Understanding flats fuseboard

shivermetimber

Hi all. I'm renting in an old house split into 3 separate flats and trying to understand the electrical set up. Bear in mind I've no electrical experience at all but will do my best to describe.



- One cream/white old fashioned looking box with screw fuse set up beside a main on/off flip switch. This has a DZ ii 50A in it.

- Next to the above is an ESB mechanical Ferranti Ireland meter, 20-80A, and a sealed black box under meter. No idea what is in there as no markings on it.

- Below are two fuse/breaker boards with labels on the see through lid stating 63A, each with trip switches labeled for lights, cooker etc. Assume these are for the downstairs flats.

- Separately we've our own similar fuseboard in our flat upstairs.



The reason I'm trying to understand how this all works is the DZ ii 50A recently started arcing, getting very hot and producing a burnt smell, so under landlords advise I replaced it with another. Both ends of the one I replaced were blackish/scorched along with some light scorching in the holder and on the gauge ring. So far the new one seems to be doing ok, no noise or running hot under load but will be keeping an eye on it. When swapping it out I found a new 63A DZ iii gauge ring and new 63A DZ iii fuse lying around in the area which got me wondering if that was meant to be put in by someone at some stage and a few follow on questions.

Does the current set up make sense?
What would cause the issue with the old DZ ii 50a?
What would be the outcome of replacing the current holder and fuse to the 63A setup?
Is the DZ the main ESB fuse or is that what's sealed in the black box under the meter? I think so from reading but not sure. If the main ESB fuse is in there how do I find out what it is?
What is the DZ and what's it's purpose?

Have done a bit of reading online but can't quite grasp how all 3 components work in conjunction with each other in order to answer the above, so any knowledge to share would be much appreciated

JL spark

shivermetimber wrote: »

Hi all. I'm renting in an old house split into 3 separate flats and trying to understand the electrical set up. Bear in mind I've no electrical experience at all but will do my best to describe.



- One cream/white old fashioned looking box with screw fuse set up beside a main on/off flip switch. This has a DZ ii 50A in it.

- Next to the above is an ESB mechanical Ferranti Ireland meter, 20-80A, and a sealed black box under meter. No idea what is in there as no markings on it.

- Below are two fuse boards with labels on the see through lid stating 63A, each with trip switches labeled for lights, cooker etc. Assume these are for the downstairs flats.

- Separately we've our own similar fuseboard in our flat upstairs.



The reason I'm trying to understand how this all works is the DZ ii 50A recently started arcing, getting very hot and producing a burnt smell, so under landlords advise I replaced it with another. Both ends of the one I replaced were blackish/scorched along with some light scorching in the holder and on the gauge ring. So far the new one seems to be doing ok, no noise or running hot under load but will be keeping an eye on it. When swapping it out I found a new 63A DZ iii gauge ring and new 63A DZ iii fuse lying around in the area which got me wondering if that was meant to be put in by someone at some stage and a few follow on questions.

Does the current set up make sense?
What would cause the issue with the old DZ ii 50a?
What would be the outcome of replacing the current holder and fuse to the 63A setup?
Is the DZ the main ESB fuse or is that what's sealed in the black box under the meter? I think so from reading but not sure. If the main ESB fuse is in there how do I find out what it is?
What is the DZ and what's it's purpose?

Have done a bit of reading online but can't quite grasp how all 3 components work in conjunction with each other in order to answer the above, so any knowledge to share would be much appreciated

It sounds like your landlord needs to fork put to upgrade the installation,
Have you any pictures

shivermetimber

Hmm, fat chance of that I'd say lol. Here's the fuse and meter. 63A DZ's and gauge ring, along with old 50A fuse on it's side can be seen underneath. Below this set up are the two 'modern' fuseboxes/breakers as described initially.

https://ibb.co/CPMyTwd

aido79

shivermetimber wrote: »

Hmm, fat chance of that I'd say lol. Here's the fuse and meter. 63A DZ's and gauge ring, along with old 50A fuse on it's side can be seen underneath. Below this set up are the two 'modern' fuseboxes as described initially.

https://ibb.co/CPMyTwd

The worst thing you could do would be to put the 63 amp fuse in without knowing if the wiring is safe.
Do you have a picture of your fuseboard? Is it fuses or mcb's?
The landlord should really be getting an electrician to have a good look at the entire installation...especially if the rest of it is as bad as the arrangement in your picture.

shivermetimber

aido79 wrote: »

The worst thing you could do would be to put the 63 amp fuse in without knowing if the wiring is safe.
Do you have a picture of your fuseboard? Is it fuses or mcb's?
The landlord should really be getting an electrician to have a good look at the entire installation...especially if the rest of it is as bad as the arrangement in your picture.

