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On the subject of pulling the DNO fuse.

alanblaby
There have been a couple of reports here of the DNO confronting electricians who have pulled their fuse.


It's getting closer to home, a work colleague was doing a CU change on a domestic house last week, no isolator fitted, so he pulled the fuse (no seals present).

South Nottinghamshire.


Around 90 minutes later there was a knock on the door, a guy from Western Power was investigating a power loss at the property, reported by the Smart Meter phoning home.

He gave the sparky a talking to, and warned they are getting strict in pursuing people who do it, he said meter fiddling was rife, so any loss of power is checked out asap.
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    MHRestorations:

    Just a followup from following this thread: I am maybe a little unlike most electricians as I DO have a set of 1000v gloves along with protectors, AND a face shield. I lack the blast resistant jacket however. . . 




    It would however make sense not to wear any polyester or nylon. From one of our training courses, an “arc flash” is an explosion of energy with the force of several sticks of dynamite and a temperature hotter than the surface of the sun. The problem with nylon and several other synthetic materials, is that they will burn, and will melt into the skin. We wear a mixture of arc flash clothing and cotton. Cotton clothing is a good idea next to the skin, as it neither burns much or melts. Although you can still get burnt through cotton, the resulting injury is far less. We do not wear nylon or polyester - anywhere! 


    Regards,


    Alan. 

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    Alan Capon:




    MHRestorations:

    Just a followup from following this thread: I am maybe a little unlike most electricians as I DO have a set of 1000v gloves along with protectors, AND a face shield. I lack the blast resistant jacket however. . . 




    It would however make sense not to wear any polyester or nylon. From one of our training courses, an “arc flash” is an explosion of energy with the force of several sticks of dynamite and a temperature hotter than the surface of the sun. The problem with nylon and several other synthetic materials, is that they will burn, and will melt into the skin. We wear a mixture of arc flash clothing and cotton. Cotton clothing is a good idea next to the skin, as it neither burns much or melts. Although you can still get burnt through cotton, the resulting injury is far less. We do not wear nylon or polyester - anywhere! 



    It reminds me of the Gulf wars.


    During GW1, we were told to put our position (CO, XO, 1LT, etc.) on the flap of our breast pockets. Why? 'Cos there is the extra thickness of the flap as well as the pocket itself. I was told that during the Falklands conflict, these designations were written on the anti-flash hoods. The problem was that the black ink absorbed the heat so the victims were branded - at least temporarily.


    I took things a stage further and because I had it, I wore Nomex long-johns, etc. However, it took a bit of effort to convince the training staff that it was fireproof.


    My working overalls are standard RN issue - I stockpiled it before I left. ?

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    Some older installations do not have an isolator. As far as any electrician is concerned though, they should not be breaking any seals and pulling out a DNO fuse (effectively DNO property). DNO personnel have to go through an assessment and authorisation process for LV switching. A DNO fuse falls under this.
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    I do not think any of us would argue about pulling a DNO fuse bein unlawful and wrong.

    But I think that many would say why is there not an isolator there in the first place?
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    I have set of fire retardant overalls for entering transformer enclosures plus the other kit including the 1000V marigolds.


    Chris


    The RAF flying overalls I think were Nomex or similar and at one time a warning went out about wearing nylon watch straps.  I pointed this out to a Truck driver in the mess one evening who snapped back that it was his issue aircrew watch and he was wearing nylon issue socks.  The RAF issues very nice white kid leather gloves that have to be worn when flying for fire protection. On the odd flight I was issued with a pair and all the other kit but had to hand it all back when I had finished but never had the opportunity to blag a pair of the nice gloves.
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    ebee:

    I do not think any of us would argue about pulling a DNO fuse bein unlawful and wrong.

    But I think that many would say why is there not an isolator there in the first place?




     

    Because isolators cost money.  House builders don't want to install them unless they have to.  Electricity suppliers don't want to install them until they have to.  Consumers only discover that an isolator would have been handy when they actually need it.
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    Fourteen quid for an isolator shouldn't be a deal-breaker - how much does it cost the supplier to send someone out to fit one after the fact?

    The Govt should make it a mandatory requirement when granting any new permissions to supply.
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    I believe there was a proposal to fit isolators in smart meters but it was rejected on grounds of cost. It would have been perhaps the only positive reason for many to have a smart meter but the opportunity was missed along with the targets for smart meter installation!
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    bebee:

    I do not think any of us would argue about pulling a DNO fuse bein unlawful and wrong.

    But I think that many would say why is there not an isolator there in the first place?




    Depends on the DNO. Historical connections likely do not have them. New installations always should. However, as part of meter upgrades, the meter operator/owner should be requesting this. Of course the DNO will charge for it. 

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    What is the situation like in other countries? Are electricians and homeowners allowed to remove the DNO fuse?


    Has anybody actually seen an arc flash caused by shorting out a service head?

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