Wire seal on meter access lid

[Muhendis]

Looking for opinions and or experience.

 

There is a wire seal on the access cover of my conventional bidirectional PEA electricity meter.

 

I want to disconnect the meter to do some work on the live side of my main isolator.

 

What would be the consequences of me removing the seal to do the disconnect myself?

[Orinoco]

Get Somchai to do the dangerous job.

 

 

 

[Muhendis]

  On 10/20/2022 at 12:39 AM, Orinoco said:

Get Somchai to do the dangerous bit.

 

 

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Obviously.

but what will be the consequences when PEA see their seal broken?

[Orinoco]

No idea.

 

 

[Crossy]

I doubt there will actually be any issue, many meters are unsealed (ours is one) and many don't even have the covers fitted.

 

If your local man removes the seal then you can blame him

 

Even in the UK they simply re-seal the meter (IIRC they use a different colour seal) and note on the account. Remove the seal again and you're possibly for the high jump.

[carlyai]

Hi, I think you mean the access cover where the cables come and go from the meter at the bottom?

I traced a fault back to our meter, I thought, but PEA said 'problem would not be our meter' so I got a couple of local farmers with PHD's in Electrical Engineering to investigate. They just took the cover off no worries and found all the screws loose.

No PEA complaints, but, we are way out in the sticks and the meter is a million years old. 

I think you need a torque wrench (well a pair of farmer's pliers will do) to retighten the screws, but not sure.

Best practice around here when you remove the incoming cables is to leave them floating up in the air. ????

[SomchaiDIY]

when meter has seal maybe best find pea worker to help with this

 

most time there can be no problem cutting seal but sometime meter has seal for reason

 

meter reader has flag on his reading computer for suspect meter and often take photo update

 

big change in use can sometime start suspect meter flag in pea computer

 

if you sure seal fitted when meter first time installed possible no problem cutting the seal

[Muhendis]

  On 10/20/2022 at 3:50 AM, SomchaiDIY said:

when meter has seal maybe best find pea worker to help with this

 

most time there can be no problem cutting seal but sometime meter has seal for reason

 

meter reader has flag on his reading computer for suspect meter and often take photo update

 

big change in use can sometime start suspect meter flag in pea computer

 

if you sure seal fitted when meter first time installed possible no problem cutting the seal

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Fine.

 

But what can they do to you for such atrocious lack of respect for their property?

 

Is there a fixed penalty fine or do you simply give a discrete contribution to whatever charitable fund they can think of?

  On 10/20/2022 at 12:42 AM, Muhendis said:

Get Somchai to do the dangerous bit

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Would this be you for hire?

[Orinoco]

  On 10/20/2022 at 4:13 AM, Muhendis said:

But what can they do to you for such atrocious lack of respect for their property?

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[SomchaiDIY]

  On 10/20/2022 at 4:13 AM, Muhendis said:

But what can they do to you for such atrocious lack of respect for their property?

 

Is there a fixed penalty fine or do you simply give a discrete contribution to whatever charitable fund they can think of?

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possible there is no fine if cannot prove any cheating

 

but biggest problem is to find electricity meter missing with no warning made

 

after this the bigger problem is time to have meter and power back in home

 

nice to make some jokes about this but pea can make the life hard work

 

guess is up to you

 

good luck with choice

[SomchaiDIY]

  On 10/20/2022 at 4:13 AM, Muhendis said:

Would this be you for hire?

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sorry not me for hire but can find some free info at my youtube channel

[Muhendis]

  On 10/20/2022 at 11:45 AM, SomchaiDIY said:

possible there is no fine if cannot prove any cheating

 

but biggest problem is to find electricity meter missing with no warning made

 

after this the bigger problem is time to have meter and power back in home

 

nice to make some jokes about this but pea can make the life hard work

 

guess is up to you

 

good luck with choice

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Has this meter removal ever happened to you or to anyone you know? 

[Muhendis]

  On 10/20/2022 at 11:48 AM, SomchaiDIY said:

sorry not me for hire but can find some free info at my youtube channel

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That was meant as a joke since getting a local Somechai to do the work was mentioned earlier. ????

[SomchaiDIY]

  On 10/20/2022 at 1:28 PM, Muhendis said:

Has this meter removal ever happened to you or to anyone you know? 

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from other people

 

yes for bill no payment

yes for cheating meter connection found with photo from meter read worker

yes for modify of feed to many house

yes for argument with pea engineer meter removed for days making big problem for customer 

[Bday Prang]

had a guy come to do some welding for me, his welding machine was burning out the sockets in the house, he just took the cover off the meter and hard wired into it. obviously he had to cut the seal,  nothing was said, then about 6 month later a new seal mysteriously appeared

[carlyai]

Watched this Utube vid. where the guy took an electronic power meter to pieces (in the UK), seems they have pressure switches on the removable covers that can trigger a signal to the power company if they are removed.

[Muhendis]

  On 10/20/2022 at 4:05 PM, SomchaiDIY said:

from other people

 

yes for bill no payment

yes for cheating meter connection found with photo from meter read worker

yes for modify of feed to many house

yes for argument with pea engineer meter removed for days making big problem for customer 

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Aha!

But not for wire seal removal  

[bluejets]

Many countries use a primary fuse and/or disconnect link for such purposes but rarely ever seen one in Thailand.

Same as for a cover or a seal to begin with as Crossy says.

Why don't you simply go and ask them or are you Thai..??

Reason being in my experience Thai seldom ever want to ask, be it directions or whatever, no idea why.

 

As for cutting the seal, do it down under and you are dead meat so-to-speak.......possibly if you are a Thai local you might get away with it, but if farang, then the two rule system most likely applies..????

[simon43]

In deepest Laos, the light-controlled LED streetlight outside my house caused a buzzing interference on my amateur radio rig.

 

So in the middle of the night, I put up a ladder and cut the 220 volt wires to the lamp..... problem solved!

 

But 6 months later, the local electricity company knocked on my door and politely asked what had happened to the streetlight wires.  I explained that I saw a large owl get tangled up in the wires, and its wings broke the wires!

[bluejets]

  On 10/21/2022 at 12:38 PM, simon43 said:

In deepest Laos, the light-controlled LED streetlight outside my house caused a buzzing interference on my amateur radio rig.

 

So in the middle of the night, I put up a ladder and cut the 220 volt wires to the lamp..... problem solved!

 

But 6 months later, the local electricity company knocked on my door and politely asked what had happened to the streetlight wires.  I explained that I saw a large owl get tangled up in the wires, and its wings broke the wires!

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I'll bet they put you on their "watch list".........????

Nothing like "doing it live".......tip(it's only on at night).......DOHHHHH!!!

cut wire....mmmm...might have been more believable if you pulled the twist and tape joint apart, now you'll have the PEA out looking for an owl with a pair of side cutters.

[SomchaiDIY]

  On 10/21/2022 at 11:25 PM, bluejets said:

looking for an owl with a pair of side cutters

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thailand owl not sure type possible expert can help