Outdoor lighting not earthed

[lightweight]

I have several outdoor lights on a patio area at the bottom of the garden and some are old, loose and broken so I want to replace them with new fittings. They are on a 240V circuit coming from the garage with an external switch. On inspection, there's no earth in the cable going to the fittings but obviously there should be - especially for metal body fittings which all new fittings seem to be. Replacing the cable/circuit is far from practical as all cable is buried beneath a patio and runs up inside small brick piers to the lights. There's no sign of a conduit to slide new cable along.

Any ideas...please??!!

 

[bernardgreen]

Been there ( well at a friend's house ) some years ago.

Replace the fittings with ELV fittings ( 12 volt ) and have a 230 to 12 volt transfomer in the garage to supply all the lamps. That is a real transformer and not an electronic "transformer" though a good quality 12 volt power supply could be used.

If using normal 12 volt incandescent lamps you will need to ensure the cable is able to carry the extra current. For the same power at 12 volts the current is 20 times more. Or use 24 volt fittings and ten times the current.

Modern LED lights use far less power and the existing cable may be OK for the current to LEDs of the same brightness.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

On inspection, there's no earth in the cable going to the fittings

What type of cable is it?

If it's 2-core SWA then the armour will be the earth conductor.

If it's not SWA then you shouldn't be using it anyway.

 

[RF Lighting]

 

[lightweight]

@ bernardgreen:

Thanks for your thoughts on going low voltage but I didn't really want to do that. Fittings seem to be much more expensive and I'm not sure the light produced from products I've looked at would be good enough.

@ ban-all-sheds:

It's 2 core cable - no SWA, so looks like I've got to dig the garden up and the patio if I still want 240V lights down there.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I expect the previous occupant was the sort who couldn't see why he should do things properly...

 

[bernardgreen]

Fittings seem to be much more expensive and I'm not sure the light produced from products I've looked at would be good enough.

The cheap mains fittings are just that, cheap. Some are easily broken which can leave live parts exposed. Some fail to keep out moisture which then causes faults tripping RCDs

I have put a company name in your message box for a low voltage system.

 

[lightweight]

Thanks guys.

Wish me luck and some fair weather. I better get off and start digging up the lawn!

Still, looking on the bright side - it's much more convenient to disconnect and stop using the current lights than it was discover and do without the condemned boiler the previous occupant also left me with.

 

[bernardgreen]

the previous occupant also left me with.

Let's hope he didn't leave anything under the lawn......