- Thread starter jimbo84
- Start date
Cobbler
Codger bodger
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- 8,033
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- Gloucestershire UK
Back in the late 70’s I did a lead plumbing course on the GPO, now BT for repairing the old existing lead covered paper insulated cables. I was told at the time that it was the last course to be run as the lead was being recovered whenever possible. In those days, amongst the old cable jointers there were some superb plumbers, you try plumbing a joint on a cable 4 inches in diameter with a sleeve about 9 inches in dia. & about 3 foot long in a manhole! I was never very good at it & never had sufficient practice & only did one or two small repairs before I moved onto other work. There is very little difference between wiping the solder around nicely & the lead melting into a pool on the floor & the paper catching fire!
EDIT ..... I don’t think I could did it now if I tried ......
EDIT ..... I don’t think I could did it now if I tried ......
pedrobedro
Man at Matalan
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I watched them do a joint outside our house a few years ago when the power went out and it was nothing like that and the box with pitch was replaced with a plastic sleeve with two part filler.
Parm
Respect The Sound System
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- 18,009
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In my consultancy days I did a lot of work with a contractor recovering those lead cables with paper.
zx9
Forum Supporter
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- South East London
I have photos somewhere of the repair section they let into the main at the end of our road a couple of years ago, the repairs were exactly as you said but they installed a copper or bronze earth electrode which must have been 25mm diameter and about a metre long laid horizontally in the trench next to the encapsulated joint box. I did look longingly at it thinking ummmm lathe stock.
zx9
Forum Supporter
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- 5,200
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- South East London
Perhaps that is why it stayed in the trench long enough to be back filled, big brass clamp on it though.
MoreWellie
Member
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- Bedfordshire, UK
Pure Artistry, love the way the music adds drama to the occasion
sigh, must be getting old
sigh, must be getting old
frank horton
V twins are great but 4"s rule.........
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and the guy wasnt wearing PONCY gloves.....
brightspark
Member
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- 41,270
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- yarm stockton on tees
a pair of marigolds and sat on black dustbin bags works well. i cut back and conected a 120 amp tp and neutral armoured out in a carpark down a trench one saturday morning when no one was about to spout health and safety
it saved the firm money and hassle with telephones burglar alarms and fire alarms and comps going off and made me 200 quid for 2 hours work 
wiping lead joints isnt rocket science and easy to do with a bit of practice i used to fit brass bosses in to copper cylinders for emersion heaters also converting lead pipes to copper wiping the joints for plumbers on jobs because most couldnt do them 
gordon stephenson
Member
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- Skelton in Cleveland U.K.
When I was a kid, always wandering around the new builds where we lived, Used to watch for hours, Brick layers, plasterers, even the labourers digging trenches!! Also saw some nice cable jointing and plumbing with wiped joints and lead to copper too, And when the builders went home for the day, us kids would climb the ladders to the top lift of the scaffolding and jump off onto the big sand heap,next to the pug mill and big pile of lime that was always covered with a tarp!! No electronics in those days, Brilliant.
