Any sparkies about?

[Aladinsaneuk]

as we are heading towards the winter fettling season, its time to sort out some lights etc for my garage

garage is at the end of my garden - a good 50 plus metres.

I have a nice wooden fence that I am planning to fix the cable to.

now - do i need armoured cable or is there a different, waterproof cable that i can use?
(Having seen the price of armoured cable i thought I woul look around further)

For what it is worth, the power needs will be quite low - a couple of flourescent tube lights, and a few drills etc....

any pointers please folks - especially if there is a cheaper supplier than the local DIY shops!

[Paulh]

I'm not a sparkie, but I use Arctic cable for all my outside extension leads etc with waterproof 3 pin connectors.

Its not as strong as Armoured, but does OK in the race paddock with vans / bikes etc running over it for the last 6 years.

Available from any decent electrical wholesaler (most will sell direct to the public)

[kneescratch]

You could run some 2.5mm twin & earth down there in conduit fixed to the fence.

Probably the cheapest way would be to use some 20mm solvent weld overflow pipe.





Gary

[kiwi_rsvr]

I would run standard 13 amp flex in conduit (basically like a giant extension cable).

That way all need is a plug in RCD breaker at the house end and maybe a 6 way extension at the shed end

It means you dont need to hack your ring mains around or need a sparkie and its reasonable cheap and quick.

[Kwackerz]

If you use twin and earth (as opposed to 3 core 2.5mm flex) the earth wont be separately sheathed inside of that cable and you cant run it directly into a 6 plug extension, it's not designed for that use.

Go for 2.5mm 3 core flex, running inside some trunking/conduit to avoid problems with it not being armoured


That from one of the sparkies at work. also WF Electrical are good and fairly cheap for supplies.

[Willopotomas]

As Mr Kwackerz' mate said plus I'd run it from the consumer unit though personally.. Although my dad has managed for years by just plugging his garage power into a socket in the house. A circuit breaker is a good idea also.

[Samray]

I would have to agree with Will's dad rather than Will.

From January 1 2005 anyone who undertakes electrical work in dwellings, even the householder in some cases, will have to ensure this work complies with the requirements of
Part P of the Building Regulations. Moreover, the majority of such work should be notified to Building Control prior to its commencement.

It could be a criminal offence if the person or firm carrying out electrical installation work contravenes the Building Regulations. Local authorities will also have the power to require the removal or alteration
of work that does not comply with the Building Regulations.

Parts of fixed electrical installations external to premises, such as in gardens, sheds and detached garages, for example, will also be subject to the requirements of Part P.

Part P applies to all fixed electrical installation work in dwellings, whether carried out professionally or by DIY, whether or not minor work

I'd use polyethelene water pipe for conduit.

[mangocrazy]

Last winter I rigged up a power supply to my outhouse, and used armoured, sheathed 4mm cable slung from a catenary wire that's about 12ft off the ground. It has its own feed from the consumer unit and an RCD in the outhouse itself. It didn't cost a huge amount and I'm comfortable that it's a proper job.

I got my catenary supplies (stainless wire and stainless fittings, turnbuckles etc) from these people:

http://www.tecni-cable.co.uk/Home

[HowardQ]

Last time I did it some years ago, I ran an armoured cable from a spare 30 amp slot on my consumer unit, down my fence via an armoured cable, to a second consumer unit with two RCDs in the garage, with lighting and sockets seperated.
Perhaps it was overkill, but I was happy with it and my friendly Sparkie at that time confirmed it was OK.