Tidying-up outside wiring.

[shaky1105]

Hi all. I've finally decided to get around to tidying up some existing external wiring I have at my house, mainly to replace the well-cracked box that houses it all. I'm a little bit tight on space so I've been looking at new IP65 or IP66 enclosures/adaptable boxes to suit, hoping to find a black metal one but they seem to be a bit thin on the ground ? I've seen the Wiska WIB5 HERE that looks like it's got enough room (and it can be supplied with a mounting plate for the 1 x 2g and 2 x 1g boxes that need to be fitted inside) but it's plastic, which I don't have a problem with other than I've got two 3-core 2.5mm² SWA to gland into it and it always seems to be easier to do this to metal rather than plastic.

I'm guessing that the Wiska box hasn't got knockouts, you just simply drill your own to suit which is one of the reasons I like the look of it as the existing cables are in positions which wouldn't necessarily match-up very closely with pre-installed knockouts. The total glands required are 3 20mm Kopex runs, two 20mm conduit runs and the aforementioned two SWA's.

Has anybody here had any experience with these boxes ? I'm lead to believe that Wiska are a decent quality make so would be buying fair quality I hope and that box is just about the ideal size for the space I have which is 350mm width and 300mm depth.

If anyone knows of any black metal equivalents it would be appreciated if you could post up examples around that size & where they can be got from.

TIA

 

[Murdochcat]

Wiska 308 B but why do you need the items inside?

 

[shaky1105]

Thanks @Murdochcat but the 308B is way too small for what I need. The reason I want such a large enclosure is because that's what exists atm and I just want to replace it with summat similar. I'm also adding a switched FCU & a Switched 1G socket (as separate enclosures) in black, hence the requirement for a black enclosure.

If it helps, the internals of the existing setup are two 1G Switched Metalcald FCU's. One of them feeds a vintage lamp-post, a pair of lights on the gate-posts and three lights enclosed in the dwarf wall enclosing the parking area, all controlled by a light sensor atop one of the gate posts. The other FCU feeds a separate Gewiss isolator for my electric gates.

The existing box is only 250mm wide x 180mm deep and has everything crammed into it (the lighting FCU doesn't even fit flush with the box coz there's so many bits of choc-bloc squeezed in there ! I'm guessing the previous owner either DIY'd it badly, or if it was fitted professionally, it's been added to DIY coz I can't believe a sparkie would leave such a bloody mess. Hence the requirement for a nice large box to make the wiring look a lot better.

The existing box has a few cracks in it and also has a couple of the lighting cables just going straight into the rear of it without glands so the IP rating doesn't exist anymore. I just want to tidy it up and make it look a lot better.

 

[Adam_151]

Assuming its not directly on the ring, or is supplied by a 13A fused spur inside. Then another option would be a black IP rated DIN rail enclosure, unfortunatly they don't seem to sell the enclosures separatly, only made up for the EVSE industry, but not too dear https://www.screwfix.com/p/british-...lated-ev-charger-consumer-unit-with-spd/768pg You'd just have to take the internals out and fit a couple of breakers to suit what you need to fuse down

 

[Sureitsoff?]

You could get a grey box and a can of spray paint......

 

[ebee]

If you need to use plastic box to join SWA there are nuts you can buy that give you earth continuity anyway, "Piranha" is one make, even with metal boxes you should be using "banjos" anyway. In fact I prefer Piranhas if a banjo will do, or use both sometimes , with a banjo you are relying on the gland remaining tight throughout its lifetime, sometimes that does not happen as well as hoped for.

 

[shaky1105]

Assuming its not directly on the ring, or is supplied by a 13A fused spur inside. Then another option would be a black IP rated DIN rail enclosure, unfortunatly they don't seem to sell the enclosures separatly, only made up for the EVSE industry, but not too dear https://www.screwfix.com/p/british-...lated-ev-charger-consumer-unit-with-spd/768pg You'd just have to take the internals out and fit a couple of breakers to suit what you need to fuse down

That's an option I hadn't thought of @Adam_151 worth considering - thanks.

You could get a grey box and a can of spray paint......

As I said in my other post about the two new units I need @Sureitsoff? painting is not an option I can be bothered with i take it that was a bit of a facetious comment.

If you need to use plastic box to join SWA there are nuts you can buy that give you earth continuity anyway, "Piranha" is one make, even with metal boxes you should be using "banjos" anyway. In fact I prefer Piranhas if a banjo will do, or use both sometimes , with a banjo you are relying on the gland remaining tight throughout its lifetime, sometimes that does not happen as well as hoped for.

I've used those before @ebee and agree with other's comments on here that the "ordinary" banjo type fixings should be long forgotten now as the earthing nuts make glanding (especially for a DIY'er like me) a whole lot easier.

 

[ebee]

Well even with Piranha types they need to be tight, especially on the tiny grubscrew at rightangles to the thread on the nut but yes a lot easier than banjos and probably more secure to the less experienced.

As ever, all connections need to be sound mechanially and electrically and if you single out one in particular attention over the others to some degree then let it be the protective earth - lives are still very important connections too though.