ESB Main Fuse

.G.

Anyone know if the ESB charge to upgrade the ESB fuse beside the meter.My mother in laws is only a 60A and she has a cooker and electric shower which draw more than that together.

Fuseboard fuse is 63a too so no discrimination at all

Davy

How old is the cut out?

I reckon they would charge for it. Might be good time to upgrade tails if need be.


Now if the fuse were to blow somehow they would have to replace it within 24 hours

antlyn

She's not the only one. However the load ratings you gave are the maximum for each appliance. For example a diversity rating can be applied to the cooker, meaning that one or tworings maybe on at a time or just a grill or oven etc. It is quite rare on a cooker that every circuit on it willbe on at the same time. How often are the shower and cooker on together? Is there an issue with fuses blowing? The main fuse will allow overcurrent for a short period of time

meercat

superg wrote: »

Anyone know if the ESB charge to upgrade the ESB fuse beside the meter.My mother in laws is only a 60A and she has a cooker and electric shower which draw more than that together.

Fuseboard fuse is 63a too so no discrimination at all

how do you know its only 60amp

i agree with davy who says to upgrade the tails
you will then need a cert from a registered contractor
then the esb will charge for the upgrade(120 euro i think)

davy reckons if the fuse "blew" they would call and upgrade for free

i think thats true

but if you are worried about the load on the cables causing the fuse to blow you should upgrade them

.G.

House is about 30 years old.I know its a 60a cos it says it on the black cover.The cooker and shower are regularly on together.Son is a clean freak who thinks nothing of spending a good hour in the shower 3 times a day

they cant afford to pay to have it changed but 24hrs is a long time to wait with no power if it did go accidently;).

Tails are 16 sq,no need to upgrade and they couldnt afford it either way.

meercat

its only a 60amp cut out so
they will have to replace this and the fuse
pretty sure there is a charge for an upgrade

sparcocars

superg wrote: »

House is about 30 years old.I know its a 60a cos it says it on the black cover.The cooker and shower are regularly on together.Son is a clean freak who thinks nothing of spending a good hour in the shower 3 times a day

they cant afford to pay to have it changed but 24hrs is a long time to wait with no power if it did go accidently;).

Tails are 16 sq,no need to upgrade and they couldnt afford it either way.

Just because 60 amp is on the fuse holder doesn't necessarily mean its a 60 amp fuse. The same Fuse carriers hold 80 amp and 40 amp fuses. If there 16's tails at the meter then more than likely its an 80 amp. 10's tails would usually get a 60 amp put into it. The new cut outs are pretty much the same as those black ones except the black ones have flat-head screw terminations and the new ones have 3mm allen key screw terminations. Cut-outs in houses 30 years old or older are put down for replacement and there is a replacement program in place at the moment.

meercat

surely if the holder is rated at 60 amp,the esb would hardly install an 80amp fuse

.G.

meercat wrote: »

its only a 60amp cut out so
they will have to replace this and the fuse
pretty sure there is a charge for an upgrade

sparcocars wrote: »

Just because 60 amp is on the fuse holder doesn't necessarily mean its a 60 amp fuse. The same Fuse carriers hold 80 amp and 40 amp fuses. If there 16's tails at the meter then more than likely its an 80 amp. 10's tails would usually get a 60 amp put into it. The new cut outs are pretty much the same as those black ones except the black ones have flat-head screw terminations and the new ones have 3mm allen key screw terminations. Cut-outs in houses 30 years old or older are put down for replacement and there is a replacement program in place at the moment.

Bit of a contradiction here lads. Either of you work for the ESB by chance?I wouldve thought that they would be interchangeable to make upgrades easy to achieve but then I also know that fuse holders are generally designed to accommodate one rating of fuse only in case the wrong rating is fitted accidently.

Cant open it to check what size it is without breaking the seal.I'll just tell her to keep the lad out of the shower when she's cooking.If it blows then they'll have to sort it for free.

meercat

the fuses are physically the same size
but you shouldnt put a higher ampage one in if the the holder is not rated for it

.G.

ok thanks for the help lads

.G.

Just downloaded their charges booklet.
A request to change it costs 161 euro.

if it blows and the have to change it between 11pm and 8 am then it costs 131.

no mention of what it costs between 8am and 11 pm.

Would it be a good idea to change the fuse in the DB to a 50a or should I leave as is?

sparcocars

superg wrote: »

Bit of a contradiction here lads. Either of you work for the ESB by chance?I wouldve thought that they would be interchangeable to make upgrades easy to achieve but then I also know that fuse holders are generally designed to accommodate one rating of fuse only in case the wrong rating is fitted accidently.

