Mains Electric Cable problem.

robt7893

My son has just bought an Ex- Council house with the Gas and Electric meters in under stairs cupboards, The main Electric cable going into the the main fuse in the cupboard is leaking an Oily substance from it's outer sheath, ( made a right mess on the wall ) there Electric supplier at the moment is Southern Elaectric, is it at all dangerouse the way it is, will Southern Elactric sort it out , or is it a case looking worse than it is and should'nt be a problem. anyone with expert advice would be very much appreciated..

Haarlem

He should tell his distribution company about it, who should take the necessary action free of charge.

Normally there is no safety problem, but if it is excessive then some action is required urgently.

It is one of the things a meter reader should look for during their visit.

Cardew

It sounds like some insulation is/has been melting.

He certainly should contact the supply company and have it checked ASAP.

There is a possibility the symptoms have been caused by somebody 'jumping' the meter to get free electricity.:eek:

Are there any tall green plants with pointed leaves left in the house?;)

Haarlem

Cardew wrote: »

It sounds like some insulation is/has been melting.

He certainly should contact the supply company and have it checked ASAP.

There is a possibility the symptoms have been caused by somebody 'jumping' the meter to get free electricity.:eek:

Are there any tall green plants with pointed leaves left in the house?;)

Cardew is correct that it could be the result of tampering, and you must get this issue cleared up asap.

However you should not be too alarmed, as it is a common "natural effect", especially if it is an old supply cable and your distribution company will deal with it

robt7893

Thanks for the input boy's that is great, i'll tell my son to get onto Southern Electric ASAP and get it sorted. cheers.

dunloadin

It's not dangerous or the result of tampering, all it is is the pitch used to seal the cutout from water ingress has leaked out over the years....not a problem in itself, as there probably is no water anywhere near the cutout.

It can be caused by heat (the warmer the pitch gets the more fluid it becomes), if you suspect that heat is the problem i.e. the cutout feels warm to the touch, then get the DNO round.

Contact your DNO (if not SE then they should point you in the right direction) they should come along to check and change the cutout if the leaking is excessive. If you have an old cast iron cutout they should change it anyway.

muckybutt

dunloadin wrote: »

It's not dangerous or the result of tampering, all it is is the pitch used to seal the cutout from water ingress has leaked out over the years....not a problem in itself, as there probably is no water anywhere near the cutout.

It can be caused by heat (the warmer the pitch gets the more fluid it becomes), if you suspect that heat is the problem i.e. the cutout feels warm to the touch, then get the DNO round.

Contact your DNO (if not SE then they should point you in the right direction) they should come along to check and change the cutout if the leaking is excessive. If you have an old cast iron cutout they should change it anyway.

My thoughts exactly ! tar /pitch is / was common place for sealing the cut out, I have seen it leaking many times, a call to the DNO for advice will get it sorted, sometimes they replace sometimes they leave alone, I would think though seeing as it is a domestic dwelling they would replace cut out seal with a plastic / resin based one.

robt7893

Thanks for the information, I feel a lot easier now, my son was going to contact there Electricety supplier this weekend so will let you know what happens in due course.