Outside Electrics

[acs111]

Hi All,
I have a light switch inside the house which controls an outside light.
I want to add some Low voltage lights around the garden.
Can I replace the light with a 4 way gang which would be housed in a weatherproof box and then plug low voltage transformers into the socket for distribution around the garden.
I dont think the outside light has an Earth.
I guess the main question is how do I convert the outside light to power low voltage transformers.
Thanks

 

[Zambezi]

No you can't do what you are suggesting.
You are not allowed to mess with electrics in the garden unless you involve building control or hire a Part P registered electrician to do the work for you.

 

[Space cat]

It will be easier to leave the existing light alone and keep your transformers inside. You'll need a hole in the wall to carry the low voltage wires outside but you save on the enclosure. Plug your four-way extension into an existing socket, plug the transformers into it and away you go.

Some extension leads - usually the cheapest - have the sockets so close together that two plug-top transformers will not fit side by side. Keep this in mind when you buy one - and get one with a neon light on it so that you can see at a glance when your outside lights are on. For a really professional looking job, get one that can be fixed to the wall and feel free to shorten the mains cable if it will make the job even neater.

The hole in the wall is not so bad. With a growing demand from other family members for Christmas lights in the garden, I went for it. I put a 16mm hole through both leaves of the cavity wall and slid a piece of copper pipe into it to carry the wires.

On the outside I have an aluminium die-cast box (though plastic will do) of the type readily available from electronics stores. This is screwed to the wall and also siliconed to seal the joint with the tube. Inside this is choc-block where the lights are connected each year and there are holes in the bottom with long grommets for the wires.

I cheated inside by drilling the hole behind a TV aerial socket. The low voltage wires, which unplug from their transformers, emerge from a slot filed in the bottom edge of the plate and they spend the year coiled up behind the TV. In the absence of such a socket you'll need another box. DO NOT use a mains socket, however tempting it may be!

I dont think the outside light has an Earth.

Unless it's double insulated, it MUST be earthed. I suggest you look into this now before somebody finds out the hard way!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

acs - check before you do any of this that the cables from the transformers will reach as far as you need...

 

[acs111]

Ok thaks for the suggestions. Whats the problem with adding a low voltage transformer to the existing wiring outside. As long as I house it in a weatherproof box wouldn't this be safe?

 

[ElectricDunc]

There's nothing wrong with having the transformer in a suitably IP rated box outside. It'll have to be a good sized box to allow enough air to keep the transformers cool though. The main issue Zambezi is referring to is that the garden is classed as being a 'special zone' and therefore Part P comes in to effect. The work has to be notified to your LABC which requires test results and the work to be signed off (a job your unlikely to be able to do unless your a Part P approved contractor or an electrician with all the relevant test instruments).