Hi,
As you may remember, I have been giving my garage a facelift and lined the walls with insulation and plywood. So it's time to fit the electrics back onto the walls. previously the wires were clipped direct to the brickwork. I was wondering whether it might look neater if I used conduit (the plastic variety) instead? OTOH would conduit take up more space and possibly look more unsightly?
I've not used conduit before: any tips? How many wires could I fit into a conduit? Am I limited by size or by regs? I can't see any problems with light duty light circuits but what about the sockets? It's more of a storage area than workshop, so there's only going to be a couple of sockets and a couple of light switches; nothing heavy duty. Even so, if I wire supply > socket 1 > socket 2 either as a 32A ring or a 20A radial, I will need two cables going to socket 1. Can these be dropped down one conduit or does derating apply and prevent that?
I was thinking of adding an outside socket. IIRC the MK masterseal are the best. Is it worth thinking about a cheaper clone, as seen in CPC, or are they not as good?
If I added an outdoor socket, I would connect this via a FCU. This way it would be switched off when we are not lawn mowing, to stop burglars using it to power their tools to break in! Potentially this would mean three wires in a conduit: the two sides of the ring/radial plus the cable for the socket. Would three cables get a bit too warm packed in there and pulling 20A?
TIA