Power to Shed?

JOHNPT

There is a small garden shed at back of my house. I want to put power in it just want centre light and one double socket. Is it ok to take power from socket in house to feed shed. There is a socket in utility room on back wall of house which i could drill through wall and run some 2.5 SWA from this to the shed. Is this acceptable?????????
Thanks

DublinDilbert

JOHNPT wrote: »

There is a small garden shed at back of my house. I want to put power in it just want centre light and one double socket. Is it ok to take power from socket in house to feed shed. There is a socket in utility room on back wall of house which i could drill through wall and run some 2.5 SWA from this to the shed. Is this acceptable?????????
Thanks

It probably should be on its on RCBO, with a dedicated line going out... but tapping off and existing socket isn't the worst thing to do either, provided its not a ring circuit.

What load are you likely to use out in the shed?
What load is currently on the same circuit as the utility room?
What MCB rating is feeding the utility room? (should tell us if its a ring or radial circuit )

JOHNPT

Its only going to be feeding a single light and maybe a washing machine nothing major. So its ok to take off socket from house? Will that comply with rules and regulations? If i drill through wall to connect into socket in house i wont be able to gland the SWA. Is that ok?
Thanks for advice

Avns1s

JOHNPT wrote: »

Its only going to be feeding a single light and maybe a washing machine nothing major. So its ok to take off socket from house? Will that comply with rules and regulations? If i drill through wall to connect into socket in house i wont be able to gland the SWA. Is that ok?
Thanks for advice

Are you going to connect the swa directly into the cables serving the socket by chasing the wall or are you proposing to plug into the socket?

If you're chasing the wall and running into the box of the socket, then glanding the socket isn't an issue. (Best option IMO)

If you're going to plug into the socket, then can you run the swa into an IP55 box using an swa gland and come out using flex and an NYM gland and plug into your socket.

JOHNPT

there is a socket low down in utility room which is on the back wall of house. I was going to drill straight through the box out onto back wall. Therefore wen i run SWA from shed it will run under ground and when it gets to house it will run about 1 foot up the wall and through hole straight into back of socket in utility room. But how can i gland it this way or do i need to gland it. Thanks for reply

DublinDilbert

JOHNPT wrote: »

Its only going to be feeding a single light and maybe a washing machine nothing major. So its ok to take off socket from house?

Ummmm the washing machine it typically a very large load!!

Is the washing machine on the circuit you planning to tap off? so in theory the circuit will have the same load on it?

Is it a radial or a ring circuit? (This is an important question!)

JOHNPT

Its Radial circuit. I want to take power off it to supply shed. Is it ok to connect into back of socket with SWA without glanding it. Thanks for replies

Avns1s

It will be ok so long as moisture doesn't get into the socket from outside. It would be important to drill downwards from inside so that any moisture on the SWA cable is thrown out rather than in. You should also silicone around the SWA in the hole.

dolittle

i wired into a socket under the sink in the kitchen drilled a hole thru the wall buried the swa in the garden down to the shed and fitted an rcd in a small enclosure. all thats in the shed is two double sockets and one light fitting.
all thats used is a freezer and an occasional lawn mower.
i use the sockets when i`m doing work in the shed or the garden.
i installed it 5 years ago and i`ve had no problems.

GreeBo

DublinDilbert wrote: »

Ummmm the washing machine it typically a very large load!!

Is the washing machine on the circuit you planning to tap off? so in theory the circuit will have the same load on it?

Is it a radial or a ring circuit? (This is an important question!)

If its off a radial would it be a good idea to label it as such in the shed? In case someone plugs something "big" into it (like a washing machine!) or starts adding extensions/spurs for something mad?

I presume you would be better off doing this from a ring main if possible?
Is it even better to add the shed to the ring or should you just use a big enough spur for the shed and then add a ring inside the shed itself?

Stoner

GreeBo wrote: »

If its off a radial would it be a good idea to label it as such in the shed? In case someone plugs something "big" into it (like a washing machine!) or starts adding extensions/spurs for something mad?

I presume you would be better off doing this from a ring main if possible?
Is it even better to add the shed to the ring or should you just use a big enough spur for the shed and then add a ring inside the shed itself?

If it was me, I would not add the shed to the ring from a safety point of view. The best way is to have a small consumer unit in the shed something like the one listed here
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055400462

with a clean supply from the fuseboard.

Many people will take a handy socket in the house, wired into a double pole switch and feed the shed from the load side of the double pole switch. Where this is not the correct way to do things, it is at least isolated by the double pole switch.

The main issue with what you have here is the size of the load, its a common problem, but when wiring you have to consider the next person to live in the place or wire something up, they may add a dryer to the shed and fry the cable. That's why the advice here can get anal sometimes, people always say "I only want a lamp there" and it can go anyway TBH.

So IMHO I'd look at the correct way first, a dedicated supply to the shed with a small consumer unit in the shed, or I would at least keep it to a single spur from a circuit with the least amount of a load on it and using a double pole switch to isolate it.