What size armoured cable for greenhouse electrics?

Discussion in 'Greenhouse Growing' started by Sheps, Apr 21, 2017.

  1. JWK

    JWK Gardener Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2008
    Messages:
    30,685
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Surrey
    Ratings:
    +45,636
    I don't think you should use a RCD type socket like that if it's already on a circuit coming from a CU with RCD protection.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Friendly Friendly x 1
    • ARMANDII

      ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

      Joined:
      Jan 12, 2019
      Messages:
      48,096
      Gender:
      Male
      Ratings:
      +100,834
      It only acts as a secondary barrier, JWK, and whether or not a CU has RCD protection is not a problem and in fact it would react a mill-second before the CU RCD.:dunno::snorky:
       
      • Like Like x 1
      • Scrungee

        Scrungee Well known for it

        Joined:
        Dec 5, 2010
        Messages:
        16,524
        Location:
        Central England on heavy clay soil
        Ratings:
        +28,996
        Which can be an advantage if for some reason you don't want a fault in shed electrics to trip the house CU, but a disadvantage if you have a freezer in there as you will unaware of any power failure in there (unless you have either a wireless alarm or cabled alarm with the cabling laid in same trench as power cable).
         
        • Like Like x 1
        • ARMANDII

          ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

          Joined:
          Jan 12, 2019
          Messages:
          48,096
          Gender:
          Male
          Ratings:
          +100,834
          Any power sources for domestic appliances should be routed on a separate circuit so that one failure does not affect another.

          You're not likely to have a fridge in a Green House, Scrungee:dunno::heehee:, although, granted you might have it in a Garden Shed but, again, they should be on separate circuits.:dunno:
           
          • Like Like x 1
          • Scrungee

            Scrungee Well known for it

            Joined:
            Dec 5, 2010
            Messages:
            16,524
            Location:
            Central England on heavy clay soil
            Ratings:
            +28,996
            Replacement of a garage 'fuse box' has been mentioned above, and freezers are commonly located in garages.
             
            • Like Like x 2
            • Sheps

              Sheps Keen Gardener

              Joined:
              Mar 30, 2017
              Messages:
              382
              Gender:
              Male
              Location:
              West Yorkshire
              Ratings:
              +1,101
              As it happens I have a chest freezer in the garage, so with that being the case, would I need another dual RCD Consumer Unit in the garage?, then I could have the sockets inside / outside the garage on one RCD protected circuit and the Greenhouse electrics on the other RCD protected circuit, that way if anything tripped the RCD on the Greenhouse side of things the freezer on the other circuit would still be OK, if that makes sense.
               
            • Scrungee

              Scrungee Well known for it

              Joined:
              Dec 5, 2010
              Messages:
              16,524
              Location:
              Central England on heavy clay soil
              Ratings:
              +28,996
              I'm glad I didn't initially jump straight in with suggesting your electrician should choose all the materials, as there's been some interesting discussion on various options/suggestions that can now be put forward to the electrician who'll be carrying out the works.

              Normally I'd expect an electrician to be able to buy materials at trade prices and get a better deal than any member of the public. When I rewired my house doing 90% of the work myself, I could get 'trade' discount at my local builders merchants with my RICS membership card, and get better prices than my electrician friend who was then working as a commercial maintenance electrician.

              If you buy materials prior to engaging an electrician, you run the risk of them either declaring them unusable. Or if they fail all subsequent expense will be down to you
               
              • Like Like x 1
              • Sheps

                Sheps Keen Gardener

                Joined:
                Mar 30, 2017
                Messages:
                382
                Gender:
                Male
                Location:
                West Yorkshire
                Ratings:
                +1,101
                Hi Scrungee...thanks for the advice, I have decided to let my electrician take care of everything.
                 
