External power

We've got a pond, which when we cleared it out proved to have a fountain and a filter box feeding into a little waterfall. These are fed by a little waterproof switch box on the wall which is connected to... nothing. The previous owner cut the input cable off flush at the edge of the box, and took some of the cable too. In any case I haven't yet found where it was fed at the house end - it goes under the patio.

Over the weekend I pulled the feed to the fountain out, put a plug on it, decided on a 5A fuse (0.75mm^2 cable) and powered it up. Much to my surprise it worked.

My next problem is that /she/ doesn't want a cable across the lawn to the nearest power (my shed/office). So I have to arrange something else.

It seems to me I have two choices:

(1) Bury SWA across the lawn. Swap the switch box for one that will take SWA. Put a junction box on the outside of my shed/office where it's dry, and a little fly lead so it doesn't count as fixed into the outside socket.

(2) Run SWA along the flower bed from where the switch box already exists along to the house. Put a junction on the wall near the house, then a flylead into the house. Longer term, when the kitchen is refitted put an outside socket there, or even feed the SWA from the house - I'll need a pro electrician at refit time anyway. (thinking about it, some spare SWA on that choice would be a good idea).

The pump and filter both seem to have the same cable, which is black and I suspect rubber of some sort, and the same 0.75mm size. Is it even permitted to run these into a switch box these days? Is there a junction box that will take SWA and normal cable, and survive being rained on?

I've never handled SWA (but I do have some leather gloves!) so any other suggestions gratefully received.

It's all fed by RCDs - in the shed case at both ends of its SWA feed - advice and suggestions please.

Andy

Reply to
Vir Campestris
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buy it from TLC. By far the cheapest source. Look at their catalogue, there are waterprood boxes that take SWA and you can use pulkhed fittings to bring PVC or rubber cable in.

Reply to
charles

Wiki articles address much of this

NT

Reply to
meow2222

Have a look at:

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Not quite sure what the fly lead is for?

I find an easy way to terminate SWA on a building is to use surface mounted exterior socket or a weather proof junction box to do it. It can be fed from a T&E through the wall into the socket/box, and the gland for the SWA mounted on the underside edge of the box.

Handling SWA is not difficult (for the sizes used in domestic situations normally) (although I am sure Adam will be able to tell you some horror stories about installing monster sized SWA reels in factories etc)

The main difficulty is terminating the ends of it properly. Details on doing this here:

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There is no advantage to having cascaded RCDs generally.

Reply to
John Rumm

Need not be in factories. The 50m drum of 185mm 4 core SWA was enough trouble to just actually move down the street in London. The apprentice tried to move it on his own and got stuck at the cross roads. Caused a traffic jam of taxis, Addison Lee cabs and buses back down to Oxford Circus tube station. I have some photos of the installation if you want them.

It took three of us to actually move the drum round the back of the building and four of us 5 hours to install it on a cable tray.

Reply to
ARW

OK will do. Should have thought of that.

AIUI fixed things are liable to part P, plugged in things aren't.

Probably true. But I'm not going to mess with it - until the shed comes down anyway. Long term project is combined garage/potting shed/workshop/study/utility room...

Andy

Reply to
Vir Campestris

Fixed "Installing fixed electrical equipment is within the scope of Part P, even if the final connection is by a standard 13A plug and socket, but is notifiable only if it involves work set out in regulation 12(6A)."

Reply to
John Rumm

OK then no flylead!

Andy

Reply to
Vir Campestris

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