Laying cable in the garden for lighting

[gaztfa1]

Hi,
I will be putting three 60watt garden lamps in my garden in various places. I need to put the wiring in before i pave obviously. Can anyone direct me to a diagram for the appropriate wiring of 3 60watt external lamps?
I have done electrical stuff in the house (extra sockets, lighing etc.)but I know thats it's a whole different ball game when going outside.
Thanks for any help.

 

[breezer]

ther is more to it than meets they eye for mains lighting in a garden. You have to use steel wired armoured cable, with proper glands, rcd /rcbo protection, correctly rated fittings, not to mention depth of cable / marking.

why not get some outside low voltage, purpose designed garden lights, much easier.

 

[Chamonix]

I second breezer there.....have you any idea what a total pain it is to dig a trench for the power (at 1m deep) and then fight with that un-bendable armoured cable that weighs a tonne!!...

I just had some Q's as I finish my garage power, but having spent two weekends digging through concrete, broken buried bricks et al to go four metres, I would recommend against it!!!

Ian

 

[Big_Spark]

DIY softies..PAH!!

SWA is great cable and a doddle to work with

just playing devil's advocate

 

[plugwash]

ive done a but in swa myslef and a found getting the steel wires to stay in the gland was a nightmare they kept popping out as the gland nut was tightened i did it in the end but it wasn't fun

while i have never tried it myself i was chatting to london spark and he said he found pyro easier to terminate than swa

 

[breezer]

you must have cut the swa wrong?

 

[plugwash]

possiblly i cut it was with wire snips one wire at a time maybe not the best way but it was some time ago i did this

 

[breezer]

ah i see, ideally (bit late now i know) partialy cut through with junior hack saw aroud cirumference (then strip outer sheath and bend back and forth armour till it snaps off), all wire armour will be same length

 

[Chamonix]

FWL - thanks for your info on the other post.....appreciated.

What's with this DIY softie stuff then eh? I built the damn garage too, and given that I have a full time job, and it took three weeks off and four weekends (and is brick with slate roof) and is 19' by 12' including laying the foundations with a damn concrete mixer 'cos I couldn't get any pre-mix in time....

So - I would say that was an OK DIY job myself. Built every last bit (doors/windows et al) from scratch too in that time....

But hey - it was all for a good cause......motorbikes are a must for some of us and I really needed a good workshop as my better half was moaning a great deal about rebuilding engines and the like in the kitchen around the baby bottles!!!!

Boys and toys eh? Quite enjoyed it actually. Apart from the weather and the bricklaying (boring job....)

Ian

 

[securespark]

I shall concur with Breezer (don't hit me again, Jim!!) that you need a hacksaw to cut the armour nearly through. If the strands are popping out, then either the gland is under strain, or the armour is not in all the way.

 

[dingbat]

Plus, if you always use the external glands you'll find getting a good termination on the armour is much easier. I've given up using the internal ones altogether. Some gland makes are easier than others to get a good termination, too.

 

[Big_Spark]

Simon, why would I hit you for saying what is true. Unless of course you have a couple of 4C400's to strip, then a Junior doesn't quite cut it (especially literally!)

The ONLY way to do SWA properly is with a hacksaw (or Junior) and the mistake a lot of sparks make is stripping too much of the outer XLPE sheath back so that armouring shows when the gland is tightened, when that happens there is a good chance the gland will come undone or the armour strands can be forced out of the gland back if the cable moved.

 

[securespark]

Simon, why would I hit you for saying what is true. Unless of course you have a couple of 4C400's to strip, then a Junior doesn't quite cut it (especially literally!)

Cos I'm takin' the mick out of one of your catchphrases -

"I concur with..."!!

 

[gaztfa1]

ok, ok
lol
How about I take the wire accross the wall at say a metre high, is that legal?

then run it down the wall under the coping on top of the wall of which the light unit will be bolted to?

hows that, my missus has told me that she wants the lights in!
no excuses!!!
lol

maybe I'll bury her with the swa at 1 metre lol

 

[securespark]

Make sure she has stopped screaming first. It's a bit of a giveaway when the rozzers come round....

Posted from HMP Strangeways Manchester.