Garden electrics

[dormermike]

Hi there

When i moved into our house 2 years ago it had a pond feature which had a fountain, waterfall, and several halogen lights running off a powersocket which was buried in a brick chamber next to the pond (socket A). Around the perimeter of the garden are several (5 iirc) 240v sockets - supplied by a run (approx 50m easily!) of T&E running through white tube piping around the garden which also supply an additional socket next to the pond (middle of lawn) and the summerhouse (which also seems to have switches which can turn on and off the pond features!). There are two cables entering the greenhouse too - one is the T&E which was running around the garden perimeter and which terminates in the greenhouse. The other is a SWA (armoured) black cable which goes into a metal cased socket.

The pond is now gone and so are features as Socket A has been removed - I got an electrician in for a whole day with the specific remit of making pond safe (dead) and determine origin of garden electrics. He made sure everything is dead, but we had to bury some cables (or leave them buried, more accurately, in the middle of the lawn).

Also the the loop running round the perimeter of the garden comes from the garage off a fused switch (FCU?) which when turned on trips the garage specific RCBO in the house and is therefore left turned off.

These two points make all garden electrics dead except the light which is in the middle of the lawn (!) and thats staying where it is for now.

Sorry - I know this is probably confusing. Essentially can be summarised as the garden has wire spaghetti which is now completely dead (apart from lamp in middle of lawn).

My question, after this longwinded bio, is what should I do with all the cables? Most are buried and pop up at the various sockets, summerhouse, greenhouse etc. I intend to rip them up bit by bit, but fact of matter is I wont be able to get all of them. Guess I have no choice but to rip them up? The length of SWA (4mm CSA) would be worth hanging onto I guess.

Any advise appreciated, I realise its not a great question - hard to know where to start though!!

Cheers

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

If you are going to rip them out, remove cable ends at the RCBO rather than just having this as an open circuit.
Then remove them!
If the only thing now remaining on is a garden lamp, how is this circuit powered?

 

[17thman]

if you ever spent £150.00 more wisely, it would be on an electrician to come and sort it all out. apart from the grunt work.

 

[dormermike]

If you are going to rip them out, remove cable ends at the RCBO rather than just having this as an open circuit.
Then remove them!
If the only thing now remaining on is a garden lamp, how is this circuit powered?

Garage CU is fed from rcbo in house. Garden gets its supply from garage, 13amp fcu. I would tesr (again) all cables for dead before touching them anyway. Point taken though thanks. Will isolate garage supply anyway.

You reckon is best to take them up?

 

[dormermike]

if you ever spent £150.00 more wisely, it would be on an electrician to come and sort it all out. apart from the grunt work.

I already spent 300 getting a spark make everything safe. I never assume anything though, esp where someone else is involved.
Essentially am at the grunt stage now.

Cheers

 

[17thman]

appologies for the last post, you do require the "middle of the lawn supply" and as long as it is identified where it is supplied from, i retract

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

You reckon is best to take them up?

I would in case they get re-energized sometime in the future, does not sound like a good job was made first time round, but hard to say for sure being remote of the installation.
Best practice is to use SWA either buried 450mm in ground, fixed secure to walls or above head height of 3.5m, supported by catenary wire and poles.
But cable can be run in conduit.

 

[dormermike]

appologies for the last post, you do require the "middle of the lawn supply" and as long as it is identified where it is supplied from, i retract

No apologies needed, thanks for your input. Lamp supply is indeed understood and geographically away from rest of work.