Running 6mm cable along outside of house?

[AL_n]

Is it OK to run some 6mm T&E cable along the outside of my house?

I want to run cable from my fuse box to my garage. I have have enough armoured 6mm cable to run from the garage to the end of the house, but I need to get from that point to the fuse box. I have enough 6mm (Not armoured) T&E cable to do that. By far, the easiest route to the fusebox would be along the outside of the house,and then through the wall into the fuse box cupboard. Is it OK to just staple the cable to the wall, say 8" above ground level?

Also, while you are here, I also found a reel of 4-core flex (8mm overall dia). What do they use such 4-core flex for?

Thanks,

Al

[Owain]

Wellll ... not really, ordinary T&E isn't protected against UV light, impact etc. It was a few feet to an outside light and high up on the wall I would probably do it, but for a submain(?) at 8" above ground, no. You could use plastic conduit but that's not proof against anyone kicking it or trying to stand on it.

Central heating pumps?

Really hefty phone extensions?

Bi-wired loudspeakers?

Two-way pear switches?

Owain

[js.b1]

#1 - Sell the SWA you have on Ebay (it sells well), then buy the length you need.

#2 - Run 6mm FTE in 25mm black conduit, which gives "good bump" protection but not against vandalism etc.

#3 - Sell the 6mm FTE on Ebay and buy 6mm 6491X Br & Bl and 2.5mm

6491X Gr/Ye and run then in 20mm conduit the entire run (singles MUST be in conduit for the entire run re out of one "fusebox" and into the second "fusebox"). TradingDepot and TLC Direct and others do 6491X "singles" in cut lengths. If you need a short bit of flexible black conduit with glands TLC Direct also carry that in cut lengths.

Remember RCD protection is required re outdoor appliances. There is a wiki diy article re terminating SWA glands etc.

[AL_n]

Owain wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Thank you. It sounds like I won't be needing a lot of 4-core cable in future, so I'll go ahead and use it to wire up my security lights.

Al

[Andrew Gabriel]

Yes, providing it's not likely to be subject to knocks. People often post fears about UV. I've seen lots of T&E which has been exposed for decades, and never came across a single case. You could paint it with oil based gloss (top coat only) if you are really worried about that. (Slide a piece of paper behind it to prevent getting paint on the wall.)

No, at only 8" off the ground, it will be too vulnerable. I would suggest a minumum of 1m, but in some situations, that would not be acceptable either, and you would want it out of reach. You want it out of reach if it's somewhere it might get nicked too.

3-phase delta Circuit which is both part permanently live and part switched, or has two separately switched parts. A switch which requires requires a neutral connection, such as some thermostats, some dusk/dawn/PIR switches, etc. Controls around heating and other such systems.

[AL_n]

"js.b1" wrote in news:380d0abf-b248-4090-82c0- [e-mail]:

Thanks. I have just found another roll of SWA that is long enough for the entire stretch. I'm not sure what the rating is; it is 15mm overall diameter, has two cores (red & black) each cored with 2mm thick copper single-strand. There is no earth. I presume one therefore uses the armouring as the earth. Does this sound like 4mm or 2.5mm?

Do you think this will do the job? In the double-garage/workshop I'm running the cable to, I will not be running any heaters. I only need to run a couple of power tools one of which is a bench grinder and I'll also want to power a few flourescent strips, and perhaps an electric kettle.

I'm assuming that an appliance in my garage/workshop can be classed as an indoor appliance.

Al

[AL_n]

[e-mail] (Andrew Gabriel) wrote in news:i8uuhm$gs8$ [e-mail]:

Thank you for the info.

Al

[Andy Burns]

Sounds like at least 4mm^2, does it not have anything printed/embossed in the outer sheath?

How long is the run?

As well as using the armour as the CPC for the cable, do you intend to export the earth from your house to the garage, or provide a local earth? What type of earth does your house supply have?

