Garden lighting

[cydodimead]

I have an interesting project in a clients garden coming up and just wanted some advice on the best way to proceed. Garden has a wall around the 3 sides with a shed in 1 corner and water fountain in the other. A 4mm SWA feeds the shed and then loops onto a twin 13A waterproof socket for the water fountain all protected by a 20A MCB. In front of the brick wall are flowerbeds which range from 1 - 2.5 metres deep up to the lawn. My plan was to install a small 2/4 module enclosure in the the shed and a multiple circuit wireless receiver. Following the existing SWA feed (which is clipped 300mm up the brick wall)I would install the new SWA cable and install waterproof adaptable enclosures at regular intervals. From these enclosures I could then feed the spike lights and LED floods which all come with 3 metre tails. These tails would be fed through a hose pipe (or similar pipe) and buried in the flowerbed up to the brick wall where they meet the adaptable box. There are something like 25 fittings going into the garden. This seems to be the easiest option and hopefully the least number of channels to dig in the perfectly manicured flowerbeds. Any comments or suggestions much appriciated as the majority of my work is commercial premises not gardens.

 

[ricicle]

If the lights are pre-wired with flex I would not be burying it. I would leave it surface in flexible conduit as short as possible.

 

[cydodimead]

Interesting thought their ricicle and a great idea, I was just concerned about a garden fork incident. Having said that the tools in the shed don't look like they have ever touched the soil! Would you say a plastic flexible conduit would "provide the equivalent protection against mechanical damage" as stated in 522.8.10 as most of the plastic stuff I have worked with doesn't seem that tough.

 

[flyingsparks]

PVC covered metal adapta flex?

 

[cydodimead]

Nice idea as I can just cover in under a small amount of soil instead of digging deep. Thanks for all your thoughts

 

[viewer]

For jobs like this, has anybody used the 16mm pipe intended for underfloor heating? It has a metal layer and stays "bent" wherever you bend it, so can be curved around things on the surface. Seems very strong as you can stand on it without any collapse, but a direct hit with a garden fork is sure to puncture it.

 

[JohnW2]

Interesting thought their ricicle and a great idea, I was just concerned about a garden fork incident. Having said that the tools in the shed don't look like they have ever touched the soil! Would you say a plastic flexible conduit would "provide the equivalent protection against mechanical damage" as stated in 522.8.10 as most of the plastic stuff I have worked with doesn't seem that tough.

522.8.10 is about buried cables, and I'm sure that ricicle was not suggesting that you should bury flex in plastic conduit - as you suggest, that certainly wouldn't satisfy 522.8.10. I'm sure ricicle was talking about have the flex in flexible conduit above ground.

Kind Regards, John