                • Like Like x 2
                • ARMANDII

                  ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

                  Joined:
                  Jan 12, 2019
                  Messages:
                  48,096
                  Gender:
                  Male
                  Ratings:
                  +100,834
                  Well, not really, if you plan it right, Scrungee. If a person wants to buy electrical items to do so and buys the normal, common sense items then it's very unlikely that an Electrician would turn their nose up to them.
                  Alright, in this case, Shep maybe hasn't consulted with the Electrician but he seems to have his head "screwed on" and isn't going to buy an indoor light switch or the like for the job in hand.:dunno::heehee: But, planned right, you would find that the Electrician would be more than agreeable to a person buying the needed items if he knew what they were.
                   
                • JWK

                  JWK Gardener Staff Member

                  Joined:
                  Jun 3, 2008
                  Messages:
                  30,685
                  Gender:
                  Male
                  Location:
                  Surrey
                  Ratings:
                  +45,636
                  It's a legal requirement to do so, @ARMANDII , he should have given you a signed off Part P Certificate too.
                   
                • ARMANDII

                  ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

                  Joined:
                  Jan 12, 2019
                  Messages:
                  48,096
                  Gender:
                  Male
                  Ratings:
                  +100,834
                  I'm still a qualified professionally electrician, JWK, even though not practicing:dunno::snorky:. That allows me to legally still carry out electrical work. I only asked my friend to check my work as I did it under one man circumstances and there were times when I was tired. So it was just as a reassurance to myself that I had him check my work.
                   
                • JWK

                  JWK Gardener Staff Member

                  Joined:
                  Jun 3, 2008
                  Messages:
                  30,685
                  Gender:
                  Male
                  Location:
                  Surrey
                  Ratings:
                  +45,636
                  You'll still need the certificate Armandii, you can self certify if you have the Part P qualification, your local council will tell you the correct route, don't risk a fine.

                  I only know this since I put in a new CU myself for my extension including new outside circuits. I borrowed all the test equipment from work but even though I work on aircraft systems me nor any of my colleagues were certified for domestic installations. So the council sent around their inspector who tested and signed off my work, better to be safe than sorry with electrics.
                   
                • ARMANDII

                  ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

                  Joined:
                  Jan 12, 2019
                  Messages:
                  48,096
                  Gender:
                  Male
                  Ratings:
                  +100,834
                  It was all done, JWK, even before I called in my friend to double check it. I think what I was trying to say, badly:doh:, was that I was able to carry out the electrical work and certificate it myself with the approval of my Council. I worked with my Council on the planning and building of the concrete base and also the final height of the Observatory so that I didn't contravene any building or electrical regulations. I also had a request from two of the Councillors to inspect the Observatory and the work done. They arrived and spent all the time peering through the Telescope, operating the Shutter, turning the roof around and telling me that they like the garden, without even referring to the work done, apart from agreeing that it had been a lot of work and saying "Well done":dunno::snorky:
                   
                • HarryS

                  HarryS Eternally Optimistic Gardener

                  Joined:
                  Aug 28, 2010
                  Messages:
                  8,906
                  Gender:
                  Male
                  Occupation:
                  Retired
                  Location:
                  Wigan
                  Ratings:
                  +16,246
                  To check the circuit breakers on my outside electrics , I ran over my lawnmower cable ! The cable wrapped around the blade and snapped . Both the plug socket RCB , and the consumer unit MCB tripped , isolating the plug socket 13amp circuit instantly . Nice to know these things do work :blue thumb:
                  I'll repair cable with a waterproof connector tonight to finish my mowing . I am ordering a new B and D ,mower the Bosch is 12 years old and is getting a bit noisy.
                   
                  • Like Like x 1
                  • ARMANDII

                    ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

                    Joined:
                    Jan 12, 2019
                    Messages:
                    48,096
                    Gender:
                    Male
                    Ratings:
                    +100,834
                    Not the best way to check the circuit breakers, Harry!!:dunno::whistle::nonofinger::heehee::loll::lunapic 130165696578242 5:
                     
                    • Funny Funny x 1
                    Loading...

                    Share This Page

                    1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
                      By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
                      Dismiss Notice