Shed electrics for my band

[Williams60]

Hi all,

I am currently using my shed (garage sized with a single door) for my band. It's soundproofed and all that. Just need to sort out the power.

At the moment it is running from a single wall socket in the house, shared via double adapter with the cooker hob. The hob is gas so it's just for the spark. The shed is around 25 feet from the house and the cable curently in use just looks like standard cable. (not very thick). It runs into the shed and has 2 double sockets running from it.

Now the scary part.....

From the 2 double sockets runs....
2 x 100 watt tube guitar amplifiers (with 300 watt cabs if that makes any difference)

1 x 150 watt bass amplifier (with 400 watt cab)

1 x 1600 watt power amp running 2 500 watt speakers

1 x 14 track mixer

1 x computer with powered recording interface and monitor.

various foot pedals and effects, occasional fan and de-humidifier.

..............

Is it crazy that this works and has never tripped or caused any problems?

Either way, my guess is that this needs sorting and i pressume it would be best for the shed to have its own fuse.

What do you think? Or know, to be the correct and safe way to do this.

I am a complete novice with electrics but understand the dangers. I can usually pick things up quite quickly so would this be possible to DIY? Or should i get a pro? If pro, how much £££ am i looking at?

Thanks in advance and please don't be too harsh with me about potentially blowing me an my band up with my current setup!

Deano

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The total load is less than 3kW anyway, and also I'm pretty sure that if you cranked all that valve amplification up to #11 in a garage-sized shed your ears would bleed, so you probably aren't running it at maximum load.

That said, your existing arrangement is unsatisfactory - the shed should be supplied either from one of the ways in your house CU or from the meter tails via a switchfuse, in which case you would need a local CU in the shed, and you might prefer that anyway even if supplied from the house CU.

There will be issues of RCD protection to consider, and where to have that, the cable to the shed needs to be of the right type and installed correctly (your existing one is probably neither), and needs to be sized correctly given the load, length, and type of protective device.

The final circuit(s) in the shed will all need testing and should have an Electrical Installation Certificate issued.

If you live in England or Wales the work is notifiable. //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:part-p

I am a complete novice with electrics

This is not a job for a novice.

I can usually pick things up quite quickly so would this be possible to DIY?

Yes, but there is a great deal to pick up, more than you imagine, and even if you are quick it will take some time. To do the job properly will require you to buy several hundred pound's worth of test equipment (and learn how to use it), or find somewhere to hire it.

If you are in England or Wales, and if you want to stay legal and avoid possible problems whenever you sell, you will need to notify the work in advance, which will cost in the £'00s.

All in all I would advise getting an electrician. You should be able to agree a reduced price if you dig the trench to the shed for the cable.

Before you get electricians in to quote, though, ask on a sound engineering forum (e.g. The Blue Room) for any special design criteria you need to give the electrician, e.g. shielding, and earthing to avoid hum and ground loops etc.

 

[timtheenchanter]

your load is fine, amps never really get up to full capacity for long periods anyway.

As long as all your PA stuff is on balanced connectors, earth loops wont be a problem either, as long as they are all connected to the same power source (which they are) earth loops become a problem if part of the kit is a long way from the other (ie stage/mix point situation) just dont ever be tempted to remove the protective earth on your amps if you ever get a problem.

 

[Williams60]

thanks for your time and knowledge. Much appreciated.