Oh I agree but whilst a nice person, as a landlord he's old fashioned and as tight as two coats of paint when it comes to the house. I'll push for it though if needs be. The following pic should speak volumes (i.e lovely archaic coin meters to the right of meter and fuse/breaker boards).

https://ibb.co/M2ZgX5w

I'm moreso just trying to understand the set up and answer the questions above for my own interest and education.

mookishboy

HOLY SH*T !!!!!

aido79

shivermetimber wrote: »

Oh I agree but whilst a nice person, as a landlord he's old fashioned and as tight as two coats of paint when it comes to the house. I'll push for it though if needs be. The following pic should speak volumes (i.e lovely archaic coin meters to the right of meter and fuse/breaker boards).

https://ibb.co/M2ZgX5w

I'm moreso just trying to understand the set up and answer the questions above for my own interest and education.

I have honestly never seen anything like that in my life. I would have serious doubts that the work was done by an electrician with how close those water pipes are to the fuseboard.
I'm not saying that it's completely unsafe but if it was me I'd be looking for a new place to live if the landlord wasn't prepared to fix it.

meercat

shivermetimber wrote: »

Hi all. I'm renting in an old house split into 3 separate flats and trying to understand the electrical set up. Bear in mind I've no electrical experience at all but will do my best to describe.



- One cream/white old fashioned looking box with screw fuse set up beside a main on/off flip switch. This has a DZ ii 50A in it.

- Next to the above is an ESB mechanical Ferranti Ireland meter, 20-80A, and a sealed black box under meter. No idea what is in there as no markings on it.

- Below are two fuse/breaker boards with labels on the see through lid stating 63A, each with trip switches labeled for lights, cooker etc. Assume these are for the downstairs flats.

- Separately we've our own similar fuseboard in our flat upstairs.



The reason I'm trying to understand how this all works is the DZ ii 50A recently started arcing, getting very hot and producing a burnt smell, so under landlords advise I replaced it with another. Both ends of the one I replaced were blackish/scorched along with some light scorching in the holder and on the gauge ring. So far the new one seems to be doing ok, no noise or running hot under load but will be keeping an eye on it. When swapping it out I found a new 63A DZ iii gauge ring and new 63A DZ iii fuse lying around in the area which got me wondering if that was meant to be put in by someone at some stage and a few follow on questions.

Does the current set up make sense?
What would cause the issue with the old DZ ii 50a?
What would be the outcome of replacing the current holder and fuse to the 63A setup?
Is the DZ the main ESB fuse or is that what's sealed in the black box under the meter? I think so from reading but not sure. If the main ESB fuse is in there how do I find out what it is?
What is the DZ and what's it's purpose?

Have done a bit of reading online but can't quite grasp how all 3 components work in conjunction with each other in order to answer the above, so any knowledge to share would be much appreciated

So you were getting a burnt smell and replaced a fuse under landlords instructions
A rec needs to inspect this installation and the pictures indicate a notice of potential hazard should be issued
Op it’s not your responsibility and you could be endangering yourself and others. Get back in touch with your landlord.

JL spark

shivermetimber wrote: »

Oh I agree but whilst a nice person, as a landlord he's old fashioned and as tight as two coats of paint when it comes to the house. I'll push for it though if needs be. The following pic should speak volumes (i.e lovely archaic coin meters to the right of meter and fuse/breaker boards).

https://ibb.co/M2ZgX5w

I'm moreso just trying to understand the set up and answer the questions above for my own interest and education.

That looks lethal , the fact that your in the middle of it trying to change out a fuse , it’s not fit for purpose, what’s the rest of the building like

alan4cult

That's some joke that "installation".

shivermetimber

Thanks for the replies all, not surprising tbh. I'll let the landlord know the concern and hopefully something can be sorted, although I won't hold my breath and may invest in a fire extinguisher in the mean time (no joke).

Could anyone do me a favour and list out some general things that are wrong / to be amended here so I can have a bit more to go with then 'I showed some people and they said it was lethal'?

monseiur

shivermetimber wrote: »

Thanks for the replies all, not surprising tbh. I'll let the landlord know the concern and hopefully something can be sorted, although I won't hold my breath and may invest in a fire extinguisher in the mean time (no joke).

Could anyone do me a favour and list out some general things that are wrong / to be amended here so I can have a bit more to go with then 'I showed some people and they said it was lethal'?

Double check that all fire alarms are working and have a good torch on your bedside locker. Also practice escaping from the house in the dark, and have a plan 'b' in case this route is blocked i.e. a window that opens wide enough to pass through in emergency.
I would not advise interfering in any way with the fuse board as if/when the whole thing goes up in flames the landlord may try to implicate you to cover his own obvious inadequacies.
But you may offer to get an electrician in to carry out the emergency work required and deduct the cost form rent.

Lenar3556

My advice would be not to interfere with it, or arrange any works.

The installation is a mess, although not necessarily an immediate danger or fire hazard.

Your local fire authority could be encouraged to carry out an inspection of the premises and this would likely apply considerable pressure to your landlord.

In any case, I would be inclined to be on the look out for alternative accommodation if it becomes available.