Outdoor Electrics

There should be an energy regulation banning the sale of outdoor electric heaters. :LOL:
 
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Updated plan:

The consumer unit is really old so I probably should get it replaced anyway with a split load CU and put the outdoor circuits on the RCD protected side.

1. Decking lights, pond lights and fairy lights all low voltage with separate outdoor transformers hard wired into a weatherproof junction box on the house wall and fed from a 6A MCB via a DP switch situated on wall inside back door.
2. 150W 240V security light with separate indoor switch on ground floor lighting (as radial circuit ends nearby).
3. 20A MCB feeds:
a) a switched FCU to 2 gang pond switch to pond pump and UV filter.
b) a switched FCU to 7 day timer to weatherproof junction box to 2nd pump for waterfall.
c) a DP switch to single weatherproof outdoor socket.
4. 16A MCB feeds one 1200W halogen patio heater via DP switch connected to Horstmann E30 Electrisaver timer.

Most switches and timers will be in a cupboard in utility room.
Does this look OK?
 
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1. Decking lights, pond lights and fairy lights all low voltage with separate outdoor transformers hard wired into a weatherproof junction box on the house wall and fed from a 6A MCB via a DP switch situated on wall inside back door.

1) not enough switches / fcu's*

3a) too many switches


*It will either be dark or blackppool iluminations, suppose you just want the pond lights on? or just the decking lights or just the fairy lights.

I have something similar, trust me, the more lighting options the better.
 
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Garden circuits on the same RCD as indoor sockets can be annoying. Outdoor circuits are susceptible to damp that will trip out everything in the house!

Stick an RCBO on the non-RCD side for outdoor stuff, or perhaps another RCD protected board off of the non-RCD side with your various MCBs in it for cirtcuit separation.
 
good point, i forgot to mention it as i just take mine for grantedm, but yes they are on their own rcd
 
That had been my original plan. Can I feed the separate RCD protected board from a spare fuseway on the CU (and on what rated MCB) or do I have to get the leccy company to provide new tails from the meter?
 
spare way best and easiest.

mcb rating depends on cable size and run.

but as i also said you will need:

1 somewhere to put it
2 switches or switched fcu's to trn the various items on / off

3, you could do what i have.

small, low voltage switches that operate 12v coil relays that switch the mains.

this way you can have 7 switches running from one small 8 core cable.(not thaty i have 7 switches, but it is possible
 
breezer said:
small, low voltage switches that operate 12v coil relays that switch the mains.

this way you can have 7 switches running from one small 8 core cable.(not thaty i have 7 switches, but it is possible

Cheeky! I like that! Hell. why not make them wireless with a maplin kit or some such! :LOL:
 
because wireless is rubbish, and the batteries will go flat when you dont want them to.

maplin do supply 4 plug insockets and a 4 gang remote control for said sockets, but i dont have one and dont want one.

If you think 7 switches on an 8 core is good, you have never seen dmx, 512 devices on 2 wires (i have it) now that is good (but not 512 devices, only 20 so far)
 
For the outdoor lights, I like breezer's idea of using the grid switches and fuses (the relay idea also sounds great but more complicated).
I've got a good price for a 40A 30mA RCD garage CU with a 32A and a 6A breaker. Could I run all the outdoor lighting off the 6A and everything else on the 32A (garden ring main!!) and can the garage CU be fed from a 40A mcb on the main CU or does this need to be higher rated? The garage CU will be located adjacent to the main CU and nothing is more than 12 metres from the two CU's.
 
The simple mention of realys worry most people, but its very easy to do.



relay.jpg


it really is this simple
 
breezer said:
because wireless is rubbish, and the batteries will go flat when you dont want them to.

maplin do supply 4 plug insockets and a 4 gang remote control for said sockets, but i dont have one and dont want one.

If you think 7 switches on an 8 core is good, you have never seen dmx, 512 devices on 2 wires (i have it) now that is good (but not 512 devices, only 20 so far)

I didn't think it was amazing, just showing a little ingenuity. And I am well aware of DMX512, but it doesn't really count as a switching signal. Its a communications bus used for everything from dimmers to smoke machines to pyros. As you may have guessed, I've done my time in theatre LX!

When you say you have it, in what sense? You have proc and overhead bars, a cyc and dimmer packs running off a ETC in the lounge?
 
CallEdsFirst said:
..............I am well aware of DMX512, but it doesn't really count as a switching signal. Its a communications bus used for everything from dimmers to smoke machines to pyros. As you may have guessed, I've done my time in theatre LX!

When you say you have it, in what sense? You have proc and overhead bars, a cyc and dimmer packs running off a ETC in the lounge?

Don't know what proc is (unless you mean pyrotechnics?)
Don't know what cyc is (unless you mean what i would call RGB colour mixing?)
Don't know what ETC is (unless you mean Electronic Theatre Controls?)

But that aside, yes, yes i have. (and I have never worked on / in a theatre)

5 (4 channel) dimmer packs run by a PC, via a pc - DMX interface (oh and its NOT in the lounge)
 

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