Replace electric meter door with proper lock

hay77

Hi all
I really hope someone can help. My electric meter is in a cupboard outside on the wall. Over the last two nights, some idiot has opened the cupboard (it only has the basic triangular key/lock) and turned off the electricity. Luckily we were home and just went and turned it back on but it did happen once when we were out and the electricity was off all night and I ended up having to throw away food from the freezer.

I was wondering whether there is anywhere where I can get a door with a proper lock. Not sure whether you can do this because the electricity companies need to read the meters but this is getting ridiculous.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

newbie1980

hay77 wrote: »

Hi all
I really hope someone can help. My electric meter is in a cupboard outside on the wall. Over the last two nights, some idiot has opened the cupboard (it only has the basic triangular key/lock) and turned off the electricity. Luckily we were home and just went and turned it back on but it did happen once when we were out and the electricity was off all night and I ended up having to throw away food from the freezer.

I was wondering whether there is anywhere where I can get a door with a proper lock. Not sure whether you can do this because the electricity companies need to read the meters but this is getting ridiculous.

Any suggestions?




Thanks

hasp and staple it ive seen it many times and i work on electrics not sure on legality but for your safety id do it

Steve_xx

I agree. These outdoor boxes are a nightmare. Anyone can come along and turn the supply off. This is especially problemous with burgular alarms. I'd be inclined to remove it and replace it with a steel box that's lockable.

hay77

Thanks for the response. It has just happened again and I am getting really pi**ed off with it! I have been out and used insulating tape to tape over the switch so they will have to take it off before they can actually turn off the electricity but if they are determined then it is not really going to stop them.

Is there anything that I could buy to fit over the switch so it is not easily accessible?

Steve_xx

hay77 wrote: »

Thanks for the response. It has just happened again and I am getting really pi**ed off with it! I have been out and used insulating tape to tape over the switch so they will have to take it off before they can actually turn off the electricity but if they are determined then it is not really going to stop them.

Is there anything that I could buy to fit over the switch so it is not easily accessible?

Cut a piece of wood so that it fits inside the box. Then screw it through the sides of the box so that when they open it they will not be able to access the electrics.

Oh wait a minute. It couldn't be tripping out because there is a fault on the electrics could it?

hay77

Steve_xx wrote: »

Cut a piece of wood so that it fits inside the box. Then screw it through the sides of the box so that when they open it they will not be able to access the electrics.

Oh wait a minute. It couldn't be tripping out because there is a fault on the electrics could it?

No, they are actually oepning the box and switching the mains off. The box and door are metal so I don't know what to do. My daughter is beginning to get quite upset about it and she has been sitting at the window for the last 30 minutes waiting to 'catch' them in the act.

Steve_xx

In that case, if it's metal, then simply buy a padlock and hasp and fix it to the door. That should cure it.

skintandfat

put a lock on it

Or get an electric fence controller and connect this to the metal casing then you will hear a scream but not kill someone (as an electric fence controller stops the current getting to a dangerous level)

hay77

Steve_xx wrote: »

In that case, if it's metal, then simply buy a padlock and hasp and fix it to the door. That should cure it.

Thanks for the response but what is a hasp? Where do I get one from and could I fit it myself or would I have to pay to have it fitted? I am not very DIY orientated!

EDIT* Have just looked up hasp and know what it is, I just didnt know what it was called. I will have a look at it tomorrow and pop to B & Q. Not sure whether I would be able to drill through the door though.

Steve_xx

hay77 wrote: »

Thanks for the response but what is a hasp? Where do I get one from and could I fit it myself or would I have to pay to have it fitted? I am not very DIY orientated!

EDIT* Have just looked up hasp and know what it is, I just didnt know what it was called. I will have a look at it tomorrow and pop to B & Q. Not sure whether I would be able to drill through the door though.

I think that the door will only be light gauge metal so you should be able to drill through it reasonably easily with a metal drill bit. Try and get a hasp that does not leave any of the screws showing when it's in the closed position because you don't want the person who is doing this to be able to simply unscew the hasp.

Also you need to consider whether you will use nuts and bolts to fix the hasp or screws. If you use screws you will be best to put some small pieces of wood on the inside of the door so you have something for the screws to go into, if you see what I mean?

This hasp will do the job:

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Safety%20&%20Security/Padlock%20Bolts%20&%20Hasps/Black%20Hasp%20and%20Staple/d200/sd3154/p91405

But consider how you will fix the "staple" bit to the box. Some of these boxes don't have much of an edge so there might be difficulty in fitting the staple

hay77

Steve_xx wrote: »

I think that the door will only be light gauge metal so you should be able to drill through it reasonably easily with a metal drill bit. Try and get a hasp that does not leave any of the screws showing when it's in the closed position because you don't want the person who is doing this to be able to simply unscew the hasp.

Also you need to consider whether you will use nuts and bolts to fix the hasp or screws. If you use screws you will be best to put some small pieces of wood on the inside of the door so you have something for the screws to go into, if you see what I mean?

This hasp will do the job:

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Safety%20&%20Security/Padlock%20Bolts%20&%20Hasps/Black%20Hasp%20and%20Staple/d200/sd3154/p91405

But consider how you will fix the "staple" bit to the box. Some of these boxes don't have much of an edge so there might be difficulty in fitting the staple

Thank you so much for your response. I will definately look at the box tomorrow and see how much space I have at the side for fittings. I need to get this sorted ASAP. I have contacted my electricity supplier to see what their response is but I will definately be fitting some sort of device.

Thanks again