Old Electrical Equipment - Johnson & Phillips Cast Iron Cutout
Double pole ceramic fuses with asebestos board separator.
Johnson and Phillips
An old cast iron cutout by Johnson and Phillips. The front cover has the JP logo, 119, Made In England and 119C.
Probably from the 1920s or 1930s.
The remains of the original supply cable can be seen at the bottom edge - cable has 2 copper cores with a lead outer covering.
Inside
Inside, there are two ceramic fuses - one for line, one for neutral. Both fuses are identical.
Double pole fusing has not been permitted since 1955.
Outside
The lower section has three possible cable entries, the unused ones are sealed with wooden plugs.
After installing the cable, the whole of the lower section was filled with pitch, which is why the original cable has been left in there and just cut off at the base.
Two wall mounting holes can be seen on the back, with brass fixings for the fuseholeders and the lower front cover.
Fuse Holders
The fuse holders are also ceramic, with brass contacts at each end. The supply wires can still be seen in the lower contacts, these are bare copper.
Wiring to the electricity meter and customer's equipment would have been connected at the top terminals, with the round ceramic piece ensuring the wires did not short against the metal case. (One ceramic piece is missing on the left fuse).
Fuses
Both fuses are identical, although one is missing the support tube in the centre.
Made from ceramic with brass contacts, both are rated 250V, 30A.
Front cover
The lid is a separate item, only held in place by two pegs which act as a hinge when placed into the holes on the base.
A single screw or sealing wire would have held the lid closed.
A chart is printed on both sides of the lid interior, with sizes of fuse wire for 15, 20, 25 and 30A.
Video
In this video, the JP cast iron cutout is dismantled and examined.
