2 cut-out fuses

[sparkwright]

If the cut out is older than the fuse holders, could one fuse holder simply be blanking off some kind of hole or something?

Could well have been a looped supply for next door (as mentioned), that's been terminated with a (newer) fuse holder.

Hard to say - just guessing.

 

[JohnW2]

If the cut out is older than the fuse holders, could one fuse holder simply be blanking off some kind of hole or something?

Possibly, I suppose, but I think they have simnpler methods of blanking off unused holes in the top of the cut-out - I would have thought far more likely that the second fuse was one used for something.

Could well have been a looped supply for next door (as mentioned), that's been terminated with a (newer) fuse holder.

Possibly - or simply (as has been suggested) once a looped supply to next door (or a second phase feed to the OP's house) which was once there using the second fuse holder that is still there.

Kind Regards, John

 

[SUNRAY]

Possibly, I suppose, but I think they have simnpler methods of blanking off unused holes in the top of the cut-out - I would have thought far more likely that the second fuse was one used for something.
Possibly - or simply (as has been suggested) once a looped supply to next door (or a second phase feed to the OP's house) which was once there using the second fuse holder that is still there.

Kind Regards, John

It won't be a looped supply but could easily have been a supply to next door or granny annex etc, I came across one of those fairly recently.

My guess is this was a 3ph supply [can't quite make up my mind from the 2 pics] possibly with rewireable or overheated fuses and when converted the guy only had one blank.

 

[JohnW2]

It won't be a looped supply but could easily have been a supply to next door or granny annex etc, I came across one of those fairly recently.

Are you saying that you would only call it a 'looped supply' (to next door or granny annex, or whatever) if it is on the same phase and has a common fuse (i.e. taken from the downstream side of the one fuse)?

My guess is this was a 3ph supply [can't quite make up my mind from the 2 pics] possibly with rewireable fuses and when converted the guy only had one blank.

That's certainly possible, even if a bit 'lazy'.

b21playa: How large is this house/building and has it ever been used for purposes other than a domestic dwelling? (I'm wondering if it may have once had/need a 3-phase, or even just 2-phase, supply).

Kind Regards, John

 

[SUNRAY]

Are you saying that you would only call it a 'looped supply' (to next door or granny annex, or whatever) if it is on the same phase and has a common fuse (i.e. taken from the downstream side of the one fuse)?
That's certainly possible, even if a bit 'lazy'.
Kind Regards, John

No just the opposite. This is what I understand to be a looped supply:

where a second DNO cable runs from one cutout to another on the DNO side.

 

[JohnW2]

No just the opposite. This is what I understand to be a looped supply: .... where a second DNO cable runs from one cutout to another on the DNO side.

Fair enough - but, if the OP's situation was that the second fuse was once used to supply 'next door', the only differences between that and what you now describe/illustrate would be that it would have been a different phase from the OP's supply and that the fuse would be in the OP's house rather than next door.

So, in view of what you now say, do you only call it a 'looped supply' if the same phase is fed to 'next door' from the upstream side of the DNO fuse?

Kind Regards, John

 

[SUNRAY]

Fair enough - but, if the OP's situation was that the second fuse was once used to supply 'next door', the only differences between that and what you now describe/illustrate would be that it would have been a different phase from the OP's supply and that the fuse would be in the OP's house rather than next door.

So, in view of what you now say, do you only call it a 'looped supply' if the same phase is fed to 'next door' from the upstream side of the DNO fuse?

Kind Regards, John

No. I've seen a 1ph looped supply from a 3ph head.

 

[JohnW2]

No. I've seen a 1ph looped supply from a 3ph head.

Hmmm. I'm sure we will come to understand each other eventually ...

... so, for what reason would you not have called it a 'looped supply' if next door had been fed via that (now unused) second fuse - just because the fuse was 'in the wrong house', or maybe because it was a phase not being used in the first house ... or what?

Kind Regards, John

 

[chivers67]

It won't be a looped supply but could easily have been a supply to next door or granny annex etc, I came across one of those fairly recently.

My guess is this was a 3ph supply [can't quite make up my mind from the 2 pics] possibly with rewireable or overheated fuses and when converted the guy only had one blank.

I thought it may have been a 3 phase too at some stage. Need a photo further back of the whole Head.

 

[AdrianUK]

My money is on that being an old DC supply conversion.

DC supplies often had +ve DC, -ve DC & 0V. When the system was changed over & the old distributors mapped onto the new fangled 3 phase AC supplies it was common to make old DC head 2 phase and connect alternate houses to alternate phases. At the substation the distributors would be rolled along the connections, so the first using L1 & L2, the second using L2 & L3 and the third using L3 & L1.

 

[b21playa]

Are you saying that you would only call it a 'looped supply' (to next door or granny annex, or whatever) if it is on the same phase and has a common fuse (i.e. taken from the downstream side of the one fuse)?
That's certainly possible, even if a bit 'lazy'.

b21playa: How large is this house/building and has it ever been used for purposes other than a domestic dwelling? (I'm wondering if it may have once had/need a 3-phase, or even just 2-phase, supply).

Kind Regards, John

Hi John

it’s a 6-bed detached over 3 floors, always been a domestic dwelling

 

[b21playa]

heres a pic of the head further back

 

[JohnW2]

My money is on that being an old DC supply conversion.

That's certainly possible, but I don't think that is necessarily much more (or much less) likely than that it was originally (maybe still is) a 3-phase - with only one (now) or two (maybe in the past), or maybe even three (again, in the past - and we now know that it's a fairly large house) phases actually used..

Kind Regards, John

 

[SUNRAY]

Hmmm. I'm sure we will come to understand each other eventually ...

... so, for what reason would you not have called it a 'looped supply' if next door had been fed via that (now unused) second fuse - just because the fuse was 'in the wrong house', or maybe because it was a phase not being used in the first house ... or what?

Kind Regards, John

If the second fuse were feeding a second CU in the same house, would you call it a looped supply?
I'll assume you answer no.
If the second fuse were feeding a second CU in a different house, would you call it a looped supply?
From your comments so far I'll assume you answer yes but I don't see a difference.

Unless I've completely misunderstood the concept and terminology I believe 'looped service' is totally a DNO system of adding a second service head to a feed cable and usually in a different property.

 

[SUNRAY]

That doesn't look like a 4 pole service head so I doubt it has ever been a full 3ph supply.
It could have been several combinations.

All OP needs to know at this stage is there is a 1ph supply and to establish the earthing arrangement.