what amp cable for armoured cable to garage

[smilerbatten]

Hi All,

I currently have a 15A fuse connector on my consumer unit for power to my garage, but i have disconnected it recently as i have been adding a new extension to my house.

I am going to run a new armoured cable from the house to the garage but do you think 15A is OK? i only have a single light and maybe 4 plug sockets in there that run a tumble dryer and a freezer. there is a seperate power supply cut off in there as well. is 15A OK still? what sort of cabling should i run under the ground from the house consumer unit to the garage?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jason

 

[mfarrow]

What's wrong with what's there at the moment? How large is the existing cable?

And how far is the garage from the shed?

 

[Spark123]

The cable size will also depend on length and how it is installed, have a play with http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technical/Charts/VoltageDrop.html
Use 2core PVC SWA for your calcs even if you want to use 3core.
A tumble drier will take up most of the capacity of what you already have, do you envisage having anything else in there?
As you are probably aware from your extension, this work is notifiable to your LABC under part P of the building regs.

 

[PrinceofDarkness]

Shed?

Did the O/P mention a shed?



Lucia.

 

[smilerbatten]

i had to remove the old cable as it ran where i needed to dig footings for the new extension, the garage is only about 2 meters from the end of the new extension and about 5 meteres from the consumer unit.

I dont know what sort of cable was there originally, just that itys connected to a 15A fuse board and it didnt run under ground it ran through metal conduit, which i also removed

Thanks
Jason

 

[PrinceofDarkness]

Jason: are you aware of the need for RCD protection for this supply? I'm not so much concerned about the Part P requirements as much as your basic understanding of safety......


Lucia.

 

[smilerbatten]

there is an RCD in the garage already! i called it a 'power supply cut off' in my original post

Also, does this actually fall under building control, its nothing to do with my extension...i only removed the cable linking the CU to the garage as it was in the way of the footings line. I could just run it back as was, but wanted to bury it underground rather than run it in the conduit along the new extension (as it was before, but along the carport that was removed for the extension)

I just wanted to check what sort of cable i should run underground to replace what i removed and whether or not the 15A CU fuse is sutiable for what i have running in the garage.

Thanks
Jason

 

[mfarrow]

Did the O/P mention a shed?

Oops! I meant house!

 

[PrinceofDarkness]

I'm afraid it does attract the attention of the B.Regs, Jason, being as it is a supply crossing the garden area. With any luck you might be able to wangle that wiring into the Building Notice for your extension provided that it's contemporaneous.

I'm not concerned that you follow the Notification rules, as long as you do the job safely.....



Lucia.

 

[LoveRocket]

Use 2.5mm^2 SWA cable on a 20A fuse/MCB. Make sure any sockets you will use in the shed for handtools/lawnmower etc are RCD protected (best to have your freezer NOT on the RCD)

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Any advice would be appreciated.

Simples:

• //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=81696#81696
  
  
• http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Book/4.3.1.htm
  
  
• http://web.archive.org/web/20080213151445/http://www.kevinboone.com/cableselection_web.pdf
  
  
• http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technical/Charts/VoltageDrop.html
  

i have been adding a new extension to my house

When you applied for Building Regulations approval, what did you say would be the way you'd achieve compliance with Part P? Whatever it was, apply it to the garage supply too....

 

[securespark]

being as it is

I dentified Ban as Paul Daniels the other day. Tonight, I unmask Lucia as none other than Angus Deyton.

 

[PrinceofDarkness]

Well spotted Madam Arcati!


Lucia x

 

[Steve]

I currently have a 15A fuse connector

Now old is this? 15 amp rating is old, hasnt been used widely for about 20 years (AFAIK). It was replaced by 16 amps, and fuses indicate a very old installation which may be advisable to replace (while building work is going on is ideal)

Put up a picture of the unit if in doubt.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Now old is this? 15 amp rating is old, hasnt been used widely for about 20 years (AFAIK). It was replaced by 16 amps, and fuses indicate a very old installation which may be advisable to replace (while building work is going on is ideal)

You can still buy brand new Wylex Standard boards, and you can still choose whether to use brand new plug-in MCBs, brand new plug-in cartridge fuse carriers or brand new plug-in rewirable fuse carriers.

The fuse ratings are still 5/15/20/30.....

BS 7671 still allows BS 3036 fuses to be used....

The current OSG still lists BS 3036 fuses in its tables of standard circuits....