Shed feed

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Hoping someone might be able to help. I moved into my house just over a year ago and have since found some oddities with the electrics. The latest is the shed.

From switching off MCBs I've mapped out the circuits and it seems like the outside electrics (2 sheds and a couple of garden sockets plus lights) are fed from a 32A MCB it shares with the upstairs sockets, right hand kitchen sockets and cooker (gas). Only two 2.5mm t and e in the CU so guessing this is the ring final and looks to go upstairs first. There is SWA outside, coming into the outbuilding attached to the house. Here it seems to be fed from a single (guessing 2.5mm) t and e.

20190214_160315.jpg


Two SWA cores (grey and black) are used for lighting. The feed to these goes through 5amp Fuse, shown, and another switch, not shown.

The other two feed all the outside sockets. The only protection seems to be the 32A MCB (and RCD). This doesn't seem safe to me. The load is unlikely to reach a dangerous level for the cable but knowing there is nothing stopping it exceeding the limit worries me. I am also having trouble finding where the spur is from. Any tips on finding this?

I am tempted to put in a little two way CU here. It would be simple and no doubt safer but is it notifiable and can this be completed DIY? I'm a railway signalling engineer by trade and we did a few months wiring domestic stuff (CU, rings, testing etc.). I am by no means an electrician but this seems a reasonable job to complete.

Any help much appreciated.
 
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You need to find where the swa imerges from the house.
There should be a fused spur there really.

Maybe it exits behind the cooker?
Look outside


P.s. that don’t look too bad to me.
It’s got a gland and crimp in there. So not typical diy
 
Thanks for the reply Andy. The box pictured is in the utility attached to the house. The t and e comes from the house. The SWA goes directly to the shed.

I don't think it is DIY. The previous owner said his electrician friend did it.
 
Thanks for the reply Andy. The box pictured is in the utility attached to the house. The t and e comes from the house. The SWA goes directly to the shed.

I don't think it is DIY. The previous owner said his electrician friend did it.

A grommet on that t+e entry, and a bit less visible copper would be nice.
 
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No point having a second “garage” Cu in the shed. It will achieve nothing.

as mentioned above. Need to examine how/where the SWA connects to the house supply. Photos of that please.

The pic of the shed supply termination doesn’t look too bad EXCEPT there should be a grommet in the top hole of the box to protect the cable.
 
OP, I think what's being asked is how that T+E connects to the ring final. Might well be a fused spur at that point. In which case, all should be well.
Assuming it is a ring final, of course.
 
Ok thanks. I couldn't find where the t+e connects to the ring final. There are no other fused spurs in the house. I thought it could either be from a socket upstairs / kitchen or a junction somewhere. Checked a few upstairs, admittedly only that two cables in socket. Couldn't see any. I think ak a socket in the kitchen had more than 2 cables in it. I checked when we first moved in as the socket was loose in the wall. I actually seem to remember it having >3 cables.

Just to be clear Taylor, this is the t+e is the house supply end. This box is not in the shed.
 
I've done a couple of quick sketches to explain the arrangement a bit better. I mention finding the origin of the spur in my original post. Is there an easier way to do this other than taking off wires from the back of sockets? I have a multimeter.

OutsideCircuit.PNG

HouseArrangement.PNG


And the full CU arrangement is as follows.

upload_2020-7-17_8-58-37.png


Probably not useful but thought I'd add to give a full picture.

Thanks again for the responses.
 

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No point having a second “garage” Cu in the shed. It will achieve nothing.


as mentioned above. Need to examine how/where the SWA connects to the house supply. Photos of that please.

The only reason I was going for the CU was that it seemed an easy and neat way of adding protection. Having this and removing the fuse instead of adding another.

Unfortunately I haven't yet found where the pictured t and e connects to the ring final. I have drawn the arrangement above to make sure there's no confusion as to where the picture was taken (utility). This is the first time I've messaged on a forum so I wasn't sure if people got alerted when not directly quoted. Hence this additional message.

Thanks,
Matt
 
And the worrying socket from my original post.

IMG_20200717_190739.jpg


There are 5 cables going into this. There is a spur socket on the same side of the kitchen as it. I had originally thought it was a spur from upstairs as the cable went into the ceiling but I guess it could be run up and down as opposed to across the metre between sockets.

That still leaves two unaccounted for. I want to take the wires off and buzz the cables but I'm not sure I'll be able to get the plate back on its so jammed in. Might actually be easier trying to isolate the socket from the ring by disconnecting the adjacent (in the ring) sockets. Hmm
 
Also the first shed is being used as an office with heating. The second shed is more a summerhouse. So with heating.
 
I think we are confused.

The first pic is in the house.
We now see it is off a ring.

Do you switch off/on the swa lighting from in the house ?

What kW are the heaters ?

Pics if middle shed swa may help
 
I think we are confused.

The first pic is in the house.
We now see it is off a ring.

Do you switch off/on the swa lighting from in the house ?

What kW are the heaters ?

Pics if middle shed swa may help

Thanks Andy. That's why I added the diagrams of the arrangement. I had a feeling people thought this was the shed side.

I've attached the diagrams of the current arragement here for ease of reference. Note I end the diagram at the middle shed (office) but it goes off to the end shed (summerhouse). The outside lights and socket are attached to a pergola half way between house and first shed.

OutsideCircuit.PNG


The switch to the SWA lighting is an outside switch attached to the utility.

HouseArrangement.PNG


I haven't got a pic of the shed SWA connection. It's at the back and hard to access. I think it's normal though. A disconnection box (not sure if correct term) on outside with socket on inside. Two swas into DB with some t and e joining socket.

Office shed: heater 1kw, computer ~ 0.5 kw. Summerhouse shed: heater 1kw but maybe increase.

Lights pretty neglible so probably 10A at the moment so not a concern. But if the Mrs suddenly wants a treadmill in the summerhouse or plugs in a larger heater I don't want to be checking current draw to see if it's allowed.

Thanks,
Matt
 

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