Changing a consumer unit with a electricity meter installed???

What would happen if there was a power cut?
Unless you are a timed served electrician don't mess with the main fuse.
Apart from being illegal you might get your hand burnt off or worse.

 

Just to add, DNO's cut-out is not for you to be using. It's there property and is an offence to be cutting seals and messing with it.

Your obviously not competent and shouldn't be attempting to change a consumer unit.

 

It's about 40 quid to get your service supplier to come and fit an isolator after the meter and before the CU. You also get the chance to see what type of fuse is in the cut out so you can note it correctly on the EIC. The meter is their problem.

But yea, sounds like your don't know what your doing tbh.

 

Surely if a new meter has been fitted then there will have been some kind of isolator fitted as well. Strangely on every consumer unit I have ever done the seal for the fuse has always been missing before I have ever touched it, funny that.

 

I got a new digital meter (with the flashing red light) put in by the supplier SSE and this incorporates what I believe is a single pole isolater button which you can turn with a screwdriver . I pointed this out to my electrician but he still pulled the newly installed 100 amp main fuse. Being pedantic I put 2 small nylon ties through the holes on the fuse holder so kids could not pull it out! I asked SSE to put an isolator in (a proper one with a double pole switch in a box) but he said the meter already had one.
I think you can buy fake seals on Ebay not that I would suggest anybody did!

 

I'm old school prefer a seperate isolator,if I had one of those flashy meter's, I still pull main fuse.

 

I've only ever seen one of those meters with the built-in isolator, there was a plastic cover over the isolating switch which had a seal on it so I still had to cut a seal to operate the switch!

 

If I was an electrician so would I.

 

i

Mine has two sections at the bottom. The left one presumably covering the connections from the cut out is sealed, but the right hand one just has this white button which when turned pops out and supposedly disconnects the supply. It seems to just be spring loaded.
I have only seen the electrician doing it I must add.

 

It was several years ago now but I seem to remember there was a plastic screw head behind that cover which had to be turned to operate the switch.

 

My meter at home has the screw turn isolator, I'm sure it's behind a sealed cover though, and you would obviously remove the seal and pull the cut out before you removed the meter cover so pretty useless IMO.

I will have a look tomorrow if this is the case, maybe it's a split cover

 

The new smart meters have a cry for help facility- they have a charge in them to let the supplier know of a power cut or cover removal via the data sim.
This is time and date logged and also online straight away when the supply goes- this lets the DNO know of a supply issue (assuming the mobile masts are still on) and which streets are affected.
The new meters are there for their benefit- not out benefit.

 

Fitter of my new smart meter (am with OVO) advised any "tampering" with cable supplies in or out of meter can lead to OVO shutting supply down.
Onus on householder then to get in touch with supplier.
Have also read that if you want to switch supplier it's much more complex if you have smart meter, as they're configured to individual suppliers spec.

 

I am sure there is a great deal of misinformed scaremongering associated with smart meters as to exactly what they can do and what information they can see. Ultimately it's just a meter with smart electronics. I do not believe what you have been told Smokey. It's just too far fetched.

 

As an employee of a Regional Electricity Company and having installed hundreds of meters over the years, i have come across thousands of meters with no seals on them!
In regard to if the meter will send a signal if it has been tampered with, surely it will do this every time a meter installer works on the meter (Not)!
Also the meter does absolutely nothing when there is a power cut so it is highly unlikely that it will inform the REC or meter operator unless your supply is already metered remotely and these supplies tend to be for large industrial clients whom are metered half hourly!

Just replace the tails safely!

 

A smart meter has a tamper button on the terminal cover lid so when removed it flags the data that a tamper has happened it doesn't instantly send it back just time and date stamps the data the same goes for a supply loss.

All smart meters for domestic premises have remote disconnection contractors installed so they can be used as prepayment meters or be left off supply for non payment, however this function is not permitted to be used remotely it must be done with a member of the meter operators staff onsite.

I work for a metering company that deals in the non domestic market and these functions have been used in the AMR meters for years.

 

Oh c'mon

EWR regs 1989 for starters

Pull the fuse so you cannot work live!

What are they going to do, sue you for working safe?

 

Sparky I'm not saying anything will come of it I'm just saying the functionality is there, I agree that safe isolation should be followed either by pulling the cut out fuse or preferably having an isolator installed.

 

Exactly, today I did a CU change and the meter/cut out had one of them goldfish bowl things over the lot of it. It had to come out if I was going to earn any money today so out it came.

Hardly surprising though, it was in Liverpool, probably already got a grow on in the loft.