Cant open it to check what size it is without breaking the seal.I'll just tell her to keep the lad out of the shower when she's cooking.If it blows then they'll have to sort it for free.

I work for ESB Networks. Its only the old DZ fuse cut-outs that had gauge rings in them to prevent a different rating fuse being inserted without changing the gauge ring. The cut-out that if its the type i think your talking about can take a 40, 60 or 80 amp HRC fuse. Well these are the only sizes used for a standard service cut-out. Does it look like the on in the attached picture? Does it only say 60amp or does it say 60/80 amp?

.G.

No pic attached.;)

it just says 60A

sparcocars

superg wrote: »

No pic attached.;)

it just says 60A

Sorry heres the picture. It could be just a 60amp fuse in it them but there might be an 80 amp either seen as theres 16's tails. The only way of finding out is to look at the fuse which you can't do with the seals on it. You could de-rate the main fuse in your distribution board to a 50 amp or you could just leave it the way it is. As a previous post said there is a diveristy factor to take into account. The chances of having the shower on highest temp and the cooker having every ring and the oven of highest temp are very unlikely.

Bruthal

sparcocars wrote: »

The chances of having the shower on highest temp and the cooker having every ring and the oven of highest temp are very unlikely.

The shower will likely be on its full load regardless of the temp setting, thats just a water flow adjustment.

Similar with oven, it does not need to be at its highest temp to draw the elements full load, it just wont be on as much during its on/off cycle during the oven`s use. But the cooker will be unlikely to be at its full loading alright, just stay out of the shower on Xmas day:D

.G.

this is it



cooker with everything on was drawing 32 amps.

shower was pulling 35a.

Like you say though,cooker wont be on full load very often if ever.I told them to keep the spotty teenager out of the shower while they're cooking:)

Bruthal

If it was me i would just keep using the items as normal. If there are no fusing problems just proceed as usual and forget about it unless a fuse does go. It could be an 80 amp in that holder anyway, although the cutout tails do look like 10 square in that pic.

Davy

An 80A will fit in that alright, but it wont be an 80A in it, if it hasn't been replaced in the past few years.

I wouldn't be worrying about the situation really, just if it goes, ring networks. Its not worth paying €90 for a change of fuse. They will replace the cutout in time anyway, but I wouldn't say thats 30 years old just yet.

.G.

Ill check that again when I'm there.The cable going from the meter to the board is defo 16sq in the pic the cutout tails do look smaller alright

meercat

meercat wrote: »

surely if the holder is rated at 60 amp,the esb would hardly install an 80amp fuse

agree looks like 10 square

.G.

Davy wrote: »

An 80A will fit in that alright, but it wont be an 80A in it, if it hasn't been replaced in the past few years.

I wouldn't be worrying about the situation really, just if it goes, ring networks. Its not worth paying €90 for a change of fuse. They will replace the cutout in time anyway, but I wouldn't say thats 30 years old just yet.

date on that label thing has 1998 on it.

not sure what thats about

Bruthal

superg wrote: »

date on that label thing has 1998 on it.

not sure what thats about

Thats the date the meter was last sealed most likely.

.G.

Ok cheers to you all.

If the cutout tails are 10sq whats the procedure for upgrading.

Contractor to upgrade first then call ESB or ESB first then contractor

sparcocars

robbie7730 wrote: »

The shower will likely be on its full load regardless of the temp setting, thats just a water flow adjustment.

Similar with oven, it does not need to be at its highest temp to draw the elements full load, it just wont be on as much during its on/off cycle during the oven`s use. But the cooker will be unlikely to be at its full loading alright, just stay out of the shower on Xmas day:D

I was thinking of an instant shower that just has a cold feed and two heating elements in it like the triton t90. You know the way one element is in use up to certain temperature and the as the temp knob is turned up another microswitch is pressed to bring the second element into circuit in it.

M cebee

i thought the temp control only adjusted flow

meercat

superg wrote: »

Ok cheers to you all.

If the cutout tails are 10sq whats the procedure for upgrading.

Contractor to upgrade first then call ESB or ESB first then contractor

you will need a contractor to certify the installation before esb will upgrade

sparcocars

superg wrote: »

Ok cheers to you all.

If the cutout tails are 10sq whats the procedure for upgrading.

Contractor to upgrade first then call ESB or ESB first then contractor

If its to upgrade the tails from the cut out to the meter then just call esb networks and if its the tails from the meter to your dustribution board then a sparks first then esb networks.

.G.

ok,tails to the DB are 16sq for sure.Have to check the cut out tails.

