Where/how to plug in my portable hot tub?

[LoveRocket]

For crying out loud, what is going on here?

OP - Are you saying that you have a hot tub that is sat outside your back wall and you want to plug it in?

Find a socket on the inside of the back wall. Take it off and remove the backbox.
Drill a hole in the wall.
Mount a weatherproof socket on the otherside and run the cable through.
Refit the backbox, connect all the cables and refit the socket.
Remove the RCD plug from the hot tub flex and fit a normal one (as you are sure the socket circuit is 30mA RCD protected...)

Plug the hot tub in.

"Find a socket on the back wall"... simple as that eh? Alas, there isn't one. Hence all the hoo-ha about extension cords, wiring work etc.

You say your back room is simply a utility room, so just run a cable clipped to the wall from the nearest socket to where you wish it to exit to your external socket.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

What do you mean? (genuine question)

I was under the impression that the OP has a hottub plocked in the back of his yard, with a trailing flex that will plug in when he wants to use it. Are you talking about specific rules about hottubs and suchlike used outdoors?

Yup, see Figure 702.2, and the rest of 702 for the rules.

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[magictime]

OK, so we've ditched all ideas to do with extension cables etc and decided to get our electrician to install a proper outdoor socket. Two lingering questions:

1 - he's now talking about drilling a hole through our newly-laid flags to fit an 'earth spike', and

2 - he seems determined to follow the (hot tub) manufacturer's instructions and put the socket 3.5 metres from where the tub's going to be.

I don't think there's any question of this all being *required* under part P or whatever, since all he's doing is putting in an outdoor socket - it's then up to us if we want to plug in an inflatable, non-permanent hot tub. So what do any knowledgeable folks on here think about the safety aspect here? The tub has an RCD plug and is being plugged into an RCD protected circuit, so we're belt-and-braces there. And as regards the 3.5 metre thing, that looks to me like the manufacturers are just covering themselves because a socket more than 3.5 metres away is outside regulations on watery areas (zone 1 being up to 2 metres away & zone 2 a further 1.5 metres) - so if we ensure the socket's properly weatherproof, does it matter?

Advice gratefully received!

 

[LoveRocket]

The guy is either incompetent or is simply having you on with regards to the earth 'spike' (or both).

Get another electrician, and simply ask him/her that you want an outdoor socket installed.

PS. If you'd have followed the advice given to you you could have done this yourself weeks ago.

 

[electronicsuk]

I think it's fair enough that the electrician should follow the hot tub manufacturer's instructions, although I also very much doubt that there is any need to install an earth electrode.

Re having an RCD plug on the hot tub, you'll most likely find that you'll be unable to plug this into a weatherproof socket, as they are pretty bulky. It may have to be replaced with a standard 13A plug.

 

[flameport]

1 - he's now talking about drilling a hole through our newly-laid flags to fit an 'earth spike'

Get rid of them then, since:
a. it's not called an 'earth spike'
b. They are not installed by drilling a small hole in anything (the top needs to be below ground level, and the connection must be accessible which means a removable cover in the ground several inches across at least)
c. No reason to fit an earth electrode at all.

 

[TicklyT]

...... c. No reason to fit an earth electrode at all.

Unless there are other factors regarding the state of your existing electrical installation your electrician has noted, but we are unaware of.

 

[magictime]

The guy is either incompetent or is simply having you on with regards to the earth 'spike' (or both).

Get another electrician, and simply ask him/her that you want an outdoor socket installed.

PS. If you'd have followed the advice given to you you could have done this yourself weeks ago.

Not sure what makes you think I'm competent to do wiring work, but I promise you I'm not. In any case I wouldn't give myself the headache of doing an annoying, time-consuming DIY job (which I always find ten times more difficult that you'd believe possible - I can't do anything practical for toffee) if I had the option of paying a competent individual a modest amount to do it for me. And in any case, I had conflicting advice. I now have even more of course, and no way of judging whose is most reliable... *sigh*.

Thanks anyway folks... at least you've backed up my hunch that my electrician is being overcautious... but then again he is a qualified person who's taken advice from his inspector and colleagues on this. I get the impression that basically nobody knows quite how to interpret the rules when it comes to a non-permanent tub.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Masterseal sockets are designed to be safe in the pouring rain, and with a normal plug in are designed to be safe in the pouring rain whilst in use.

Work out where you would want the socket - try and get it as far away from a splashing risk as possible, but bear in mind tripping risks from the flex, then just get an electrician to install a socket at that point, and don't confuse him with talk of hot tubs.

 

[magictime]

That makes a lot of sense to me BAS - thanks. I'm just hoping I can find a socket option that works with the large RCD plug supplied with the tub. (Whether I need that plug or not, I'd rather keep it on there so as not to risk voiding the warranty.) I think there are weatherproof boxes out there that ought to do the job.

 

[magictime]

I've been looking at these, which are designed to accommodate overzize plugs and claim to be IP65 rated:

http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/ou...ical-socket-box-p-1213.html?source=googlebase

Any thoughts?

 

[Fred_Fanackapan]

I had fitted a water-proof RCD socket and removed the RCD plug from the tub's lead. I found loose connections in the RCD plug when removing it!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I've been looking at these, which are designed to accommodate overzize plugs and claim to be IP65 rated:

http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/ou...ical-socket-box-p-1213.html?source=googlebase

Any thoughts?

Yes.

They are not designed to be opened and closed on a regular basis. Using one would make it nigh impossible to regard the plugged in hot-tub as a temporary installation.

Just cut the *****y plug off - you've got an RCD on the circuit - another one in series will not improve safety.