Sparks,
We are just about to start converting the large upper barn, attached to the house, into a Master Suite with En Suite. The conversion will include, lights, sockets, heated towell rail, water heater etc. I was planning on running the cables through the sitting room, chase out the wall, to the main fuse panel in the hall. I’m now wondering if it would be easier, neigh better, to run 6mm cables from the main fuse panel and put in a seperately fuse box in the lower barn.
Could the electrical experts comment and advise please?
'scuse me for interrupting but aren't you over complicating things? Martin, are you bothered about breaking the seal on the meter outlet (tails) terminal? If not , have a look to see if there is enough space to piggy back in another set of tails. I did this & it was approved by the EDF bloke who final came to seal the meter. Which ever way you do it you still have to turn off the power at the EDF incoming switch to work on either board.
Thanks, again, James.
My box has the tails into the bottom of the top rail RCD, Kitchen and Bathroom, and another pair comming out to feed the bottom rail RCD which supply’s all non wet room sockets and lights. What I could do, I guess, is to take the new fuse box supply from the base of the lower rail RCD where the power comes in.
You can see the bus bars in the top left (blue) and top right (black). The meter tails go in there, then on to the rcds with new cable runs.
If your meter tails run directly to the rcd then maybe you have no bus bar in your box in which case you can buy one and fit it in there hopefully. I will go a take a picture of mine now to show you what I mean.
Thanks Brian.
Thanks James. If I’m being a bit “tick”. Sorry. So, where the meter tails enter the current consumer unit RCD, run the new supply from here. Or, on the RCD outlet side where the short leads come out to connect onto the positive and negative busbars?
Have you ever undertaken the earth test to check your earth pole? Looks like a fascinating days work!
Precisely what we did with what I mentioned before and also have done again for our cellar for the washing machine, freezer and an adjoining room. Our sparky said that up to six auxiliary consumer units is possible but best try to limit it to four maximum. So, if you want to add on further just do as James said rather than long runs off any of the fuses on the board.
I would attach your supply to the bus bar within the consumer unit ie directly to the main fuse (the first one after the meter) and then continue as if installing from scratch with a 40A/30mA rcd in the new consumer unit.
Gents,
Another Q re electrics. Please.
Should I piggy back the new fuse panel supply off the current fuse box, ie second set of cables as the meter tails enter the RCD, or have a dedicated fuse on the old board where the feed is supplied to the new panel, and, if it is the second, what size fuse?
Thanks in anticipation.
Martin you being a Klankon you need some help from a good greenie.
Brian,
The referendum papers are out.
16mm tails of course not 10. More haste less speed on my part me thinks!
I’ll set them up and hit them. Ba Boom.
"I'm planning on getting a French Sparky to run a ruler over my work once all is done."
I hope it's a meter rule! geddit?
Thanks Guys,
Pretty much my thought process. Even though, strangely in my view, the sitting room will be the last room to be decorated its a lot of cables to chase through. 9 runs at the moment! I think as you suggest James meter tails (10mm) should do the trick. Thanks for the link.
Brian, I fully concur with your thoughts. I’m planning on getting a French Sparky to run a ruler over my work once all is done.
I would put in a new consumer unit/fuse panel Martin, much easier to wire.
I did that for our temporary kitchen, I used 10mm2 though as there was a fair load due to water heater and oven.
I bought the cable here by the way http://www.ombilicable.fr/index.php/catalogsearch/result/?q=R2V3G10NC
I am no expert but we have a fantastic electrician who is very professional, reliable, punctual and so on, and yes he is French. He is a bit more expensive than other people, but at least all the installation materials left over are left because it is his practice that we paid for them so they are ours. Fine, that is the electrician done so to answer your question.
We have an old cowshed that I use as a workshop. It is not attached to the house but is a bit under 30m away. We needed power in there since all the old stuff in the house was stripped out. He had a look and responded to my thoughts about a long run then advised us to channel it in the ground and add a secondary fuse box. Different to yours physically by not being connected to the house, but he gave us reasons for doing it that way. He pointed out that if we wanted to have additional points, lights or other connections eventually it would become too much for a single fuse in the main box. Secondly, as a separate building it would be far more prudent for insurance reasons. As he explained, insurance companies do not make it clear all they expect from people but if they can pick out something like a building fed by a cable without staging when something happens then we are stewed. As far as I am concerned, I can install cables, wire up a light or power point plus the switches but never go near fuseboxes because I am just a DIY-er who has done it a few times. I then have the electrician have a good look before connecting my work. In short, no I am not an expert, but a good listener to sound advice from people I know I can trust.
It's pretty much what I did when I rewired my house. I have a fuse board in the main house & one in the largish kitchen which is built onto the back of the house. The kitchen board also serves the barn & stables. It was so much easier than running lots of circuits from the house board to the kitchen. I've just counted 16 breakers inc. 2 spares so 14 circuits would have been required. That's a lot of cables! Calculate your load requirements & length of cable run then talk to a knowledgeable supplier who should be able to advise on the cable size. Don't forget you will need a pair of 1mm cables from the meter to the new fuse board to operate the off peak contactor for the water heater.