Thanks again

Bruthal

sparcocars wrote: »

I was thinking of an instant shower that just has a cold feed and two heating elements in it like the triton t90. You know the way one element is in use up to certain temperature and the as the temp knob is turned up another microswitch is pressed to bring the second element into circuit in it.

No you manually select either no heat, heat 1(single element), or heat 2(2 elements), then vary the water flow for tempeature. In hot weather heat 1 may be enough to obtain comfortable temperature, but heat 2 will always be on in the winter unless cold showers are prefered.

Bruthal

superg wrote: »

ok,tails to the DB are 16sq for sure.Have to check the cut out tails.

Thanks again

Id bet the tails to cutout are 10 square, certainly look like it compared to the 16 square t&e in the photo.

chuchyface

A few years back I was getting a strange smell of burning from my Parents hallway and when I went to investigate to my shock the bloody fuse board was melting and making all sorts of strange strange noises. I rang the ESB and they said, "sorry nothing to do with us" until I mentioned that it was the black box that had written on it "WARNING ESB DO NOT TOUCH" (didn't know it was a fuse) that was making buzzing noises. Well I never heard someones attitude change so quickly in all my life and low and behold they were out within half an hour and changed the whole thing.

Has your fuse been making any strange noises lately ?

dingding

Davy wrote: »

An 80A will fit in that alright, but it wont be an 80A in it, if it hasn't been replaced in the past few years.

I wouldn't be worrying about the situation really, just if it goes, ring networks. Its not worth paying €90 for a change of fuse. They will replace the cutout in time anyway, but I wouldn't say thats 30 years old just yet.

The meter was manufactured in 1979 see picture.

Bruthal

dingding wrote: »

The meter was manufactured in 1979 see picture.

That does not absolutely mean the installation is from 1979, and/or that the fuse cutout is that age either. Its the fuse cutout and tails thats being asked about here.

Solair

Why are the live and neutral on the tails not identified with the correct colour code?

It looks like they are both red!?

I'm always amazed at the sloppy connections that are accepted by ESB Networks. Do they just turn a blind eye when they're sealing the meters?

Bruthal

Solair wrote: »

Why are the live and neutral on the tails not identified with the correct colour code?

It looks like they are both red!?

I'm always amazed at the sloppy connections that are accepted by ESB Networks. Do they just turn a blind eye when they're sealing the meters?

Things have changed a lot since the days of red and black colour codes. In them days we could just use the black from the twin and earth to sleeve the earth of t&e cables for example, and it was acceptable.

M cebee

he'll have to ask esb networks anyhow -they're not the contractors tails:)

dingding

robbie7730 wrote: »

That does not absolutely mean the installation is from 1979, and/or that the fuse cutout is that age either. Its the fuse cutout and tails thats being asked about here.

I installed similar fuse units as a first year apprentice in 1981 so there is a good chance that the main fuse unit was fitted at that time.

Bruthal

dingding wrote: »

I installed similar fuse units as a first year apprentice in 1981 so there is a good chance that the main fuse unit was fitted at that time.

No one said they were definitely not installed in 1979. But when a meter says manufactured 1979, does that mean the installation is from 1979, and the fuse unit is also from 1979?

horse7

1673645392618.jpg

Does anyone know what this is called, it's in the mains cabinet beside the fuse?

meercat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120105307#Comment_120105307

It’s the main supply isolator. It’s fitted after the meter and before your distribution board.

you appear to have 2 outputs from it which isn’t correct

post a photo of entire cabinet

horse7

I want to get one fitted as I don't have one ( photo not mine), what is the procedure for fitting one?

meercat

What’s the reason you require one

this isolator belongs to esbn

a certificate will most likely be required from a rec and some upgrade work will need to be done. Upgrade mains cables,install ocpd,upgrade earthing including earth rod,test the whole installation too.

Lenar3556

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2056185347/esb-main-fuse

I wouldn’t worry about it. Half the country have that arrangement on a 60A service fuse and it doesn’t present a problem.

Significant diversity applying to the cooker and a good degree of overload capacity on the service fuse mean the chance of it blowing is relatively low.

You may actually have some degree of discrimination, given the characteristics of the service fuse, but again it doesn’t tend to cause any practical issue.

ESBN don’t typically charge for replacing blown fuses, unless the customer is making a habit of it. There is a degree of wear and tear on fuses to be considered. Aging and load factors can eventually cause rupture even where the fuse rating hasn’t been exceeded.

.G.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120109116#Comment_120109116

Thanks for answering my post from 2011 in 2023😀

horse7

IMG_20230115_144028.jpg

Is this a 80amp fuse?