"tapping off" a garden feed

[Stringman_uk]

That would constitute a new circuit. Then you are into LABC involvement, notification and other issues. The only sensible route is to use a registered electrician.

Thanks for the reply, yes I know that i need to do that but I am hoping I can know what to do prior to this ie if I run the 2.5 then I can physically run it down the garden and into the office during my office build. etc.
regarding what you wrote does that only apply if you swap over the cu and add additional breakers etc, or does that include if i followed sunrays advice?
I so intend to get a certified sparks to do what he needs to, but if I can save some money by doing some donkey work I will.

 

[Stringman_uk]

Little bit of an update
After speaking to a certified sparks on a job he suggested the following
replace the summerhouse cu with a 4 way one
run the 2.5swa to the office via a 20a rcbo
Use the existing cu to feed the summerhouse.
Now heres where it gets a bit trickier.
The office also has a shed attached to it (effectively a dividing wall being put in)
I would like a couple of sockets in there and a light as well

then there is a secondary shed about 2 ft away that i would again like to put a couple of sockets and a light in.

I intended to get radial circuits fitted.
The draw from the office will be low (laptop router, desk lamp echo,fan)
the draw from the 1st shed will be for occasional use only lawnmower etc
The draw from the 2nd shed will probably be a fridge and maybe some heating mats for wine (60w)

I dont really want to make 1 long radial so thought of doing one for the office and 1st shed and another for the 2nd shed.
same with the lighting.
Reading on an electrical forum it seems its frowned upon to put 2 wires in an MCB but ok to split a single feed from a junction box.

I cant see the draw being anywhere near 16 amps so would this be ok?
or would I be better off getting a 4 way cu with a seperate breaker for office/shed 1 and a seperate breaker for shed 2?

In either option is there any point using rcbo as the main 20a feed from the summerhouse will be rcbo.
Many thanks

 

[EFLImpudence]

Haven't read all the post, but -

Nothing wrong with two wires in an MCB.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Maybe my memory dims with time. But way back at the beginning it was revealed that supply for the whole thing is limited by a 16AMP MCB.
And as @flameport posted

With only a 16A supply, there is no point in installing any consumer unit at the end of it or anywhere else.

Adding additional MCBs won’t do anything other than provide a switch. And a couple of switches are cheaper snd easier than a bigger, pointless, consumer unit.

 

[JohnW2]

Adding additional MCBs won’t do anything other than provide a switch. And a couple of switches are cheaper snd easier than a bigger, pointless, consumer unit.

Indeed - not to mention the fact that installing an ('unnecessary') CU might be regarded as being notifiable.

I say 'might since, although it clearly would be notifiable in terms of 'the spirit of the law', the legislators who wrote the actual law seem to have forgotten to include 'installation of a new CU' as well as 'replacement of a CU' in their (very short) list of works which are notifiable!

Kind Regards, John

 

[Taylortwocities]

Indeed - not to mention the fact that installing an ('unnecessary') CU might be regarded as being notifiable.

I say 'might since, although it clearly would be notifiable in terms of 'the spirit of the law', the legislators who wrote the actual law seem to have forgotten to include 'installation of a new CU' as well as 'replacement of a CU' in their (very short) list of works which are notifiable!

Kind Regards, John

There’s not really any confusion about that as, surely, a new consumer unit will have new circuits. These being notifiable in their own right!

 

[Stringman_uk]

Maybe my memory dims with time. But way back at the beginning it was revealed that supply for the whole thing is limited by a 16AMP MCB.
And as @flameport posted



Adding additional MCBs won’t do anything other than provide a switch. And a couple of switches are cheaper snd easier than a bigger, pointless, consumer unit.

Taylor
tere was a updated post where I realised that it was actually a 32a breaker in the house

 

[JohnW2]

There’s not really any confusion about that as, surely, a new consumer unit will have new circuits. These being notifiable in their own right!

Yes, probably/usually - certainly in this case.

The rules are, of course, all a bit daft. I presume that, if those 'new circuits' were fed via ('new') FCUs (fed from the 16A MCB in main CU), rather than via MCBs in a ('new') mini-CU, then most people would say that those circuits did not qualify as 'new' ones, and therefore would not be notifiable.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Stringman_uk]

Haven't read all the post, but -

Nothing wrong with two wires in an MCB.

Well I did think that but I thought that if I changed things around a bit and put 2 breakers in; 1 for the 2 sheds and one for the office then if i do something stupid in the garden it doesnt affect the office