Guys,
Here a couple of pics of our local pillar boxes, these are all generically designed.
This is the front cover on the box:


To the left of this pillar box you can see a dark grey looking wiring enclosure, can anyone guess what this is used for?.
Below we have the inside of the box:


This is 3 Phase 230/400V supply.


[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 01-31-2004).]

Oh sorry,
What you cannot see, is the MEN point in the bottom of the box and a Busbar where the consumers Main Neutral connects to the System Neutral Busbar.
The MEN system is taken far too seriously here, even to the extent of circulating Earth Currents.
Also the English Electric (Brand name) fuses and holders are being upgraded to Hager brand Fuses etc, because, get this, even though the same two fuses have the same rating according to VDE, the English Electric fuses don't comply with the new EU directives for Electric fuses.
But also upon enquiring where the Hager brand of HRC fuses was manufactured, I was told Newcastle, I nearly fell over with fright.
Just how one sided is that, eh?.

It seems that spiders like that particular style of enclosure!

Hager has become a popular braa of switchgear in the U.K. in recent years, although much of the stuff that I see is made in France.

What are the EU regulations that the English Electric fuses supposedly don't comply with? And since when has New Zealand been subject to European Directives, anyway?

P.S. Is that Newcastle, England, or Newcastle, NSW ?


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 01-31-2004).]

Ireland's service fuses can be one of a few different types depending on the era the service was installed.

Very large single diazed fuses sealed inside clear enclosure (50A, 63A, 80 A)
British style holders as shown in that NZ picture although they accept IEC cylindrical fuses either 63 or 80 A.

100A is also possible with both systems but is relatively rare.

If you want a 100A single phase supply ESB networks has to do a local infrastructural survey.

Distribution systems were generally designed to mostly supply 63A single phase services with the odd 80A.

Older systems would have been designed around 50A single phase services !

If you need more power 3-phase is generally relatively easily availble and is occasionally used in large storage heating installations.

Various fuse systems are used in the minipilars depending on their age. BS, IEC and VDE approved.

Also, the consumer unit must be fused seperately.

E.g. the main board might have a 63A diazed or neozed fuse and the board for the storage heating might have another 63A fuse.

Mike — Between the larger cable studs, are those places for {larger?} fuses?

The fuses seem like a good idea, but are almost nonexistent for such an application in the US.


p.s.: Spider webs in electrical gear can be a pain. These were in some rural 12kV vacuum circuit breakers. I think maybe sometimes they are drawn by the heat in electrical gear.








[This message has been edited by Bjarney (edited 01-31-2004).]

Can you disconnect from a pillar in NZ / US etc?

Typically in the US, an unfused connector is used—above/pedestal or below-grade. There are also hydraulic-compressed versions. They can be made-up/disconnected hot, but not under load {with customer main switch open.}



Connections are usually behind pentahead cap screws to keep out the riffraff.




[This message has been edited by Bjarney (edited 01-31-2004).]

Paul,
The EU directives over here are as large as life here for those that want to comply with the VDE regs, as we are all trying to conform with.
Bjarney,
These are built as Generic panels, there is a 1000A link behind the panel that you see there.
The wires from Left to Right are 170mm2 Aluminium.
djk,
Yes, we can disconnect from this point.
Please bear in mind that these enclosures are only accessible to PoCo workers (Faultsman), through the use of a security Key.
On the Right side of the Pic you will see 3 Hager HRC 63A fuse-holders, one for each house.

Oops,
Good lord there were some errors in that last post of mine.
There are 5 63A HRC links supplying 5 installations.
There is also a 16A HRC link just below the cable joints that supplies a nearby Street light, as the Pilot wire for these is run in the same Underground Conduit as the Distribution Mains cables.
Djk,
Next to the Load-side wires at the bottom of the 63A fuses, you'll see laminated tags cable tied to the wires.
These tags enable a Faultsman to correctly identify the right installation to be repaired/disconnected.
At each metering point, there is a tag that matches one in the Pillar box.
Just saves the wrong people having the power interrupted in the middle of Coro Street!.
Bjarney,
Is that one of them HV Roll-out circuit breaker trucks?.
One of them holders in the Pillar box is sporting a new 63A fuse, that's why I had the cover off this box in the start, it's just down the road from from my house.
The lady that lives there blew the Mains fuse when the Kettle element short-circuited.
Couple that with Tinned copper wire fusing that doesn't tend to co-ordinate that well with an HRC fuse and BANG, out goes the whole house!.

BTW,
That Grey enclosure to the left of the pillar box is a telephone junction.
Reason I was reminded of these pics, was I can't believe how many of them telecomms junctions I've seen on footpaths here in the last 3 or so weeks, that are in a mangled or really poor state of repair.
Or more commonly, without the top cover.
No wonder we have so many problems with telephones here when it rains for any length of time.

Don't forget the snails and slugs too, they love pillars and transformers.

I wonder if they feel a feel a tingle when too close near a bare terminal.

to djk.
These pillars are used for disconnect power as well.

to Trumy.
The security key is a joke , here in Auckland they are a M6 hex imbus srew which you can undo with a pair of side cutters.

I will take a piccie of these "security srews"

Ray,
Well that's the beauty of having live 230 or 400V (depending upon how clumsy you are) metal as a deterrent inside an enclosure that is meant for access by authorised people only.
But I'm disappointed though, our pillar boxes don't have any of that flash Auckland cardboard in them, any way you could see to send us poor folks down here some?.

Trumpy, those telephone junction boxes in your picture have a single steel screw holding the cover on and once its rusted you can just lift the cover right off. They are crap !

Our telephone junctions are usually in an underground "vault". They look like round black torpedos.

Anything over-ground is either up a pole or in a cabnet.

However, some of the pole-mounted junctions have been known to open up in bad weather e.g. when hit by near-by trees and leave the telephone cable terminals exposed to the weather )