! That changes the price of fish a little.

 

I’ll have to check with the supplier tomorrow as my electrician is not available this week and the DNO/Supplier are due on Friday...

[Jeremy Harris]

It's not set in stone, @Russdl, each supplier seems to have it's own rules.  Some seem to make up rules as they go along....

[Russdl]

@JSHarris I’m certainly learning that in these early stages!

[ProDave]

I had an EIC ready but SSE were not interested. But some DNO's / suppliers are.

[Jeremy Harris]

7 minutes ago, ProDave said:

I had an EIC ready but SSE were not interested. But some DNO's / suppliers are.

 

 

Guess who our supplier (and DNO) are? 

 

Both are SSE...

 

As above, they make up the rules as they go along...

[Russdl]

Update:

 

SSE is our DNO and British Gas our supplier (who  I've just spoken to). They assure me that there will be no problem fitting the meter to the cutout without the TBS CU being in the box.

 

I hope they don't change their minds by Friday. 

[Claire Eason]

I have a related question we are in Wiltshire so SSE is the supplier for the connection and they have sent me a budgetary estimate.

 

With it they advised I could look at other suppliers for the same work.

 

The list on the website is long so I was wondering has everyone just used SSE or is there any recommendation of any alternate connection suppliers?

[Jeremy Harris]

23 hours ago, Claire Eason said:

I have a related question we are in Wiltshire so SSE is the supplier for the connection and they have sent me a budgetary estimate.

 

With it they advised I could look at other suppliers for the same work.

 

The list on the website is long so I was wondering has everyone just used SSE or is there any recommendation of any alternate connection suppliers?

 

The estimate/quote from SSE should be split into two elements, the contestable work and the non-contestable work.  The contestable element can be undertaken by any authorised contractor, whereas the non-contestable element can only be undertaken by SSE.

 

Often the utilities will give a fairly good price for work that involved digging up highways, as they don't have to jump through so many hoops to get the authority to do it, but they may not give such a good price for non-highway contestable work.

 

In general, contestable work is stuff like digging trenches, laying duct, making good etc, whereas non-contestable work involves actually running cables and making the connections.  They do allow cable laying within the non-contestable element if pushed - we did this, where SSE supplied the cable and our ground workers laid it to the SSE specification, leaving coils of it poking out of the ground and holes so the SSE jointing team could come along and make the underground connections.

[Russdl]

Belatedly, I should update how things went for me.

 

I trenched under the footpath iaw the DNO guidelines apart from where they specify that the marker tape must state 'SSE' on it, I just used a generic maker tape, rebel that I am. I took photos of the trench and the various stages of refilling it to the guidelines. The duct terminated in a hockey stick and then into my (overly large) lockable meter box.

 

Whilst I was away the DNO turned up at the appointed time and moved the cutout under the careful supervision of SWMBO. they weren't interested in the photos and seemed a little surprised that I'd actually gone to so much effort. British Gas arrived later the same day to move the meter, they actually took the old meter away and fitted a new, much smaller one (about the size of a domestic hot water/central heating controller) and were equally surprised by my posh new meter box for my TBS. My electrician turned up a week later to wire up an old CU that was in the old bungalow to the meter and then 4 outdoor double sockets.

 

It all went smoothly, apart from the DNO and BG taking liberties with the amount of space inside the meter box and consequently spreading their stuff all over it, limiting the available space inside and consequently the 4 double sockets are all mounted directly below the box, which in hindsight would have been a good 'plan A' as that means the lockable meter box door is less likely to get broken with constant opening and closing.

 

Photo attached, but go easy on my poor planning that has resulted in a huge, largely empty meter box!

 

 

[ProDave]

You don't see people working outside in shorts and a tee shirt at this time of the year up here.