fish house electrics NIC needed pls

[Arkanon]

Hi Folks,

As i have previously posted I am currently converting my garage into a tropical fish house. I need an NIC safety test certificate to be issued in order to get my pet hop license. This means that obviously i need to get the work carried out properly.

The garage was already powered with this in mind. Armoured cable goes underground from the house to the garage down the garden. In the fish house itself is the old fuse box from the house. The RCD protection is all in the house not on the board in the fish house, this means that the board in the fish house actually acts more as a large junction box rather than a mains board (it is powered through a fuse from the house mains board). From this i run lights in the ceiling and intend to add a few water proof sockets for powering pumps etc.

Can i leave the fish house fuse board in the actual fish house without fear of not getting the certificate on the basis that it isnt actually a mains board etc? I could cover it with water proof plastic box or some kind to prevent any condensation etc. I need to know this to find out if i need to have another room built simply to house it.

It seems to me that if it was like a main fuse board then I'd have a problem but because it is simply a secondry board used for splitting the electrics for sockets etc then that factor is not so important? As i have no idea at all what the NIC regs are I'm not sure what to plan next.


Any advice on this would be really appreciated.

Thanks

rob

 

[Adam_151]

NIC regs

Sorry, but ... don't give them ideas, lol

 

[Arkanon]

lol not sure what u mean

 

[Plug]

NIC don't do the regs. Even though they might wish it was true, they don't have absolute power. The regs are all done by the Institute of Electrical Engineers.

 

[Arkanon]

h i see, ok but will i get the electrical safety certificate with the additional box in the fish house or not? I really need to know this as i need to get my carpenter on the job otherwise to build me a new room which is gonna cost a few hundred. I'd rather avoid that and simply have the box covered in some way if that is at all possible.

Thanks

Rob

 

[Pensdown]

As i have previously posted I am currently converting my garage into a tropical fish house. I need an NIC safety test certificate to be issued in order to get my pet hop license. This means that obviously i need to get the work carried out properly.

I'm not being funny but you should be asking the question to the person who will be testing it as it will be their decision whether or not it meets the regs.

Armoured cable goes underground from the house to the garage down the garden.

What size is the SWA and did your sparks see how it was installed before you backfilled?

In the fish house itself is the old fuse box from the house.

How old is the fuse box, does it have MCB's or re-wireable fuses?

The RCD protection is all in the house not on the board in the fish house, this means that the board in the fish house actually acts more as a large junction box rather than a mains board (it is powered through a fuse from the house mains board). From this i run lights in the ceiling and intend to add a few water proof sockets for powering pumps etc.

What size is the RCD?
What size is the fuse/MCB in the house?
What cable & method of installation did you use to wire the lights?
How many lights have you got?
What’s the circuit loading?
How many sockets do you intend to install?
Will they be on a ring circuit or a radial?
What method of installation will you use?
What’s the loading of the pumps?
How many pumps will you end up with?

Can i leave the fish house fuse board in the actual fish house without fear of not getting the certificate on the basis that it isnt actually a mains board etc?

I doubt it

I could cover it with water proof plastic box or some kind to prevent any condensation etc. I need to know this to find out if i need to have another room built simply to house it.

No

As i have no idea at all what the NIC regs are

It's very unlikely that the work your doing will meet the regs and no spark will issue you with any form of certificate. You may get a PIR with a list of non-conformance items as long as my arm

My advise, save your money and get a sparks in NOW

 

[Arkanon]

Hmmm, thats exactly what i said I am going to do. I just need to know as i will need a new room built in order to place the fuse box else where. I'm not carrying out the work myself in this case as I need the certificate.

What size is the SWA and did your sparks see how it was installed before you backfilled?

I've no idea.. a sparky installed it not me so I imagine it is all fine.

How old is the fuse box, does it have MCB's or re-wireable fuses?

Very old i guess. It's made of wood LOL. It has modren MCB's on the fuses that are being used.

What size is the RCD

About 2" hehe but it is also a 63A 0.03 thingymebob (im no expert and dont claim to be) This is located on the mains board in the house not in the garage but i know it works quickly.

What size is the fuse/MCB in the house?

The MCB to the garage itself is a 16A

What cable & method of installation did you use to wire the lights?

I used 1.5mm twin and earth cable, lights wired daisy chain one to the other. Line from board to the timer/ light switch and then to the first light. The MCD here is a 6A.

