I'm rewiring my new (old) house...

Is there a maximum - permissible length for meter tails?
And, being as the "existing" earthing connection to the meter bus (from the 
incoming mains) is taken from the metal reinforcement sheathing -

(which in the past had NEVER been connected into the house circuit AAAGH!)

I digress, - does this indicate that it's a TN-C-S setup?
I can't see/find an earth rod, or other connection?

" To HELL with the O.D.P.M " !

Thanks in advance.

Picker  wrote:

> I'm rewiring my new (old) house...
> 
> Is there a maximum - permissible length for meter tails?


It's set by the "supply company" whoever they are nowadays, best of
luck finding out.  The typical maximum lengths are usually in the
range of one to three metres I believe.  If you want to make them
longer then you need protection (e.g. a switch fuse) close to the
company fuse.



> And, being as the "existing" earthing connection to the meter bus (from the 
> incoming mains) is taken from the metal reinforcement sheathing -
> 
> (which in the past had NEVER been connected into the house circuit AAAGH!)
> 
> I digress, - does this indicate that it's a TN-C-S setup?
> I can't see/find an earth rod, or other connection?
> 

If the "metal reinforcement sheathing" is in addition two conductors
then it's indicative of TN-S.  (The earth is 'S'eparate both in the
supply and your house wiring)

Only if the "metal reinforcement sheathing" is also the neutral
conductor (i.e. a single conductor only in the supply cable) does it
indicate TN-C-S. (The earth is 'C'ommon in the supply but 'S'eparate
in your house)

-- 
Chris Green

wrote in message news:3no9duF2bugiU3@individual.net...

> Picker  wrote:
>> I'm rewiring my new (old) house...
>>
>> Is there a maximum - permissible length for meter tails?
>
> It's set by the "supply company" whoever they are nowadays, best of
> luck finding out.  The typical maximum lengths are usually in the
> range of one to three metres I believe.  If you want to make them
> longer then you need protection (e.g. a switch fuse) close to the
> company fuse.
>
>
>> And, being as the "existing" earthing connection to the meter bus (from 
>> the
>> incoming mains) is taken from the metal reinforcement sheathing -
>>
>> (which in the past had NEVER been connected into the house circuit 
>> AAAGH!)
>>
>> I digress, - does this indicate that it's a TN-C-S setup?
>> I can't see/find an earth rod, or other connection?
>>
> If the "metal reinforcement sheathing" is in addition two conductors
> then it's indicative of TN-S.  (The earth is 'S'eparate both in the
> supply and your house wiring)
>
> Only if the "metal reinforcement sheathing" is also the neutral
> conductor (i.e. a single conductor only in the supply cable) does it
> indicate TN-C-S. (The earth is 'C'ommon in the supply but 'S'eparate
> in your house)

There was some disagreement on this NG as to what type of suppy I had
when I mentioned it a while back. What was certain was that I had a 
'concentric'
cable, with multiple live conductors in the centre, then a sheath of 
multiple
neutral conductors. The house earth was formed by taking about a third or so 
of the
neutral conductors and peeling them off to an earth block
I thought it was TN-C-S but there was some talk of PME and not really being 
able
to tell1 I'd guess TN-C-S if I had to put money on it.

Andy.

Andy wrote:


> I thought it was TN-C-S but there was some talk of PME and not really being 


TN-C-S and PME are just different terms for the same thing... (neutral 
and earth bonded at the head end of the consumers supply, rather than at 
the sub station)

-- 
Cheers,

John.

/=================================================================\
|          Internode Ltd -  http://www.internode.co.uk            |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
|        John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk              |
\=================================================================/

Andy  wrote:

> I thought it was TN-C-S but there was some talk of PME and not really being 
> able
> to tell1 I'd guess TN-C-S if I had to put money on it.
> 

TN-C-S and PME are two names for the same thing (well, maybe not
quite, but for a domestic supply if it's TN-C-S then it's PME).

-- 
Chris Green

In article ,
	usenet@isbd.co.uk writes:

>Andy  wrote:
>> I thought it was TN-C-S but there was some talk of PME and not really being 
>> able
>> to tell1 I'd guess TN-C-S if I had to put money on it.
>> 
>TN-C-S and PME are two names for the same thing (well, maybe not
>quite, but for a domestic supply if it's TN-C-S then it's PME).


TN-C-S refers to the whole system, including supplier's local
network and the subscriber's installation. In the UK, a TN-C-S
system must be provided via a PME supplier's network.
Regulations in other countries might not always require the
supply network for a TN-C-S system to be multiply earthed in
the PEN conductor (combined Protective Earth and Neutral in
the supply network).

So the two aren't the same thing, but they go together in the
UK. (Of course, you could have a PME supply network and a TT
installation, if you choose not to use the supplier's earth.)

-- 
Andrew Gabriel

In article <SSARe.65600$Il.2106@fe2.news.blueyonder.co.uk>,
   Picker  wrote:

> I'm rewiring my new (old) house...

> Is there a maximum - permissible length for meter tails?
> And, being as the "existing" earthing connection to the meter bus (from the 
> incoming mains) is taken from the metal reinforcement sheathing -


At some time before I bought my house, the meter etc was moved from the
cellar to the top of the (cellar) stairs. The LEB used 3 core SWA cable,
using the yellow to extend the earth.

-- 
*Can fat people go skinny-dipping?

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.