epsilonGreedy Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 1 hour ago, Dreadnaught said: Thank you. Right, that gives me hope. If you don't mind, I will use the photo of your cabinet to show UKPN Rather than approaching the DNO corporate body and looking for an official answer can you not contact a named job surveyor for an opinion? During my mains power install I always talked with the guy I met onsite during the initial job assessment survey, he was pragmatic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 1 hour ago, JSHarris said: The only thing they might (rightfully) quibble about is having stuff other than their meter in the meter box. Strictly speaking you're only supposed to fit stuff like an earth block, Henley and perhaps a fused isolator inside the meter cabinet, so my small consumer unit and additional cables are a bit naughty. ... My electrician emphasized this point when agreeing to the same job on my site. He also struggled to fit all the bits in a slimline 100mm cavity meter box because I had elected to accept a smartmeter from British Gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie998 Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 8 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said: Rather than approaching the DNO corporate body and looking for an official answer can you not contact a named job surveyor for an opinion? During my mains power install I always talked with the guy I met onsite during the initial job assessment survey, he was pragmatic. The problem here Jonathan is that the usual sequence of events means that you have to make a decision and action it before you get to the stage where you meet the actual guy tasked by the DNO to do the work. I agree they are generally a pragmatic bunch and more realistic 'on the ground' than the folks sat behind a computer tend to be. Little Britain and 'computer says no' springs to mind. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedreamer Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, Carrerahill said: The TBS doesn't need to be in a fancy £600 meter box - you could rattle together a small enclosure from just about anything lying about - it just wants to be solid enough it won't blow away and rainproof. Often a 4x4 fence post, concreted in securely with a piece of plywood screwed to it as a backer and an IP rated enclosure big enough to contain all the bits would be fine. Or get a sheet of ply and knock up a simple box with a door and shed roofing felt over it. Look about, you may even be able to re-purpose something, crying out loud now I think about it for £200 you could get a cheap shed! That's exactly what we knocked up for our temporary supply. Went up in 2015 and is still doing the job. Was also useful for storing small tools as well. Edited March 19, 2019 by Thedreamer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadnaught Posted March 19, 2019 Author Share Posted March 19, 2019 (edited) Thank you all for your excellent and helpful advice! I have … contacted the UKPN surveyor (not the central service) asking if its OK to put a cheap cabinet on the fence (with @JSHarris photo as an example) as there isn't really any space for a ground-mounted kiosk. replied to the builder who supplied the original quote proposing we instead put a (cheap) cabinet on the fence or, failing that, attached on some plywood on a new fence post next to the fence (and with the implication that the bill will reduce greatly). Edited March 19, 2019 by Dreadnaught Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadnaught Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 Brilliant BuildHub does it again! UKPN have just confirmed that I can attach a cheap meter cabinet to the fence (or at worst a concreted fence post with plywood). Thanks all! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Right crack on then @Dreadnaught..!! Decent meter boxes here 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 (edited) 54 minutes ago, Dreadnaught said: Brilliant BuildHub does it again! UKPN have just confirmed that I can attach a cheap meter cabinet to the fence (or at worst a concreted fence post with plywood). Thanks all! Consider your post, as it will there for a long time. If it was a separate post, I would consider using a concrete post repair spur, as it comes with bolt holes already included, and the lifetime of a concrete post. eg This is the Wickes version at £18: https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Fence-Concrete-Repair-Spur---75mm-x-100mm-x-1200mm/p/542503 I usually pay more like £8-10 from a local supplier. Ferdinand Edited March 20, 2019 by Ferdinand 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadnaught Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 11 minutes ago, Ferdinand said: Consider your post, as it will there for a long time. Very helpful, thanks! Now I imagine all I will need is a bit of plywood and some bolts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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