James
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| posted on 14/4/15 at 02:15 PM |
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Problem with electricity meter
Without wanting to go into too many details on a public forum....
I noticed on a friend's electricity meter one of the output tails has got VERY hot and melted the front cover of the meter and burnt the
contacts and melted the plastic around it.
My friend re-wired the house 12mths ago and had the re-wiring checked and signed off by another friend who's Part P.
Should my friend phone the electricity company for a replacement meter? Or can he buy them himself? Can you program it with the accurate number (seems
unlikely!).
Is anyone going to get in trouble over this? 
Cheers,
James
[Edited on 14/4/15 by James]
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"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
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Slimy38
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| posted on 14/4/15 at 02:23 PM |
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Aren't the meters owned by the electric company? They're all lock wired and tagged to ensure that they cannot be altered or replaced.
Perhaps it's an opportunity to have a smart meter installed?
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whitestu
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| posted on 14/4/15 at 02:27 PM |
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The meter belongs to the supply company so they need to be called. Did he touch the meter during the rewire? There should be no need to as the meter
tails normally go to a fuse before connecting to the consumer unit.
Stu
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 14/4/15 at 03:19 PM |
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What the electrical supplier will do is take the old meter off, note the current reading, then put the new one on and take that meter's reading.
The system will then continue to count your units used, hopefully correctly. 
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Sporty
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| posted on 14/4/15 at 03:38 PM |
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Sounds like the connection has deteriorated become high resistance and created heat. Just report it to the supply company and they will come and
replace it free of charge, it needs to be reported as it is a fire risk and they will come out immediately.
I used to work for one of the distribution companies and it isn't an unusual issue.
Nobody will get into trouble as long as the meter hasn't been tampered with, if the tags are missing its also not unusual as they often get cut
off and not replaced during fault repairs and testing.
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cliftyhanger
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| posted on 14/4/15 at 03:41 PM |
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I my experience, the crew will arrive, tut tut and change the meter. Worth taking a pic when they arrive showing all the meter details, including
serial numbers etc as well as readings.
I doubt anybody will ask for any paperwork. Play dumb, the "I have no idea about electrics" look. Make them tea, give them a biscuit. Job
done. Any comeback, wave the paperwork at them, but I can't see that happening.
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jacko
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| posted on 14/4/15 at 03:51 PM |
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the heat caused by the electric makes the wire tale expand and contract making a bad connection / over heat
get the electric company suppler in fast
my Son does this job for a living
Jacko
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Brook_lands
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| posted on 14/4/15 at 04:04 PM |
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Not quite the same but managed to blow the 60amp main house fuse the other day. Called the electricity company because its in their part of the
system. Engineer turn up, no comments or anything, changed the fuse and then turn out to be a total petrol head and stayed until his next call came in
drinking coffee and talking old cars.
I'm sure they have seen it all before but if the meter hasn't been tampered with they just get on with it.
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motorcycle_mayhem
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| posted on 14/4/15 at 07:49 PM |
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Just had the original meter replaced with a new one, last week. Guy came in, pulled the fuse, changed the meter and ran away - after checking
he'd got the polarity the right way around. Original meter was a mechanical E7 driven one, with a very unreliable E7 timing. Now replaced with a
more reliable pre-programmed thing, not a smart meter because there's no reliable signal here apparently. Plenty of people had been around
previously to uprate the supply (60 to 100A), shut it all down to cut the trees, reset the mechanical bit frequently and sort out the PME. All
contractors/subcontractors of either the supply or metering companies, all not bothered (or aware) of the state that the previous visitors had left
the thing in... hey ho.
Anyway..
The meter belongs to the electricity company, the supply to it by someone else. It sounds as though you've seen a resistive supply, that will
need to be looked at swiftly, with a new meter requirement. None of this will cause any issues, unless there's a spliced supply to the cannabis
farm in the loft and that's the cause....
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DIY Si
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| posted on 14/4/15 at 08:14 PM |
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What everyone has said so far is right, the only people able to put this right are the electric company. Get onto them sharpish, as the meters can go
up in flames with enough load passing through them in such a state. Do NOT replace it with a meter brought from Ebay, AN Other electrical outlet etc
as to do so counts as theft of electricity, and is viewed very dimly by all of the suppliers.
As someone who does this for a living, the guy that turns up won't really care about the damage, although the regs around checking damaged
equipment are getting stricter. For the company I work for, that rhymes with peon, if I arrived I would need to fill in a couple of forms, take a few
photos and then basically put it right. But that is only because I'm the area's lead engineer. No-one else would give a monkeys to be
fair, and the chances of me doing the paperwork would be slim if enough biscuits appear!!
