I am currently in the process of building 2 small sheds in the garden. I would like these to have an electric supply, 1 with a switch for a lightbulb, and the other for both a lightbulb switch and an electrical socket.
How would i go about getting a supply to these sheds from the house permanently and not having to use an extension lead?
There have been numerous threads on this in here over the past 12 months. Try Google, its all there.
Dave
You will require a spare fuseway in the consumers unit and to run whats known as a "submain" cable from the consumers unit to the 1st new shed into a say 4 way consumer unit with a 30mA RCD and 2x 16a B type breakers and a 6a B type breaker. From the board in 1st shed run a submain to a 2way board in 2nd shed thus making provision for both lighting and sockets.
The cable run from the house should be made in SWA cable which requires some skill to fit the glands on each end as will connecting up the submain into a spare way in the consumers unit. Size of this cable depends on the lenght of run from the house and how much current you will draw in both these sheds. The SWA cable should be burred underground with warning tpae placed over it.
If you are unsure about any of this work you will require a qualified electrician. Although running the cable and wiring the circuits in the sheds would be easy enough for you to carry out.
Jon.
On 19 Aug 2004 11:39:15 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@btinternet.com (John Southern) strung together this:
You like to do things the hard way then!
For 2 lightbulbs and a socket a 13A spur off of the ring will suffice, but a dedicated circuit is the ideal solution.
Or, easier still. Run the submain into a 2 way garage unit, (which comes with RCD, 1x16A and 1x6A MCB), to the shed with the socket in. Run the socket off of the 16A MCB and run the local lighting from the
6A MCB and run the remote sheds lighting via a 1.5mm SWA cable from the 6A MCB.To the OP - As for the technicalities of the actual supply and earthing etc... Google for it on this group, there's loads.
I have seen 1.5mm2 cable spured of an FCU for a chentral heating boiler which then ran outside throung an airbrick to a flex connector branching off into 2 separtate 1.5mm2 cable one was bured under the turf and ran to the pond the other ran about 25mtrs to the garage. Inside the garage the wiring was in 4 core flex with 2 6ft flourescents and a couple of twin sockets powering a freezer. There was no RCD protection and overcurrrent protechtion was by BS3036 fuses,was all fine until the gardener got his spade out one day.....
On a more recent job i found that "you can switch the garage light from inside the house" cos they spured directly off a twin socket on the ring in 2.5mm2 cable into a 1way lightswitch splitting the phase across it then the cable ran to the garage under the patio. There was also a 2.5mm2 ran from a 15a Type 1 MCB running to the garage into a rather old Wylex board which feed one socket.
Jon.
On 20 Aug 2004 04:55:34 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@btinternet.com (John Southern) strung together this:
Ooh, is this a game. I'll have a go. When I was an apprentice, (in 1996), we did a job for an old guy who used to be a plumber. The garage wiring was a bit ropey in flex but the greenhouse was pure art. All the cabling was run in an extremely tidy route of 15mm copper, all soldered joints too. The cable, was in fact... bell wire. Been there for 20 years before we turned up apparently!
I'm also messing around in my shed, and that's the way mine is set up, ie.
2-way garage unit, 16A and 6A. From there, 1.5 to a junction box, then straight into a fluorescent. In other words, I'm using the fuse as a light switch, which is plain silly. To fit a switch, do I have to come off the junction box, or is it permissible to just interrupt the feed and run the light through the switch ?In article , Shabs writes
If it's of any interest the way I feed my single shed is as follows.
From the CU near the front of the house I internally ran a 2.5mm T+E from a 16A MCB to a porch at the back where I fitted a metal-clad switch (just because I had it - it really only acts as a junction box, but I suppose it would act as an isolator in an emergency). From there I have an SWA feed directly buried under a crazy-paving path to the shed a few feet away, where I have a a 2-way switch-fuse (a micro consumer-unit!) with 5 and 15A fuses. The 5A feeds a 65W fluourescent luminaire and an outside 60W globe-type fitting via an outside switch. The 15A feeds a twin 13A socket and an external single splashproof socket (for lawnmower/strimmer/shredder) for which I have an RCD but have yet to get a round tuit to fit it.
The twin 13A socket is used variously for a metal lathe, an arc welder, an angle grinder, a pond pump & so on (but not all at the same time!).
Oh - the 5A circuit also feeds a 25V transformer for an 8W (or so) home- molished lamp to illuminate the step-up from the path to the grassy bit.
On Fri, 20 Aug 2004 17:16:14 GMT, "tim.hinchliffe" strung together this:
Either or, it's up to you.
Not a game as such but i always enjoy sharing experiences of jobs.
Jon.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.