lights wires 1.5mm or 2.5mm (100 amp maion fuse)

Jan 01, 2011 20 Replies

I was about to order 1.5 mm wire for lighting before the Tuesday VAT rise when I noticed in Collins Complete Wiring and Lighting page 26 : [LENGTHS: if the company fuse is larger than 60 amps, 25mm2 meter leads are required] But I have never seen any other mention of this. So can I not use 1.5 mm wire?



[g]

I noticed in Collins Complete Wiring and Lighting

I'm confused.

Why would reading something about meter tails size and board fuse ratings influence your choice of a suitable cable size for a lighting cct?

That's referring to the meter tails - the big chunky cables between the meter and consumer unit which have to be twenty-five square mm if the main fuse is more than 60A. Doesn't apply to the cables needed for individual circuits.

Are you sure you're up to this job? If you are capable of confusing 25 (yes, twenty five) mm^2 meter tails with 1.5 or 2.5 mm^2 circuit wiring, I do wonder!

YTTC. GAMI, you are clearly clueless.

Alan.

You can use 1.0 or 1.5mm^2 for lighting circuits. The size of the wire connecting the main fuse to the meter and the meter to the consumer unit has no bearing on this (which is what your manual is talking about).

..and it's called cable, not wire. I think you really should call in an electrician.

JGH

Yes - you're right, I'm wrong. ( I wont do wiring when hungover.) Looking again I have found what confused me: bad layout of the page, The wording about LENGTHS at the bottom of the middle column in fact follows from the bottom of the lefthand column on Cable Sizes,, not down from the middle column. [g]

If you were half competent you would have realised your error as it would have jumped out as being illogical.

Part "P" was introduced as a result of people dabbling when they are incompetent.

Part P was introduced to raise the tax revenue. Safety was compromised. It is supposed to stop work being done off the books.

Party on mate. There is nothing wrong with getting shitfaced and making a mistake.

I did realise it was illogical, and wondered if the 25mm2 was a typing mistake, that's why I posted here, now i understand it.

Though I may still use the words cable and flex and wire interchangeably!

I will not do electrickery when hungover or drunk!

[g]

I paid for an electrical building notice before it got expensive last April, so must use fat enough wires/cables/flex etc...

I won't do elecs or ladders or roofs when having consumed even a sip of alcohol, the wacky backy leads to mistakes of left and right, colour swapping with short term memory loss... but it did inspire a plumbing redesign a week ago which saved me lots of pipage and connections!

[g]

PS

I spent a month in hospital because of a mistake, wish I'd slowed down for a few seconds!

I must find the video of me pissed up attaching a flag to my chimney.

I agree with the left and right errors.

Merrycans refer to cable as "wire".

Actually, when you're referring to the size, such as 1.5mm2 you are actually referring to the size of the wire itself :-)

John,

Part "P" was introduced by John Prescott after being lobbied by the relevant private bodies who have a financial interest in making sure that a law was enacted that threw all electrical work their way, along with the UPVc manufacturers and installers and the makers/suppliers and installers of combi/condensing boilers - and sod all to do with H&S or the incompetence of a DiYer [1].

And I'm not inferring that incentives were dangled under noses to get those laws in!

BTW, have you never made and error or read or taken something out of context by mistake? I bet you have, and if you say no, then you are telling porkies!

[1] There are many so-called professionals who are a damn site more incompetent than any DiYer - and I've seen their work and condemned it.

Usually you can use 1mm, but not always. You can always use 1.5 for lights, hence its popularity.

NT

Erm, the fact he posted a question would suggest he realised something was not making sense. What made you so perfect?

Part P was introduced to satisfy some vested interests who would benefit from a closed shop, and to open another line of attack on the grey economy. Incompetent electricians seemed to have little to do with it (incompetent politicians however...), or they would have listened to the technical arguments presented that explained why it would turn out to be counter productive.

Crikey, how much cable are you planning on buying such that the VAT increase will make the slightest bit of difference?

Mathew

Roger Mills wrote:

John wrote:

What an astonishing number of w*nkers crawled out of the woodwork in response to such a question! One has to wonder what they think this group is for and they ask themselves what they contribute to the group.

Tim

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