garage Electrics

[keith70]

thank you all for your replies and advice they have been very helpful i feel a lot more competent to do the job now

although i am certainly not an electrician(by any stretch of the imagination), i am skilled in my own trade and have always been taught that if u don't know something then ask questions until u are confident that u know what u are doing or that someone is there to help u out.

Hence this post on here.

Any DIY job that i do i try to do to my best professional standards and apply the same care and workmanship that i would at work.
So like many DIYers i come to this site so that i can attempt the jobs in a safe and professional manner using the welcome advice of the many professionals on here.
Doing a job yourself is very rewarding and satisfying(certainly for me and prob many other DIYers) i don't want to cut corners or do a slapdash job but if i can save some hard earned cash by doing it myself then i will at least have a go. I might regret it one day but at least i tried.
Again thank you all for the advice (sorry i didn't mean to cause an argument)
Keith

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Don't worry about the argument - it happens a lot with B_S whenever he is questioned or challenged.

You'd be better off with a split-load in the garage, or one with a time-delayed incomer and double-pole RCBOs for sockets, because you really don't want to be plunged into darkness out there if there's a trip.

You don't need RCD protection on the SWA to the garage. And talking of the house end - you haven't said, and nobody has asked ( ) - where do you propose to connect the SWA at the supply end?

 

[keith70]

hi
i'm going to go from the meter box
the cu is in the house
the main fuse in the meter box already has two tails from it to my cu will i be able to connect the swa cable from the garage into one of these connections or will i have to buy another main fuse with three connections
this part of the job i was going to let the electrician do (for mine and everybodies elses safety)
thanks keith

 

[L.Spark]

hi
i'm going to go from the meter box
the cu is in the house
the main fuse in the meter box already has two tails from it to my cu will i be able to connect the swa cable from the garage into one of these connections or will i have to buy another main fuse with three connections
this part of the job i was going to let the electrician do (for mine and everybodies elses safety)
thanks keith

i feel a lot more competent to do the job now

I feel sick

Best let the electrician worry about connecting up that part, it's not legal for you to do it alone without it being checked anyway.

 

[keith70]

thanks
thats why i said i was going to get the electrician to do it for me as i know its not legal for me to do it
keith

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It's not the legality that's the important thing - it's the idea that you thought you could have 6mm² cable "protected" by just the service fuse....

 

[L.Spark]

thanks
thats why i said i was going to get the electrician to do it for me as i know its not legal for me to do it
keith

Fair enough keith, good on you, I'm glad you didn't take offence at what I said as it wasn't meant to cause any.

 

[Steve]

if you're going from the main fuse straight to the shed, get your DNO to come and fit an isolator, so you can work on the meter tails safely. They may charge for this.

Then split the tails and fit an enclosure with a 40A MCB in it, run the SWA from this. TBH, i dont think you really know what you're talking about with the meter tails, i would leave this work to the pro's (a spark) no offence, but you came looking for advice.

Dont think having the enclosure in the meter box is a good idea though - think the DNO frown on "foreign objects" in their cabinets for some reason.

 

[Steve]

It's not the legality that's the important thing - it's the idea that you thought you could have 6mm² cable "protected" by just the service fuse....

the DNOs use 10mm² dont they? protected by . . . . . the substation fuses???

 

[keith70]

just as a matter of interest how would the electrician connect it up would he have to put another cu in the meter box or somthing else
this is just for my own curious nature
thanks
no offence taken l.spark i know my limits

 

[Steve]

just as a matter of interest how would the electrician connect it up would he have to put another cu in the meter box or somthing else
this is just for my own curious nature
thanks
no offence taken l.spark i know my limits

read my post little enclosure with 40A MCB in it to protect the cable.

 

[keith70]

sorry crafty you were too quick replying for me
DNO??
if they wont let anyone put an enclosure in the meter box where else can it go then my box is on the outside wall and there is nowhere else to put anything without having to put a hole in the wall and i def dont want to do that!
keith

 

[Steve]

where's the consumer unit for the house? it could go next to that.

DNO - distribution network operator - ppl who supply your electricity - the logistical side, not nessecarily the ppl who you pay your bills to. Ring your billing co. and ask them, they should give you a contact no. for the DNO in your area.

 

[keith70]

the consumer unit is in the middle of house
originally the mains came up the side of house and into the meter
then i had an extension built on the side the fuse box was replaced with the cu close to original box and had a new meter box on the side of the extension along with a new gas meter box
so to get from the meter box to the cu is a big job floorboards up etc etc hence my query about putting it in the meter box
any suggestions??( nice ones only please)
keith

 

[ban-all-sheds]

At the moment the tails go into your CU.

This will need changing so that they go to a service connector block (aka Henley block) from which you'll have 2 pairs of outgoing tails.

1 pair to your CU.

1 pair to a switchfuse or a small enclosure with MCB, from which will run the SWA to the garage.