Electrics - Isolation Switches

fluffpot

It's hard enough to get the supply company to provide an earth when they should, let alone an isolator!

Although the proceedure the OP describes it right, in practice most of us sparks just pull the fuse - obviously there were never any seals on it in the first place, eh? Quite frankly if the supplier wants to come after me, that's fine, but I'm not risking my life by working live.

There has been quit alot of discussion recently on the iet forum about some sort of formal agreement between the registered sparky bodies (eg NICEIC, NAPIT) and the suppliers to let us pull main fuses - but no agreement yet I think.

On the rare occasions when I have called them out, many say - why did you bother - just get on with it !

I suppose your electrician could fit an isolator after the meter, but they'd have to pull main fuse and cut meter seals to do this anyway...

Plasticman

fluffpot wrote: »

Although the proceedure the OP describes it right, in practice most of us sparks just pull the fuse - obviously there were never any seals on it in the first place, eh?

I've yet to own a house where the main fuse has the seal on!

When I used to do electrical work we often worked on live kit, but these days nobody wants to do it - health and safety.

baldelectrician

Scottish Power are starting to spit the dummy about contractors breaking seals, although I don't know any contractor that has been taken to court and prosecuted yet.

SP charge for isolator switches (over £100) for a £11 pound switch and enclosure (I am being generous with the price since they use Wylex)

I don't doubt they will get more strict due to the increase in electricity prices.

dursley.donkey

espresso wrote: »

I am surprised to read that an electrician finds it necessary to arrange for an isolation switch to be fitted, so that the consumer unit can be replaced. Surely most electricians are capable of connecting the live meter tails to the new consumer unit?

I'm surprised about this too. I'm not an electrician, but I've replaced a consumer unit without turning it off. OK, so I managed to give myself a shock, but I'm sure I'd get the hang if I was doing it for a job. Someone must be working on live stuff otherwise they'd be turning off the whole street every other week, surely.

baldelectrician

espresso wrote: »

I am surprised to read that an electrician finds it necessary to arrange for an isolation switch to be fitted, so that the consumer unit can be replaced. Surely most electricians are capable of connecting the live meter tails to the new consumer unit?

It is a big no-no to work live, the electricity company have guys that do live work and they have to be in pairs for saftey- the second guy can kick or move the first guy out of the way safely if he is getting a shock.

Whether someone is capable is not the whole story- there are people killed doing things like this every year. This is the reason for fitting isolator switches. No untrained people touching metering equipment and an installation can be isolated by anyone (big red switch :rotfl: )

sparky883

dursley.donkey wrote: »

I'm surprised about this too. I'm not an electrician, but I've replaced a consumer unit without turning it off. OK, so I managed to give myself a shock, but I'm sure I'd get the hang if I was doing it for a job. Someone must be working on live stuff otherwise they'd be turning off the whole street every other week, surely.

If you were doing it for a job you would not get the chance to get the hang of it -I've never heard a comment so STUPID its comical.

If Electricians work Live they do it by choice not because they need to.

fluffpot

Dursley is certainly living up to his name...

Liked to have seen the fuse board change with live tails waving around in the air!

Do you think all he managed to run all the tests as well? (Think we know the answer to that one, eh!)

ronniepurple_2

Thanks everyone for your replies - an interesting discussion I think!

Really, it just confirms what I know already, which is that it is nigh on impossible to get an isolation switch fitted so the hassle that comes with it will carry on!

Reference to pulling the fuse - in the case that I was talking about, the supplier has agreed to come out, take the fuse out, then come back and replace it when we've finished. Further interrogation of the customer has confirmed that they will actually fit an isolation switch but it will take 2 weeks (which seems quite a short period of time from previous experience). I don't know whether they were proposing to charge for it but I imagine they were, which was why the customer told me it wasn't an option in the first place as he did not wish to pay.

Hey-ho, life goes on.

Ronnie

dursley.donkey

fluffpot wrote: »

Dursley is certainly living up to his name...

Liked to have seen the fuse board change with live tails waving around in the air!

Do you think all he managed to run all the tests as well? (Think we know the answer to that one, eh!)

*** off. I wrapped them in tape and tied them out of the way. nothing live was waving around in the air.

The name ...http://cotswoldedge.org.uk/dursley/Dursley_Donkey.htm

baldelectrician

dursley.donkey wrote: »

*** off. I wrapped them in tape and tied them out of the way. nothing live was waving around in the air.

Oh that's all right then

I remember seeing something about wrapping things in tape when reading about safe isolation procedures (not).