skotl
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brightspark
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the only thing ive seen is some dork put a light fitting up on the end of the circuit and had an earth fault on blew the 5 amp fuse so he wrapped a 15 amp fusewire round it 4 times 
making it 60 amp banged it in and turned on . the fusebox mainswitch spitted and farted the wire on lights went round like a sparkler and blew the whole lot and thats it. i think the above on diy is a figment of imagination at the cutout fuse as theres the db with smaller fuses on each circuit after it . if it wasnt turned off and full load was on it would just give a good spark putting it in or pulling it out
making it 60 amp banged it in and turned on . the fusebox mainswitch spitted and farted the wire on lights went round like a sparkler and blew the whole lot and thats it. i think the above on diy is a figment of imagination at the cutout fuse as theres the db with smaller fuses on each circuit after it . if it wasnt turned off and full load was on it would just give a good spark putting it in or pulling it out
the snooper
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imagine the load on the fuse in the substations these are pulled and replaced with huge loads compared to a house fuse, there is no way to turn off the load first
skotl
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Another myth put to bed, then - thanks, Mr. Spark!
My grandad was the first in his street to have electricity, back in the 1920s. They apparently got two overhead lamp fittings and could plug lights or fires into the overhead fittings, but not at the same time. Not for my old grandad, though - he possibly invented the first extension lead so they could have several lights and electric fires all running off the two overhead lamp sockets.
Of course, the fuse kept blowing so he replaced the "rubbish thin fuse wire" with something thicker. Presumably from a wire fence. Then whatever passed for the DNO fuse in them days went and some men in suits paid him a visit and told him he couldn't do that. Any of it.
So it's not a modern affliction!
My grandad was the first in his street to have electricity, back in the 1920s. They apparently got two overhead lamp fittings and could plug lights or fires into the overhead fittings, but not at the same time. Not for my old grandad, though - he possibly invented the first extension lead so they could have several lights and electric fires all running off the two overhead lamp sockets.
Of course, the fuse kept blowing so he replaced the "rubbish thin fuse wire" with something thicker. Presumably from a wire fence. Then whatever passed for the DNO fuse in them days went and some men in suits paid him a visit and told him he couldn't do that. Any of it.
So it's not a modern affliction!
the snooper
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Monkey Harris
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It's hotting up over there
http://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/welding-socket-needed-for-17th-edition-board.417054/
You can probably tell which posts are from me
i used to use the diy forum 5 years ago ..
that ''ban all sheds'' bloke was never of it then..
and useally got right wound up on electrical stuff....
i see he now has 47k posts...
im glad i left em to it...
brightspark
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i couldnt be ar..sed to go on them or the electrical forum . diy debate a load of crap and the electical forum are up there own **** bull******* each other and larging it upi used to use the diy forum 5 years ago ..
that ''ban all sheds'' bloke was never of it then..
and useally got right wound up on electrical stuff....
i see he now has 47k posts...
im glad i left em to it...
i sometimes go on voltimum if i realy need to know the law and clarify regs if i cant find what im looking for on the onsite guide without trawling through the full 17th edition regs book the top guys in the country can answer it for meMod: language edit
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skotl
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i used to use the diy forum 5 years ago ..
that ''ban all sheds'' bloke was never of it then..
and useally got right wound up on electrical stuff....
i see he now has 47k posts...
im glad i left em to it...
To be fair, there's a lot of very experienced folks on there who offer great advice.
But b-a-s has taken it upon himself to be the moral arbiter of the electrics-UK sub-forum, and he's a total pain in the ****. Constantly shouting regulations at people, which I suppose has its place, but other people (including professional sparks) attempt to explain the background, hows and whys and persuade some mis-guided people to seek professional advice. Ban-all-sheds just drives them away so they are more inclined to try something dangerous with zero advice.
Overall, tho, I like the place - I just need to tune b-a-s out. I get the feeling that a "personality" like him would not be tolerated on here
skotl
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Not with an "upgraded" (uprated) fuse, or MCB, no. The fuse / MCB is there to protect the cable from over-current, not the device.
A 13A plug will, in theory, only run a 90A welder. However plenty of people have been able to run 150A welders or higher on a 13A plug, presumably because the fuse and the MCB behind it will sustain larger currents for a short period of time. When you take into account how often you will run a 150/175A welder at full pelt for, and what that actually means in seconds of power draw, chances are you'll get away with it.
TBH, you have two choices; 1) Don't touch anything, try it and see how you go, or 2) get a 16A or 32A circuit professionally installed.
Or 1), followed by 2)
A 13A plug will, in theory, only run a 90A welder. However plenty of people have been able to run 150A welders or higher on a 13A plug, presumably because the fuse and the MCB behind it will sustain larger currents for a short period of time. When you take into account how often you will run a 150/175A welder at full pelt for, and what that actually means in seconds of power draw, chances are you'll get away with it.
TBH, you have two choices; 1) Don't touch anything, try it and see how you go, or 2) get a 16A or 32A circuit professionally installed.
Or 1), followed by 2)
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oilyneil
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The cutout fuses are fine if pulled under no load, and fine if the fuse operates in position,where the trouble come is trying to remove it under heavy load you will draw an arc out and depending on the cutout design it could flash over to the neutral connector.
I've seen a few with loose terminals which had been overheating and when the fuses were pulled the disintergrated into burnt crap,,,
Bear in mind the full fault current could reach 16000 amps,, we have to wear arc proof clothing,rubber gloves and a face visor to pull fuses or replace fuses that have operated.
Having seen electrical arcs of that ferocity it grabs your attention.
I've seen a few with loose terminals which had been overheating and when the fuses were pulled the disintergrated into burnt crap,,,
Bear in mind the full fault current could reach 16000 amps,, we have to wear arc proof clothing,rubber gloves and a face visor to pull fuses or replace fuses that have operated.
Having seen electrical arcs of that ferocity it grabs your attention.
Kent
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I'm guessing the percentage of people here who have requested permission from the DNO is almost zero, then...
(talking amateur/diy, rather than professionals, of course!)
Add me to that zero and I have had them up here re-doing my supply I think I might have said a short sentence ending with Off if they came out with that BS. Thing is when questioned about power fade they came ot and told me it was the local Reservoir running their filter bed, then again that's another utility monopoly / cartel owned by foreign nations
oilyneil
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Yup, I work live line for a living and it pays to know what you are poking your fingers into !
You can't see it, can't smell it , cant hear it and they have worked out how to sell it!
Wallace
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Rodd Engineering in Shepperton used studding in 13A plugs on some of the welders with 60A fuses on the board. Big panic one day when switchgear in the intake room caught fire and blew the suppliers fuses. The box looked like it had been hit with a thermic lance and the unblown 1600A fuses were quickly removed and spirited away and swapped out for the correct sizes fuses. 
Kayos
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ive pulled many many cut out fuses, some under load but most not, not had one pop yet tho, however I've some spectacular bodges done by diy Dan.
As for informing the dno I'm using a welder, I get bored explaining A code faults to the call centre, I'm not going to attempt to explain why I'm telling them what toys I'm playing with in my workshop
As for informing the dno I'm using a welder, I get bored explaining A code faults to the call centre, I'm not going to attempt to explain why I'm telling them what toys I'm playing with in my workshop
brightspark
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i cant see what the big deal is . ive done a fair few 3 phase undrground joints live its no diffrent working live in houses or factories if you know what u are doing