If the guy that turns up can be persuaded, I would ask about fitting an isolator switch whilst he's got the power off. That will give your mate
a certified point at which he can power down and work safely on the rest of the system, rather than having to remove the seals like he did last time!
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
My new blog: http://spritecave.blogspot.co.uk/
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JoelP
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| posted on 14/4/15 at 08:14 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Sporty
Sounds like the connection has deteriorated become high resistance and created heat. Just report it to the supply company and they will come and
replace it free of charge, it needs to be reported as it is a fire risk and they will come out immediately.
I used to work for one of the distribution companies and it isn't an unusual issue.
Nobody will get into trouble as long as the meter hasn't been tampered with, if the tags are missing its also not unusual as they often get cut
off and not replaced during fault repairs and testing.
What he said. It happens. Call the supply company, they fix, they don't give a sh1t unless they catch you steeling electrons.
Tails do come lose during a rewire.
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Dusty
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| posted on 14/4/15 at 09:13 PM |
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Had this a couple of years ago. Walking through the hallway I smelt that electric hot/burning smell coming from the meter cupboard. Rang the electric
people and they came the same day as it was a safety issue. Didn't cost a penny and the electrician who came didn't seem in the least
surprised by the fault, only in the fire risk.
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spiderman
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| posted on 14/4/15 at 10:00 PM |
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If your mates mate is only part p registered he can't sign off a total rewire it has to be someone with C&G 2391 or what ever has superseded
it since I was last doing electrical sub contracting
Spider
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James
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| posted on 14/4/15 at 11:57 PM |
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Okay, thanks for all the advice everyone!
So, after a couple of phone calls and a wait a guy turned up. Offered tea and biscuits several times he changed the meter with no queries.
quote:
Originally posted by DIY Si
If the guy that turns up can be persuaded, I would ask about fitting an isolator switch whilst he's got the power off. That will give your mate
a certified point at which he can power down and work safely on the rest of the system, rather than having to remove the seals like he did last time!
Frustratingly, the post above yours was the last one I read before he came. He removed the 'junction' box (i cant remember the proper
name but a big square, brown jobby) that was between the meter and the consumer unit and connected them direct whilst I was doing something else. When
I mentioned the further building works to be done he said: "oh, you should've said, I'd have fitted an isolator switch".
Grrrr!
Oh well, all sorted now at least!
Thanks for your help everyone!!!
Cheers,
James
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"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
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slingshot2000
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| posted on 15/4/15 at 06:30 AM |
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IF during the re-wire, your friend had fitted a consumer unit that complies with the "17th Edition of the electrical regulations" you will
NOT require a separate isolator in-between the meter and you consumer unit. Your consumer unit should contain a 100amp switch that will isolate all
circuits and 2 RCDs, that will isolate some circuits and allow you to still have some operating.
Also, if the consumer unit was installed after the first of January this year, it will be of all metal construction.
Don't get me started on other people signing off work they have not done, it is not allowed under ANY circumstances, and for good reason !
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DIY Si
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| posted on 15/4/15 at 07:35 AM |
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An isolator may not be required, but having one sure comes in handy! We used to have guys who spent all day just fitting them for the local councils.
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
My new blog: http://spritecave.blogspot.co.uk/
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slingshot2000
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| posted on 15/4/15 at 07:36 PM |
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A new consumer unit to the 17th Edition of the Regs, will have an isolator built in. There will be no need for another, unless something dodgy is
going on !
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DIY Si
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| posted on 15/4/15 at 09:33 PM |
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But how do you go about fitting said board, legally, without an isolator? Or upgrading it in the future?
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
My new blog: http://spritecave.blogspot.co.uk/
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BenB
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| posted on 15/4/15 at 09:56 PM |
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Working live isn't verbotten is it? Hope not
My understanding is the supply companies prefer people to accidentally pull out the 100A fuse than work live but it's not exactly
complicated.... you just don't lick the massive thick scary cables.
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SteveWalker
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| posted on 15/4/15 at 10:19 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by BenB
Working live isn't verbotten is it? Hope not
That's what I did some years ago. It's also what the "pros" did a couple of months later - the meter reader noticed the new
consumer unit and arranged for the main fuse to be uprated from 60A to 100A, which involved a new fuseholder; they arrived without warning (luckily
I'd taken a day off), put rubber gloves on, smashed the old fuseholder apart with a big hammer, fitted and connected the new one and then filled
the cable entries with an epoxy putty. New fuse in the holder, seal on and done.
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DIY Si
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| posted on 15/4/15 at 10:32 PM |
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Sounds about right for some of the mains crews I know! But they do tend to use a plastic handled hammer these days!
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
My new blog: http://spritecave.blogspot.co.uk/
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