Smart Meter Disaster!!

We were sent to this property in Bristol to look at why the lights were permanently on throughout the premises. What was uncovered is shocking!!

#smartmeter #electrician #electricalcontractors #bristol #tradesman

[mick]

This is why we served a proper apprenticeship all those years ago, you dont become an instant electrician in a few weeks, worked in the electrical industry most of my life and i am still learning and willing to learn, the sparky that knows everything is now dead, !!!!

[stevegrayson]

About 52 years ago, I came across the same when the local power company replaced a meter. I got a shock off a mains valve radio chassis I was repairing, it should have been neutral.
I argued with my parents that their supply was wrong. They called the company who reluctantly came out and quietly did a bit of wire swapping. They probably wondered why this 14yr old kid was asking so many questions. At least they admitted to my parents they’d made a mistake. I took a career in electrical engineering, then electronics, then programming, then IT and Cybersecurity….but never get my live & neutral mixed up😳😊

[bazra]

Thank you for not killing a great blog with music. Your nice, clear voice and good description made me think.

[harryzero]

As a retired electrician I thought what beautifully arranged wiring, a consumer unit I would have complete confidence in, however a hidden death trap lays ready not far away. My first thoughts were an induced current from a high current circuit into a the lighting neutral, however, I was confused regard LEDs allowing current to flow through the neutral.
If I were testing a ring main socket I would have use my plug in tester, also I do find my volt stick very useful.
Every month, I am being pressurised into having a smart meter installed, instinctively it doesn't seem very smart to me.
I take and send in my meter readings every couple of months.
Your explanation and presentation does your company credit

[ammarrashid]

That is the cleanest wiring installation in a consumer unit i have ever seen... great job!

[TheCodr]

The amount of times I've touched neutral and not even thought about it twice is unreal. I'm not an electrician but I do all my own work and I don't even bat an eyelid at neutral. This video just made me reconsider that 😂

[TheSynthnut]

Don't feel you owe any privacy to the culprits, this is a serious failure of duty.
They needed an emergency call to recify the fault and be reported to the HSE. They can pin it on you if youve cut the seals or at least use that to muddy any investigation.

[bobcat]

The home owner should take legal action against the company that installed that meter!

[PeterChapman-rggr]

This is what happens when the person changing the meter is NOT a trained electrician and has only gone on a 1 day course.
Just had my "Smart" meter changed for the third time ( late last Friday). The "Meter fitter" got a screw cross threaded and asked to borrow a hammer to bang the screw in.
A complaint will be going in at 9.00 AM tomorrow.

[NEK]

great video .... i am currently a smart meter engineer ...not for that company fortune...after being self employed for 10 years in the UK Gas and electrical industry and so i fancied a change from the hard house bashing graft. and here's my thoughts...firstly he /she should have powered down and up correctly. On charging the meter once energized a simple socket plug in tester would have prove this reverse polarity situation straight away ..and so it would prompt him to check his work and rectify....job done


However... where i fault the industry is that way they will Fastrack literally anyone with absolutely no knowledge or experience to a meter operative in just 14 Weeks to work on both gas and electric and send them out live to work in people's property....yes i said just over 3 months training ... now you cannot buy experience in that time ...
Even now i know of engineers who cant solder or alter pipework for gas or scared of having leaks ...let alone how to relight an old gas appliance like a warm air unit or back boiler once the gas meter has been changed.

Then you have the company constantly on your back for more productivity daily ...not knowing even what the job even looks like to begin with...ie bring the wireing up to regulations with use of connector blocks or isolators.

Which then brings me to my final point ...unfortunately after a very short while in the industry.. the company makes engineers loose intererst because of the constant micro managing bs and the job agencies recruiting for for the competition will lie and sell you the dream so that they can earn a commission...

The final nail in the coffin is ...ots not even LAW atm to have smart meter fitted ... these companies are bullying customers with scare tactics .... to have them so that they can earn money from the Government and reach a fictitious target by a certain date .

Thats my 2 cents ...Im going back to being self employed ...
Oh and the pay is Shit ...for the qualifications and knowledge that you need let alone someone with my experience...bailing them out all the time on situations like this

Hope this helps .

Send this video clip to the news i bet you it will not be shown on TV ...😂



I dont know which of the above caused this ...but they need to either be retrained or get out of the industry as this could have been alot worst ...Thank God .

[amac]

I just watched this video to see what it was about. Scary, but very glad I watched it. Lay people like myself often just trust without question that whoever is sent to their homes to do work is full trained, qualified and knows what they are doing. Thanks!

[Uftonwood]

That’s some smart wiring you did in that distribution box.

[radiotowers]

Funny enough, I`m a retired spark from the local DNO, the last time my smart meter was changed the meter fixer connected my house reverse polarity at the DP switch..right in front of me ! luckily no issues.
And talking about electricians getting a shock, when I got called out to jobs where an electrician got a shock because of a fault/mistake on the DNO side, the electrician was quite right to be annoyed...but I always asked the spark " what was the very first thing you got taught as an the equipment is not live with your test gear.... unfortunately we all get blasé because we work with electrics all the time.

[henrybecker]

I'd really enjoy hearing Big Clive's opinion

[andywebstone]

This is a situation where test & inspections is absolutely vital, the regs are changing all the time, but the basics of polarity will never change.
Cracking videos, well done 😎👍

[undercrackers]

As a professional I understand making a mistake. However, there is no excuse for lying about test results that put the residents at mortal risk. Whoever did this is not fit for the job - ever and the company should be sued for the cost of the electrician.

[ColinDH]

I did a project with nPower in Leeds a few years back. We were developing a handheld unit for meter installers. Immediately after completing the installation, before starting any tests, a screen would come up on the handheld unit, asking the engineer to do a visual check of polarity. The screen background had to go red to ensure they were alerted to this visual check. Why? Because of the number of times meters were installed with reversed polarity. I won't give you the figure but it was astonishing how many times this happened... You've got one job!!!

[fugazi]

Great troubleshooting, helped by your initial install being so neat and tidy

[robspectron]

I'm a wireman. Basic checks to ensure polarity is correct throughout. Obviously none carried out here. That company who installed the smart meter should be repromanded for that. Your a decent pro tradesman who found the fault. Luckily the tenants were not electrocuted by this shoddy work.

[Lucasimo]

Great example of testing and fault finding. Well done solving this one. Scary situation and you would hope the meter installation contractor would get a serious warning about this!