My fuse box?
- Thread starter Demeter
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Those grey metal boxes with the switches on the front have traditional wire fuse carriers inside them.
I would think the whole installation could do with an inspection & test to check the condition of everything....
As its looking pretty dated and lacks any devices to provide protection from electric shock.
I would think the whole installation could do with an inspection & test to check the condition of everything....
As its looking pretty dated and lacks any devices to provide protection from electric shock.
It looks like a circuit added each decade for the past 50 years.
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And a Memshield 2000 with an HRC fuse!......Quite rare/unusual
I always imagine it being fitted by some 'old boy' 20 odd years ago who didn't trust these 'new fangled MCBs' and was having trouble getting hold of the wylex standard range
Though saying that. A collague who did a short span as maintenance on an industrial site that was owned by an international firm, told me that continued to use GEC red spot boards, apparently they'd had an inccidence of a counterfeit MCB ending up causing an inccident on one of their sites somewhere elsewhere in europe, and their response was to move away from MCB boards!
At one time , the last thing a spark would do, when adding a circuit say, is make the decision that the board needs upgrading. Maybe because they were less affluent times , customer wouldn't go with that ... or the spark didn't want to know , just add yet another sw/fuse , take the money & run .
Another point with domestic work , back in the day it would be rare to find a spare way in a board . I've seen many houses with just a 3 way Wylex ...Lts / Plugs / Imm. Htr .
Spare ways cost money back then , much like installing single sockets , your local contractor would charge double to install a twin SSO .
I've worked for a couple of contractors years ago , who when doing new build or rewire , if theres 4 circuits ...fit a Wylex 4 way board .
Same on industrial , fit a 4 way TPN board so you'd have say , 2 TPN machines ... 1 x roller door..... 2 light circuits ... 1 small power circuit . No expansion catered for .
Thinking back ...that same firm always under estimated trunking sizes ...if it needed ,say , 4x4 they'd send out 3x3 . You would assume , until you learned, that they know what they were doing but it soon became apparent that you were expected to ram a million cables into the 3x3 then get the lid on without crushing half of them .
They had a storeman back at the office , there were certain rules like , you couldn't get a 1/4" drill bit to fit the stupid Enox tank cutters .
They'd give you a 5/32" ...because " Its a 1/4" clearance "
12" x 32 Eclipse hacksaw blade ...no chance ..10" flexible ( bendy) Ding-Dong utter lettuced. ( Remember , all the work then was steel conduit & trunking & SWA ) You could have a 12" only if you were cutting 6x6 trunking . Dear oh dear .
They would actually say ..." You had a hacksaw blade 4 weeks ago , whats happened to that ?" ( Never say it broke ...it always wore out)
Once , when sitting in a traffic jam I was interviewed by the AA for their magazine . I'd got out & replaced a windscreen wiper while waiting .
They put in their magazine , Mr Evans , an electrician returning to North Birmingham , replaced the wiper etc .
Weeks later I was in the office when it was mentioned , they'd read it , "You must have been on the so & so job that day ....we checked the time with the AA as 5.30 so you didn't leave early then !!" Tossers.
Another point with domestic work , back in the day it would be rare to find a spare way in a board . I've seen many houses with just a 3 way Wylex ...Lts / Plugs / Imm. Htr .
Spare ways cost money back then , much like installing single sockets , your local contractor would charge double to install a twin SSO .
I've worked for a couple of contractors years ago , who when doing new build or rewire , if theres 4 circuits ...fit a Wylex 4 way board .
Same on industrial , fit a 4 way TPN board so you'd have say , 2 TPN machines ... 1 x roller door..... 2 light circuits ... 1 small power circuit . No expansion catered for .
Thinking back ...that same firm always under estimated trunking sizes ...if it needed ,say , 4x4 they'd send out 3x3 . You would assume , until you learned, that they know what they were doing but it soon became apparent that you were expected to ram a million cables into the 3x3 then get the lid on without crushing half of them .
They had a storeman back at the office , there were certain rules like , you couldn't get a 1/4" drill bit to fit the stupid Enox tank cutters .
They'd give you a 5/32" ...because " Its a 1/4" clearance "
12" x 32 Eclipse hacksaw blade ...no chance ..10" flexible ( bendy) Ding-Dong utter lettuced. ( Remember , all the work then was steel conduit & trunking & SWA ) You could have a 12" only if you were cutting 6x6 trunking . Dear oh dear .
They would actually say ..." You had a hacksaw blade 4 weeks ago , whats happened to that ?" ( Never say it broke ...it always wore out)
Once , when sitting in a traffic jam I was interviewed by the AA for their magazine . I'd got out & replaced a windscreen wiper while waiting .
They put in their magazine , Mr Evans , an electrician returning to North Birmingham , replaced the wiper etc .
Weeks later I was in the office when it was mentioned , they'd read it , "You must have been on the so & so job that day ....we checked the time with the AA as 5.30 so you didn't leave early then !!" Tossers.
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boltonsparky
Senior Member
There'll more than likely be asbestos flashbacks in there too so be careful if you start having a rummage inside them.