There are sections on the wiki you might find useful for this ...

You need to do some calculations of voltage drop at the maximum current you're designing for, the lighting circuit will set your maximum drop.

[John Rumm]

I would not use it in that situation unprotected... In trunking on conduit maybe if you are confident no one will try standing on it etc.

Commonly used in CH wiring or other applications where you want say a L, N, E, & Switched L.

[AL_n]

Andy Burns wrote in news: [e-mail]:

"BS 6345 600/1000V Made in England" That's all I can find.

17 meters.

Thanks,

Al

[Andy Burns]

Sounds like you would be OK even with 2.5mm^2 then, assuming it'll be fed from e.g. a 20A MCB at the house end, with a 6A MCB for a lighting circuit and 16A MCB for sockets on a radial in the garage

But do use the calculator, and consider the effect of losing lights and power while your grinding wheel is still spinning away one dark night as you brew a cuppa too ...

[AL_n]

"AL_n" wrote in news:Xns9E0EA7F508F92zzzzzz@

130.133.4.11:

PS - Sorry - correction: It's "BS 6346" (the cable is very scuffed) It also says "BICC SASEC" elsewhere on the cable.

Al

[AL_n]

Andy Burns wrote in news: [e-mail]:

You're very helpful - thanks.

Al

[chris French]

In message , Andrew Gabriel writes

Yeah, we have cable here, that has probably been out there for a bout

25 years. Seems perfectly sound still.

Similar at our old house.

Thiough when I did some more external wiring I used plastic conduit, and whilst more obvious in some ways it looked much neater IMO

[Andy Burns]

Once you have a plan, post it here, someone else may chip in with comments and further things for you to bear in mind ...

[John Rumm]

Looking at the size quoted here:

4mm^2

Work out your total load, and design back from that. Details here:

is not that expensive, so there is no point hampering the whole installation by using too small a cable at this stage. Having said that, unless you cable run is long, a 4mm^2 feed ought to give you a fair bit to play with at the remote end.

Generally yes, although see the comments about earthing in the above article.

As a general point, if using power tools in a workshop, you probably want RCD protection for the sockets, but want it separate from any protection for the lights, so tripping one does not leave you in the dark!

[AL_n]

John Rumm wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Yes, it does appear to be.

Thanks. Any idea how shallow I can bury the SWA? I buried a length of

22mm water pipe along the same stretch a few months ago. The trench could easily be dug up again to take the SWA, but it was only about 9" deep. Where it goes along the side of the house, it was even shallower. The problem is, the ground is like hardcore around here. There's more limestone than soil in the earth... I guess if someone did manage to put a pickaxe through the SWA, the cucuit breaker would flip, so no big deal, yes?

Al

[AL_n]

John Rumm wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Thanks - I think I'm gonna use SWA for the full run. It won't be buried very deep though.

I'd better save it then; I'll be installing a central heating system here soon..

Al

[A.Lee]

600mm deep IIRC. Not a good idea to put it that shallow anyway, far too easily damaged. Put it in PVC conduit along the wall. You can get it on white or black, so shouldnt look too bad. Alan.

[John Rumm]

There are no hard and fast rules - you need to be guided by the situation. Under garden that may be lightly dug over, the minimum recommendation would be 450mm - more if you expect heavy digging. Under a path or patio etc, then it can be far shallower since the chance of it being damaged is far less. It can also be run above ground clipped to a solid surface (although one is supposed to avoid temporary structures like fences[1]).

If its a place you are unlikely to dig over, you could decide that is deep enough. Remove sharp stones and line the base of the trench with soft sand or pea shingle, then back fill a bit. Lay a cable warning tape a few inches above the cable so that future diggers will reach that first.

Possibly. The most annoying situation is subtle damage that then cause nuisance RCD trips later etc.

[1] I will admit to having fixed runs along the concrete gravel boards at the base of a fence before, since it did not seem at all "temporary"!