New shed needs power, but no mains

Actually it *does* manage the fridge compressor cycling when running one of the tools, things slow a little but it all copes OK. Before I had the big, new 3 x 100Ah leisure batteries the inverter would pull the battery voltage down a lot when the compressor ran such that it sometimes gave up.

If you power your shed via a 3-pin plug, then why is a 'certificate' needed ?.

If you can run an extension cable from the house, installing a proper mains feed is going to not cost much more than a decent leisure battery and inverter. And going to be a lot more satisfactory.

That's not always the case. I don't know the OP's set up but I have worked on jobs where the shed and house are separated by a communal path or driveway. This needs council or planning permission for a permanent electrical installation to the shed.

For lighting you would be much better off getting boat/caravan lights and running them off 12 volt batteries.

This is what I do at some stables which I rent. If I need 250 volt, I take down a portable generator.

OP here

I live in the ground floor flat which is one of 4 in a large Victorian house.

My allotted parking space at the back is where the shed will go. Permanent mains power is not an option.

In view of what's been said I think I might look at just aiming to have some lighting and use battery power tools and the extension lead for the occasional mains power tool.

I think that is wise. I should probably have mentioned that I had a couple of relatively cheap (£20 to £40) inverters fail in the 2-3 years when I was running a handful of CFLs off leisure batteries, and a battery charge lasts at least twice as long running 12 volt bulbs as mains with inverter.

Or avoid some conversion losses by fitting a skylight.

That isn't a monster.

Modified sine is no good for any tool that that has variable speed. Just won't work.

So, with a 1kW load, allowing for losses, you'd need 98A at 12V.

You'd be lucky to get half an hour

Bill

Still a lot more expensive that biting the bullet and installing a proper mains supply. What's the problem with a overhead on a catenary?

Bill

Power it from a 13A plug in the house and you don't need a certificate.

Bill

I have a pre-electric vacuum cleaner. The fan is driven by the wheels, geared up of course. It works well enough if the user is feeling athletic.

More practically, most loose dust cleaning is doable with a brush. A cordless vac might do for the remainder.

NT

Be a good chap and keep it to yourself, we don't want the tree huggers thinking that is a good idea to stop global warming.

Can't possibly work. We've been told on here you need at least 2 horsepower to lift dust.

Owain

Nothing whatsoever. However if you had provided a bit more context then the relevance of my comment would have been obvious.

Well mine work fine with my cheapo 500 watt modified sine wave inverter.

In particular a cheap multi-tool which is variable speed is quite OK on the above inverter.

You don't if you hard wire it either. Part P no longer applies to outside installations unless you install a whole new circuit.

... and running LED strips is better yet. My 12 Volt cheap&cheerful inverter CFL lights took a long time to brighten up in freezing weather.

Replaced them with LED self-adhesive strips (clear rubber coated ones) drawing a similar current, and these give more light, and it is much, much better distributed. Instantly on, as well.

Plenty of 12 LED "bulbs" around, too.

Thomas Prufer

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