Am i within 'the law'

[gno750]

I've worked for the last 8 years as an awning installer, these are motorised so need a power supply ... some customers have light tracks & heaters (2kw halogen) fitted as well.
The wiring for these items all goes to a single RCD 13amp plug which i get to the nearest available 3 pin socket. ( if i fit two heaters then i need to use two plugs because the draw exceeds 13amps)

Any wiring that comes straight down the wall is encased in plastic 20mm round conduit.

Times move on & laws change ... Am i still legally going about my business?

 

[EFLImpudence]

I would say 'no' but probably not in the way you meant.

 

[Johnmelad]

I would say 'no' but probably not in the way you meant.

 

[gno750]

Do you mean because the Heaters are a high voltage i cant fit them?

The lights are low voltage & the awnings draw 1 amp on operation.

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

Thing is, as so often on this forum, you are being teased by purists. Read this: //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:voltage_bands

Your question is slightly more complicated, but I thought it might help to get the hazing out of the way.

 

[JohnW2]

Thing is, as so often on this forum, you are being teased by purists. Read this: //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:voltage_bands.[/QUOTE]
I must be getting dim. because I'm not at all clear as to who you think is being teased by whom here - the OP didn't mention any voltage bands, nor low, extra-low or high voltage - at least, not until prompted by the cryptic responses!

Kind Regards, John.

 

[gno750]

I dont mind being teased, i do it to my dog all the time.

All the wiring that i do picks up the supply via its own 13amp plug.. i'm not messing with the actual ring mains of the building.
Basically all the items that i fit come with plugs on ... i remove them & wire them into one plug.

As you are aware anyone can buy a 2kw heater that draws 8.5amps & plug it into a socket ... is it a no no because i'm doing it in someone elses house.

 

[JohnW2]

Basically all the items that i fit come with plugs on ... i remove them & wire them into one plug.

If I understand you correctly, that part of it is a bit iffy. 13A plugs are not designed to have more than one cable going into them, so it would be preferable to find a different (better) way of combining them.

Kind Regards, John.

 

[Johnmelad]

I've worked for the last 8 years as an awning installer, these are motorised so need a power supply ... some customers have light tracks & heaters (2kw halogen) fitted as well.
The wiring for these items all goes to a single RCD 13amp plug which i get to the nearest available 3 pin socket. ( if i fit two heaters then i need to use two plugs because the draw exceeds 13amps)

Any wiring that comes straight down the wall is encased in plastic 20mm round conduit.

Times move on & laws change ... Am i still legally going about my business?

What you are doing is legal, how you are doing it...

 

[gno750]

No, all the wiring goes to a junction box up by the awnings fixing brackets.. a single wire leads to the actual plug.



or are you teasing me again

 

[JohnW2]

No, all the wiring goes to a junction box up by the awnings fixing brackets.. a single wire leads to the actual plug. .... or are you teasing me again

No, I'm not teasing - when you said "wire them into one plug", I took you literally.

Use of a junction box is the correct way to do it (provided the junction box is used and located correctly, and provided all the cables concerned are large enough to be protected by a 13A fuse) but, ironically, this might raise some of the 'legality' issues, so I'll be interested to hear what others have to say about this.

Kind Regards, John.

 

[westie101]

So the first question is "does it comply with Part P?"

Well nothing about the design appears to me as being in opposition to that.

Should it be notifiable, I would suggest that is open to interpretation.

Does it meet BS7671, well no, but then again it doesn't need to does it?

 

[riveralt]

No, all the wiring goes to a junction box up by the awnings fixing brackets.. a single wire leads to the actual plug.



or are you teasing me again

What size is the lighting cable?
What size is the fuse in the plug?

Your installations could fall under Section 740, 711 or 721 of the Red book.
But no one is really going to know until some one is injured and the case goes to court.

 

[EFLImpudence]

My original reply has been called cryptic.
(I did start writing and asking various questions about fusing and switching but then thought you should have known and not need to ask.)

It wasn't really cryptic because without a more detailed description it was difficult to know.
As everything is plugged in it is likely not notifiable and so, in this respect, not illegal.
However, where fixed cabling starts is not possible to tell from here.

Therefore all you have to do to obey the law is comply with P1.


Now, it seems less likely that you are.

A 1A motor and ELV light track, from which you have removed the plugs and connected in a junction box with an 8.5A heater, may not be fitted with 13A conductors.

As already stated - doing this for eight years, you should know.

As being currently discussed on another thread, the trouble with Part P is that it is not enforced until something goes wrong, if even then.

 

[JohnW2]

My original reply has been called cryptic. (I did start writing and asking various questions about fusing and switching but then thought you should have known and not need to ask.)

I only called it cryptic because the lack of added text made it difficult to be sure what point you were trying to make - difficult for me, at least, so maybe also difficult for the OP!

As everything is plugged in it is likely not notifiable and so, in this respect, not illegal. However, where fixed cabling starts is not possible to tell from here.

Is that not a nail whose head you have hit? There are also sorts of ways I could attempt to evade notifiability by including a plug and socket in the equation, but I don't think that would be within the spirit of the law - not the least because, as you point out, there would be uncertainty and debate about what was (and was not) 'fixed cabling'.

Now, it seems less likely that you are. ... A 1A motor and ELV light track, from which you have removed the plugs and connected in a junction box with an 8.5A heater, may not be fitted with 13A conductors.

Indeed - as I said, that was one of my provisos about the junction box approach being acceptable.

Kind Regards, John.