I want to buy one of these lighting kits from B&Q, where you buy the cable, lights, transformer etc.. I recently had a new drive laid and had a 2.5mm T&E routed from the garage to the garden, under the drive within a conduit,and up against a wall into the garden. I'm not sure of the best way to connect this cable between the transformer and lights. At the moment both ends of the T&E cable are bare. Also when I plug the lights in do they go into a standard plug or does it have to be a FCU or RCD etc...?
Connect the house end to an RCD FCU on a suitable non RCD protected ring main. I would avoid connecting outdoor electricals to an RCD shared with house circuits, due to the likelihood of nuisance trips. If you have no such ring main, you may need to run the circuit back to the consumer unit and run it off its own 16A MCB off the non-RCD side of your CU.
The other end should consist of a suitable IP rated socket, so you can use it for your lawnmower as well. If you are running it back to the consumer unit, you'll need an RCD socket, unless you use an RCBO.
I know this might be pointing out the obvious but have you considered solar lights, there is a wide variety of these now and the power seems to be increasing.
Yes I have considered these, but I was hoping that mains fed ones would be a bit brighter.
Also thanks for the advice Christian, but I just went to the store tonight and the lights I want to use are low voltage and come with a transformer that has all this protection stuff built in, and there is no reason for me to use this cable for anything else but the lights. So maybe I don't have to go to the lengths you described. There is nothing to indicate on the box that the circuit needs to be isolated from the house ring main.
I suppose my question really is how do I physically attach the T&E cable in the garage to the transformer cable. One is stranded core the other is solid core, I guess I need a junction box or something. The same applies outside, but I suppose I must use a weatherproof one.
I see it like this:
garage plug -> supplied cable -> transformer -> supplied cable -> junction box -> 2.5mm T&E > through garage wall, under drive, into garden > weatherproof junction box -> supplied cable with lights (in a chain or ring as described on box)
I know the brightness of the lights may drop with cable length as the voltage drops, I don't forsee the T&E having any more impact than if this was just a continuous run of the stock cable, or am I wrong?
Also my garden is a T shape (cable comes in a the top of the T shape), so I was hoping to minimise the brightness drop by splitting the cable in the outside junction box two ways, creating a ring and a spur off this, I just think this may be better than one long chain.
Yeah, the solar ones I have seen are pretty unimpressive - ok as marker lights etc. but not so good for effect lighting etc.
Unlikey to come with built in RCD protection.
I think what you are proposing isn't what most people here were imagining from your original post, hence Christians suggestions. Personally I don't think I'd do it like you are intedning, but for the connections on the LV side then choc blocks are fine - inside little plastic box that you can get is fine. Though a junction box is just as cheap really.. Outside I'd probably just use choc blocks inside the plastic box, with some sealant squirted in as waterproofing.
I'd want to check the voltage drop though first before I did this, because of the low voltage it's much more of an issue over shorter lengths
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