size of tails

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With reference to cutting the seals to replace tails, I was told by a senior operative at the local Metering Services company that we could now cut seals, fit tails and inform the power supplier to replace them. No I don't believe it either, but thats what he said.

You've got to pull the main cut-out to get the size of the fuse !!!

Deke

 
I did a ccu change last week and when i pulled the fuse there was no fuse:O just a solid link where the fuse used to be.

 
So what exactly did you do about it?Don
I replaced it with a spare 100amp bs1361 that i had on the van mate.waste of time telling E.O.N . ;) no Cirrus i hadnt got any nails big enuf:^O

 
I replaced it with a spare 100amp bs1361 that i had on the van mate.waste of time telling E.O.N . ;) no Cirrus i hadnt got any nails big enuf:^O
Like any forum we enjoy a bit of fun, but bad (unsafe) practice, even mocking I would prefer to to keep to other forums.

Don

 
Sorry, I honestly thought it was a wind up

It was quite clear that it was a joke, and nobody is condoning bad practice

 
Sorry, I honestly thought it was a wind upIt was quite clear that it was a joke, and nobody is condoning bad practice
No offence is taken, montybaber.

(please remember we are a new forum, and as such would like to keep ourselves on track with our goal, of being a forum with a difference)

The Godfather

 
I know this is an ancient thread but quite interesting so I hope no one minds if I resurrect it...

The man from the DNO came to put in a main switch in my Sister's house. He found that she had an ancient meter (rotaty disk style) and so replaced it at the same time.

I was surprised to find that although he had renewed the tails from the main fuse to the new meter, and then from meter to new switch, he had used 16mm tails.

When the new CU goes in it will be done in 25mm so this seems a little odd.

On a side note he left a sticker on the main fuse saying something like "60Amp fuse fitted", but I have no way of knowing what was there before.

 
yep... i had the same as AAA just 2 months ago... 60 A cut out...to a new main switch via 16mm tails... fitted by the guy from DNO (and he stuck a digital meter in at the same time.)

 
by the way... 25 mm tails aren't 100% compulsory according to the OSG..

chapter 1.3 (ie. ask dno) and 2.2.3 (last paragraph) will let you exercise some latitude.

i.e. if the dno fits 16mm tails from his 60A cut out fuse,(when requested to fit a main switch for a c.u. change) it's quite obvious that that's their spec?? and there's little point in fitting 25mm after it??

i accept the 'future upgrade' scenario, but the dno obviously doesn't!

 
I had a similar conversation with a spark earlier in the pub - and neither of us could see the harm in effectively "future proofing" the installation for next to no extra cost.

Interestingly the DNO who fitted a new meter in my house last week (and was talked into fitting a main switch as he was already here :innocent ) upgraded all the tails up to the switch to 25mm. And both houses are in the same area!

 
1/

Blimey this is an old thread... October 2008:O:^O:^O

Thats way way way before Brian was born:C

2/

Personally I think it depends on what Mr DNO has in his van at the time...

also

1000's and 1000's of homes around the UK only have a 16mm C.S.A. conductor coming in from the road so going any bigger inside the house isn't going to make much difference..

unless it is a really really long run where Volt Drop comes into the equation!

;) :)

 
1/ Blimey this is an old thread... October 2008:O:^O:^O

Thats way way way before Brian was born:C

2/

Personally I think it depends on what Mr DNO has in his van at the time...

also

1000's and 1000's of homes around the UK only have a 16mm C.S.A. conductor coming in from the road so going any bigger inside the house isn't going to make much difference..

unless it is a really really long run where Volt Drop comes into the equation!

;) :)
Generally in my area SSE and EDF only use 25mm tails as that is all they have on there vans. As for main cable its usually aluminum phase looks about 35mm to me or even bigger and armouring is combined neutral and earth but a lot of the older cables could well be 16mm or an imperial equivalent.

 
Just jumping on to this thread. As I mentioned in a previous threrad I am doing a CU change for a family member in a couple of weeks in the SW. His installation is at the mo wired into a wylex 4 way with what looks like 1 ring serving the whole property and 2 lighting ccts. No cooker (gas hob and 2kw oven spurred off ring) no shower (thermostatic mixer) heating and HW by gas combi. I am thinking as there are so few ccts I was going to go for RCBOs but surely the existing 16mm tails would suffice for such a low loaded installation?

 
As has been said by others if Service fuse is 60 Amp then 16mm tails will do.

No obligation to upgrade to 25mm, but if installing new C U then many of us only bother to carry 25mm tails now and always fit them on CU changes.

 
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