How many lights have you got?

At the moment just four 6' double fittings on the ceiling (58w tubes). Would like to add some above the tanks at some point too but might not need to yet.

How many sockets do you intend to install?

Not many. I need two pumps, two heaters (these are 1kw and 3 kw heaters submersible titanium ones) and thats is probably it. I might add a socket or two for needs if they arise such as for a dehumidifier etc.

Will they be on a ring circuit or a radial?

Er.. got me there. I daisy chained them as they are atm but these are normal sockets and i will have the sparky replace with waterproof ones.

What method of installation will you use?

humph???

What’s the loading of the pumps?

Do you mean the Amps or watts? Actually I am not sure on the pumps, one will be about 40 watts as i already have that one. I ned to buy another more powerful one too but havent yet.

How many pumps will you end up with?

just two, one for the filter and one for the return water to the tanks.


As you can see there wont be a massive amount of electrics in there. I'm asking the questions here because i need to decide whether or not to get my carpenter to build a small room added onto the garage to house the board. The sparky's all seem to be pretty busy ATM but my carpenter is ready to start the work asap.

I am ignorant of electrics really so the sparky will hopefully do all the important stuff, i really just need to know if i need a new room or not.

Thanks for your help and questions.. makes me think too much lol

 

[viewer]

Just a thought. Does the pet shop licence require anything special- like ability to isolate from outside the building? Not likely a problem for fish, but they sometimes have standard clauses for all pet shops.

 

[Arkanon]

the documents the local council sent me just say it needs a current satisfactory electrical certificate which must be issued by an approved contractor on the correct form.

There's not even any mention of fire regs which suprised me also.

So it seems all i need is the Fee for the license, the safety certs, and the forms filled in. Not quite so simply i suspect.

 

[Pensdown]

I am ignorant of electrics really so the sparky will hopefully do all the important stuff,

Thats where the confusion is. Your doing the important stuff now and if you get it wrong it will cost you more to put it right later than pay to have done now.

My advice is still get a sparks in and if your normal ones to busy find another. And yes, your wooden CU will need changing. If your current sparks connected the SWA to it I would be worrying about his competence. The test certificate should make interesting readings

PS. Crafty's got a pond. he will know what to do- I'm off to the Pub

 

[Steve]

Why do i have all the answers these days????

I'm not even a spark!!!!!

pond and aquariums are completely different beasts. I aint commenting. The only aquaria i ever owned were little kits from pets @ home. incidentally, i believe a couple of the fish in my pond are 10 years old, so we did something right.

 

[Arkanon]

LOL

I'm not doing any of the work myself.. except the lighting .. which is all i did and is what I am getting re-done.

My Old sparky from some time ago was registered with someone but it wasnt NIC and thats one of the reason i want someone properly acredited to do the work. I need that Certificate so i wont be doing any of the work myself.

I believe if i use an IP65 rated consumer unit I may be ok??? This has a built in RCD and 6a and 16a mcb's, one of each.

would IP 56 waterproof sockets also be ok?

 

[Pensdown]

Why do i have all the answers these days????

I was only having a joke with you. I had to finish bidding at fleebay and I won.

I'm not even a spark!!!!!

That’s only a technicality. You already know more than some sparks I’ve had the misfortune to meet/employ.

Arkanon...Sorry, I've given you my advice and your replies confirm that if you need a cert at the end of your project you need a sparks in now. It's not a normal installation. You may need sealed flories, Growlux tubes or high UV tubes will rot PVC cable, there are so many factors.

I'm sure someone else may be along soon who’s in better position to offer you advice.

 

[Bright_Spark]

Arkanon.

I cannot give u advice to the full extent of some of theses guys on here as im still training to be a sparky.

however, if i were in ur situation id probably for go doing the lighting urself and get a firm of sparkies to come and design/install you a suitable system.

there are so many things to consider here...i could probably write you down a huge list of things that need considering and then im sure there would still be a lot more!

my advice...get the part P pro's in. it might cost you a bit more money but in the long run, should anything go wrong, you will have all the correct test certificates and the company will have their own liability insurance which in turn will make your insurance provider happy!

i hope you dont think im putting a downer on what you know/propose to do but its a big job and its worth doing right - when assessing these things you have to think of the worst case scenareo and come up with a solution regarding dealing with this worst case scenareo!