Correct way to take power to outbuilding..

[Gashead86]

Hi All,

After some advice if I may regarding taking power to my existing outbuilding..

I already have power to the shed, but it is done a very crude fashion and I am now looking to do the job properly.

At present I have an armored cable essentially plugged into a kitchen socket, taken out through the external wall into the garden, dug into the ground running through the garden and then coming up into my shed where it is then wired into a triple socket.
From said triple socket I have a couple of lights plugged in..

What this essentially is of course is an extension lead running from the kitchen to the shed..

Whilst this setup works for me, it is very rudimental and I suspect far from 'legal'.. It works and has suited my needs to date.

Following the rough winter we have just had there was some water damage to the shed, so I have taken the opportunity to make some changes and the electrics will be one of them.

What I would like to achieve is a more correct setup with the power in the shed feeding two lighting circuits (via switches), a wall mounted panel heater and then a stand alone double socket.
I of course already have the armored cable running from the house to the shed, but I am now looking for some advice as the best / correct way to a) take power from the house to the shed via the cable and b) what I then should have in the shed to handle the power coming in and the circuits running off of it..

Hope all of that makes sense, but of not please say and I will try and explain!

Thanks for any help you may be able to offer me guys.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It's not possible to correctly terminate armoured cable in a plug - you're sure it is SWA?

What size is the cable?

How long is it?

What's the power of the panel heater?

What will you use the socket(s) for?

You don't mean 2 lighting circuits, BTW.

 

[Gashead86]

The armored cable is approx 8 meters long.

Currently feeds directly into a triple socket.

Sockets will be for nothing in particular really.. Maybe charging a phone, that sort of thing.

Don't have the panel heater yet so open to suggestion, but it won't be anything too powerful.

 

[garyo]

At present I have an armored cable essentially plugged into a kitchen socket, taken out through the external wall into the garden, dug into the ground running through the garden and then coming up into my shed where it is then wired into a triple socket.

I presume you mean that at the supply end it's wired in to the back of the socket, rather than plugged in to the front? If so then I don't think that's uncommon - my current house shed is wired that way off the back of the socket that's on the kitchen ring main. The previous house had the garage SWA directly in to the consumer unit, but then a garage is always likely to generate more load than a shed, and have more need to be separated from an MCB/RCD point of view.

 

[Gashead86]

I presume you mean that at the supply end it's wired in to the back of the socket, rather than plugged in to the front? If so then I don't think that's uncommon - my current house shed is wired that way off the back of the socket that's on the kitchen ring main. The previous house had the garage SWA directly in to the consumer unit, but then a garage is always likely to generate more load than a shed, and have more need to be separated from an MCB/RCD point of view.

Hi There, no it is literally plugged in to the front... Armoured cable goes into a junction box on the wall than then connects to a new internal cable that comes through the wall and then has a plug on the end that literally plugs into the socket.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I already have power to the shed, but it is done a very crude fashion and I am now looking to do the job properly.

What makes you say it is crude and improper?

Personally I think that being plugged in like that is tacky, and "not right", but electrically, and safety-wise, that method is no different from the neater way of doing it.

I have an armored cable

What size is it?

dug into the ground

How deep?

what I then should have in the shed to handle the power coming in and the circuits running off of it..

Socket(s) as required, a flex outlet for the heater (or does it not have its own switch?), an FCU for the lights.

Armoured cable goes into a junction box on the wall

Is it properly terminated in that box? Post photos and/or compare what you have to the Wiki article I linked to earlier.