Quite a standard facility with 16mm² insulated and sheathed cable in an average meter designed for 35mm².
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As you imply, there are are a few electricians who have been authorised by a DNO to pull cutout fuses, but are even they allowed to 'interfere with' the meter tails, other than at the downstream end of the one coming from the meter?
When I had a main fuse upgrade (60A to 100A) the blokes from UK Power noted that the existing tails were non-compliant as they had the outer insulation (black) removed by a couple of inches to show the colours of the cables inside. This was done by the previous DNO in the 1980s when the cutout was leaking bitumen and they replaced everything. Anyway, the new cutout required new tails so all good.
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Yes probably. But DNOs operate to different regulations.
The EICR is done against BS7671. This issue would score C3 - improvement recommended - so the installation should be marked as satisfactory.
Thanks.As you will realise, I was implying that such was what I suspected.
That seems to be where people disagree, some seem to insist on a literal intepretation of the guidance and treat any basic insulation visible outside an enclosure as a C2, whereas others take a more nuanced view and conclude that a small ring of basic insulation visible for identification purposes is not a big deal.
What 'guidance' would that be -is this NICEIC again?
... which, as I have suggested, would seem to me to be a sensible view.
This was what mine looked like two years ago before they were changed. I suspect that the UK Power electricians were concerned about the amount of insulation that had been removed all those years ago. I wonder if they would have changed them if I hadn't ordered a more powerful cutout.
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That's pretty 'extreme' - more so than anything I've personally seen before. It's usually just a few mm, as in the piccie I posted.
I'd say approaching an inch was more typical.
I've just had a look at mine, fully expecting to 20 patches of red and black but much to my surprise a lot less shows, like 1-2mm at the meter, at the henley only 4 of the 8 show and they are quite modest.
As I wrote, that's more in keeping with what I've seen
Well "electrical safety first", but that's essentially the same thing.
In the "C2" section.
"Sheath of an insulated and sheathed non-
armoured cable not taken inside the enclosure
of an accessory, such as at a socket-outlet or
lighting switch, where the unsheathed cores are
accessible to touch and/or likely to come into
contact with metalwork.
(Note: Code C3 would apply if the unsheathed
cores are not accessible to touch nor likely
to come into contact with metalwork)"
Need I say more?
It wouldn't (in my opinion!) be quite so 'bad' if they had included a "likely" in relation to touch, as well as in relation to contact with metalwork. I doubt that a significant number of people will ever go anywhere near meter/cutout tails, so is surely is exceeding UNlikely that they would ever touch the exposed insulation - even electricians usually only deal with tails when they have been de-energised!
As we've often discussed, anything to do with electricity (at the voltage we're talking about) id "potentially dangerous' - so, if we are going to call this one C2 what non-conformity with S7671 would NOT warrant a C2?
I'd imagine that depends on where said meter and cutout are located.
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