Upgrading tails from meter to consumer unit

maurice28

I'm aware I'm likely to use all the wrong terminology here, but wondered if anyone could help!

I recently had smart meters installed at my house, and after the installation the engineer flagged that the tails from the meter to the consumer unit appeared to be underrated. He said they looked to be 16mm, whereas the tails they had installed into the meter were 25mm. When you look, they do look visibly different and those to the CU do look narrower.

He said it was unlikely to cause any issues but he had to flag it. Now, I'm looking at some point to have an EV charger installed so want to make sure everything is up to scratch before then.

I know things will need to be checked by a professional (and I'm unsure on things such as if we have a 60, 80 or 100a fuse, for example) but in general terms, is upgrading the tails between the meter and CU a straightforward job that can be done by an electrician? The tails run along an external wall for a distance before a short run through a wall and into the CU in the kitchen, so hopefully fairly accessible?

I guess I just wasn't sure if this job was one an electrician can do and if it is likely to be difficult/expensive in general terms?

Hope that makes sense!

FFHillbilly

if you have 16mm tails, you probably have an outdated consumer unit. when you get an EV chargepoint fitted most consumer units (unless very new and have free space) are not suitable to support an EVCP anyway so the common workaround is to fit a smaller consumer unit with type A RCBO and type 2 surge protection which would be wired with it's own meter tails.
upgrading the tails is fairly straightforward and can be done by any electrician seems pointless to me upgrading the tails without upgrading the consumer unit, either leave the tails until you upgrade the consumer unit, or upgrade the consumer unit and tails.
I'd recommend getting quotes for fitting an EVCP from a few places, theres loads online that can do it by supplying pictures, they will tell you exactly what needs to happen with your consumer unit and incoming supply and you'll get an idea of cost

born_again

maurice28 said:

I'm aware I'm likely to use all the wrong terminology here, but wondered if anyone could help!

I recently had smart meters installed at my house, and after the installation the engineer flagged that the tails from the meter to the consumer unit appeared to be underrated. He said they looked to be 16mm, whereas the tails they had installed into the meter were 25mm. When you look, they do look visibly different and those to the CU do look narrower.

He said it was unlikely to cause any issues but he had to flag it. Now, I'm looking at some point to have an EV charger installed so want to make sure everything is up to scratch before then.

I know things will need to be checked by a professional (and I'm unsure on things such as if we have a 60, 80 or 100a fuse, for example) but in general terms, is upgrading the tails between the meter and CU a straightforward job that can be done by an electrician? The tails run along an external wall for a distance before a short run through a wall and into the CU in the kitchen, so hopefully fairly accessible?

I guess I just wasn't sure if this job was one an electrician can do and if it is likely to be difficult/expensive in general terms?

Hope that makes sense!

Not all EV wall boxes are run via a existing consumer unit. 
When ours was installed it was fed from the meter to it's own unit. So no need to touch the consumer unit in many cases.

Ectophile

Unless your supply cutout (the thing before the electricity meter, with the fuseholder) is really ancient, there should be a fuse rating marked on the side of it.

It's possible that the fuse is less than that rating, but it should never be more.

In reality 60A is fine on 16mm, even if installers use 25mm these days.  On a larger fuse, it's a bit undersized.

If your supply cutout is really ancient, then it's about time your DNO replaced it.  Especially if it's made of cast iron.

35har1old

born_again said:

maurice28 said:

I'm aware I'm likely to use all the wrong terminology here, but wondered if anyone could help!

I recently had smart meters installed at my house, and after the installation the engineer flagged that the tails from the meter to the consumer unit appeared to be underrated. He said they looked to be 16mm, whereas the tails they had installed into the meter were 25mm. When you look, they do look visibly different and those to the CU do look narrower.

He said it was unlikely to cause any issues but he had to flag it. Now, I'm looking at some point to have an EV charger installed so want to make sure everything is up to scratch before then.

I know things will need to be checked by a professional (and I'm unsure on things such as if we have a 60, 80 or 100a fuse, for example) but in general terms, is upgrading the tails between the meter and CU a straightforward job that can be done by an electrician? The tails run along an external wall for a distance before a short run through a wall and into the CU in the kitchen, so hopefully fairly accessible?

I guess I just wasn't sure if this job was one an electrician can do and if it is likely to be difficult/expensive in general terms?

Hope that makes sense!

Not all EV wall boxes are run via a existing consumer unit. 
When ours was installed it was fed from the meter to it's own unit. So no need to touch the consumer unit in many cases.

Electrian can upgrade the tails but installing the tails into meter has to be carried out by your supplier as seals need to be replaced 

Risteard

born_again said:

maurice28 said:

I'm aware I'm likely to use all the wrong terminology here, but wondered if anyone could help!

I recently had smart meters installed at my house, and after the installation the engineer flagged that the tails from the meter to the consumer unit appeared to be underrated. He said they looked to be 16mm, whereas the tails they had installed into the meter were 25mm. When you look, they do look visibly different and those to the CU do look narrower.

He said it was unlikely to cause any issues but he had to flag it. Now, I'm looking at some point to have an EV charger installed so want to make sure everything is up to scratch before then.

I know things will need to be checked by a professional (and I'm unsure on things such as if we have a 60, 80 or 100a fuse, for example) but in general terms, is upgrading the tails between the meter and CU a straightforward job that can be done by an electrician? The tails run along an external wall for a distance before a short run through a wall and into the CU in the kitchen, so hopefully fairly accessible?

I guess I just wasn't sure if this job was one an electrician can do and if it is likely to be difficult/expensive in general terms?

Hope that makes sense!

Not all EV wall boxes are run via a existing consumer unit. 
When ours was installed it was fed from the meter to it's own unit. So no need to touch the consumer unit in many cases.

Generally it shouldn't be fed from the meter cabinet. This is for the sole use of the DNO.

maurice28

Great, thank you all, that gives me plenty to think about/ask about!