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Home electrical advice needed?

Started by Guest_scaramonga_* , Feb 11 2008 12:34 AM

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6 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_scaramonga_*

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Posted 11 February 2008 - 12:34 AM

Any budding electricians in here that can help with a little problem? (mainly UK supply based, although it may apply to elsewhere)

OK, this week, after promising to do this job (and putting it off for so long) for a girlfriend :scara:

, it has come to the time where I must do it.....lol!

A week off work and I'm ready to go, no PC, no INet but still plenty beer :Laie_56:

, I'm going to be a plasterer, plumber, electrician and tiler for this coming week.

One of these jobs includes fitting an electric shower, which I have done before, only this time I'm working with a live circuit. :likewinmandr2:

I need to run 10mm twin & earth cable down to the consumer unit (MCB) and wire it to a 40amp trip switch (I ordered this switch from ebay which arrived yesterday :roadrunner:

)

Question?

Is there any way to isolate the consumer MCB panel without pulling the main fuse? (illegal as it has a seal on it) I just don't fancy taking my chances working with it live, although I'm gonna have to if its the only option.

Many thx.

S.

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#2 m.oreilly

rog'er wilco

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Country:lower uncton

Posted 11 February 2008 - 01:38 AM

you mean you have no trip for the mains? wow, that is not a good idea. here, i have wired up breakers for dedicated circuits by attaching the leads to them, then inserting them into the panel. i don't know what the physical layout is of your load center (mains box), so i really can't be certain if you can do it that way. there is no sub switch after the main fuse?

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#3 Guest_scaramonga_*

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Posted 11 February 2008 - 02:06 AM

Quote

there is no sub switch after the main fuse?

I wish there was MO :likewinmandr2:

We have LIVE feed coming into house and going to main fuse (sealed) which then goes direct to electric meter, from this it feeds the consumer unit, which has a MAIN trip switch to shut the lot off, separate from the individual circuit amp breakers. I'm wondering if the main trip is flicked, will this isolate the rest of the consumer box allowing me to work safely?.........or does it just somehow break contact with the MCB switches but still leave one side LIVE?.......lol.

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#4 m.oreilly

rog'er wilco

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Country:lower uncton

Posted 11 February 2008 - 02:49 AM

hehe, that switch will isolate you from the mains. if you didn't have that, and something caught fire, etc, you would be sunk. if you can open the panel w/ the switch, you should be able to see the mains from the main sealed fuses leading into it, then leading out to the individual circuit breakers...

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#5 WFO

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569 posts

Country:USA

Posted 11 February 2008 - 04:18 AM

Can't you just call the power company and have them shut down the main? It should be a free service unless of course you are trying to avoid applying for permits and haven't done so. :likewinmandr2:

What voltage are you working with? I work on 277V live all the time. As long as you don't have a high load on the circuits being connected, I don't see an issue. You can wear rubber gloves and put down an insulating rubber mat if you are really worried about things. :roadrunner:

If it's 480v you really want to shut down as the potential for arcing is too great.