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Hello folks I've been terminating some 3 core SWA cable the last few days. I've been using a stanley knife and wires strippers for any plastic sheathing and a pair of snips on the steel wires. Surely there must be an easier way to cut the wires , or do you guys all have apprentices to do...

Roo , thanks for the informative reply, I was asked to phone back tomorrow to see if i could get my new appointment brought forward at all, having already waited nearly 3 weeks for today's, and taking a morning off, i was a bit miffed. These things happen though.... Yes i do have Economy 7...

Not the most interesting of picturers , but goes: Basically he told me that the easiest thing for him is to rip almost the whole lot out and fit a new single meter standard tarrif meter , instead of having the existing Meter and the timer. This would allow him to cut the tails, instead of...

So I've waited patiently for nearly 3 weeks for my appointment. The guy from the Electrical power distribution company has come out on time to fit my isolator and within 5 minutes or so told me that he can't do it ! Reason's: i) The electrical connections at the bottom of my meter are...

I can see that using SWA makes good sense and is probably easier to route & terminate than conduit, however i recently bought one of the electrical books mentiond in the FAQ/Wiki section ( Readers Digest House wring book ) and it shows a buried cable being laid to an outbuilding that is T&E...

I will assume then by your example that you think that £600 is a fair price for replacing a domestic consumer unit and getting power out to a shed situated 2.5 metres away from the house or about 5m away 'as the cable lies' ( :wink: ) This is how i plan to do it: Get 18 year old...

Hello Cremeegg, My shed is pretty much only ever going to be used by me. It will have a tumble drier in it ( 3000w, 240V upto 12.75 Amps drawn at start up ), plus my most powerfull power tool (2000w table saw probably) and a couple of lights being used at any one time. So i had a pretty good...

I thought that buying a good quality, tested , s/h item from a reputable manufactrurer was better than buying a cheapo , numpty branded, **** plastic one. I reckon it will still be better than the current 20+ year old CU which has re-wirable fuse carriers and no RCD protection at all. If...

Thanks for that Adam, it looks like that is how my 'new' CU is already configured. I'll try one of the 16A MCB for the shed first of all, if it trips I can upgrade it to a higher value as i chose to install 6mm² SWA. I had to look up what SBC and SES lampholders are and don't think I have...

Can you help me choose some suitable MCB ratings for a s/h Consumer Unit i picked up cheaply. I am getting it fitted in a couple of weeks time by a qualifed local sparky. The Sparks has already been round for a site survey and knows what work is involved , i just want to make sure everything...

I've got two seperate , but related projects on the go at the moment. Getting power to the shed and replacing my house consumer units. The new split load house CU is going to be a metalcald unit. So will be able to take the SWA gland directly. It is hidden in a cupboard out of view so looks...

duplicate post of one below.

Cheers for that, a radial circuits it is then. In fact the Tumble drier is going to be sited on one side of the CU and my other sockets will be on the other side so I will probably just have two seperate radials coming out of the CU, one for the tumble drier , the other for the general use...

Thanks for your comments, much appreciated :D I already have enough spare 2.5mm²,( and 4mm² ) from other jobs, I'd have to buy in smaller cable so will use what I've got. Noted, cheers I didn't think of that , I'll see what looks easiest to do. I have already got a spare cable joint box...

Can one of the resident experts take a quick gander at these couple of pictures for a proposed shed install (in Scotland). All pretty straight forward but not sure of the easiest way of doing the lighting arrangements. Lighting: I already have the 60" Flo tube installed ( currently...

I recently bought the Readers Digest - Wiring & Lighting Manual, from the list that B-A-S has suggested. It covers most things for the home user and was last reprinted with ammendments in 2007 so is pretty much current. Lots of coloured illustrations and photo's too. [edit:] This one book will...

Hello fella's lets not loose sight of my original thread topic and 1st post intention please, which is basically the scope and limitations of what the home DIY'er can and cannot legally do to their own home electrical installation in Scotland, whether that be repair and replacement on existing...

I'm already got some that I'm considering at this kinda price point. One seller even lives just 5 miles down the road so i can go look-see. Fully cal'd. We send so much stuff away for cal each month that i'm sure they might give me a freebie if i get the storeman ( who deals with this ) to...

Good point BAS and well presented :). OK option iii) might actually work out to be the most expensive. I'm a maintenance engineer for a reason, I just like doing stuff. It's what we do. I've learnt more interesting things in the last week from buying and reading a few books, plus...

My profile now updated with a working e-mail. I'll be happy to carefully consider any offers anybody might have for a suitable instrument. I'm in no major rush though.