Minimum cct requirement for Washing Machine + Dryer

POE101

Existing socket cct for utility room was cut away to allow for rebuild. The tail was left terminated on one socket outlet and owner planning to extend it back in to utility room to supply Washing Machine and a Dryer (as it was originally working). The tail is a single 2.5 NYMJ and he was planning to use 2.5 flex to extend it about 20ft back into the utility room. I rang a few alarm bells and suggested he get an electrician.. was I wrong? and is a single 2.5 NYMJ cct sufficient for these two given that together they could be drawing 4 to 5 Kw? or is it even advisable to to extend the NYMJ using a junction box?

Luckysasha

2.5 mm2 is grand for the job. It should be on a seperate 20 amp mcb

POE101

Thanks 'Luckysasha', he got an electrician, as it turned out the owner also wanted two two-gang sockets (for Microwave + unspecified) and a spur for a shed feed that was in situ) electrician ran 2.5 t&e ring cct terminated on 20A mcb and fused spur off that for shed (no idea whats in there). Looks a lot safer to me now though!

Luckysasha

If its a ring main it should be on a 32 amp mcb. There is no reason he couldn't have kept the shed on the same ring instead of a spur. Personally I like to have sheds on rings as you never know how many drills chargers extension leads etc will be plugged in at the same time

mikeyjames9

a 20 amp ring wasn't the greatest idea with the loading

he could've ran a few radials and kept the shed separate or else a 32amp ring

POE101

Thanks for response mickeyjames9, it begs the question.. Are the regs so ambiguous that two (or even three) qualified electricians could come up with seemingly very different solutions? To answer my own question I guess there is always more than one way to skin a cat but one might expect that such a common requirement would have a common solution. What worries me is the other cliche 'doctors differ and patients die'. I'm going to me more vigilent in my own home where occasionally running a clothes dryer, washing machine, dishwasher microwave and kettle at the same time could happen without a thought for the load - not any more! or is that being paranoid?

POE101

Luckysasha wrote: »

If its a ring main it should be on a 32 amp mcb. There is no reason he couldn't have kept the shed on the same ring instead of a spur. Personally I like to have sheds on rings as you never know how many drills chargers extension leads etc will be plugged in at the same time

At this point I think I'll go out and buy a 32A mcb and fit it for him.

Re the shed - the cct was already in place and shed at the end of garden (40ft away from house) so my guess is it would be major job/cost to re run. I don't know whats in it, might be just one light or could be welding equipment as I wasn't privy to the conversations the owner had with the electrician, I just had to say something when I saw what was originally happening in the 'utility room' (think I'll get nosey and find out about the shed though). The irony is that the original house owner worked in the ESB and added the ccts, in his defence I doubt he ever intended the 'utility room' cct to be used in the way it was about to be.