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- Thread starter Philmo
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A landscaper eh? sounds like you are down to earth..... 
Any practical experience?
Just getting started really. I've always sub contracted in electricians for garden lighting etc. They've always been really helpful and answered any questions I've had. Explained what and why they were doing certain things. But the time has come to "bite the bullet" and start to develop those skills myself.
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Hello Philmo, welcome to the forum...
I assume when you say you have 'Part P'.. you actually mean you have attained various C&G qualifications that will allow you to self certify Part-P notifiable work.. assuming you are a member of one of the industry recognised scheme/scam providers..? (e.g. Napit/Nic/Elecsa etc..)
Those of us who were already working and trading pre 2005ish..
will know that Part-P is just a building regulation... NOT an electrical qualification!
Guidance for It can be downloaded for free from places like:-
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electrical-safety-approved-document-p
So to a lot of people working in the trade, to say you have "Part-P" means little or nothing with regard to technical electrical competence..
Where-as, practical hands-on experience and City & Guilds qualifications are a more recognisable bench-mark...
A quick bit of bottom line guidance for any posts you want to contribute....
is to be open and honest about where you are at with any questions you have..
offer any suggestions that you think may be the answer..
And you should find most of us are willing to offer our guidance / suggestion...
Pretending to be something you are not, with more experience than you actually have, generally brings minimal productive response!
So...
It sounds like you have got your ladder up against the wall and have started climbing up a rung or two?
Don't lose heart if you think there are lots and lots of rungs still to go..
Take it a rung at a time... adding experience, and further qualifications as you encounter them!
The electrical industry is developing and changing at an ever increasing rate..
So opportunities are out there waiting to be attained!
Hey,
Sorry for the confusion when I said part p. I'm a long way off signing my own work off. What I meant to say was I've done the first C&G thing that covers part p.
I'm literally just getting started out and it seems that although there are defined paths to gold card there's nowhere that simply and easily breaks it down to "with x qualification you can do y work"
That's what I'm struggling with the most.
That's because to do any work all you need to be is ' competent' , whatever that means
. There used to be limited scope registrations for NIC/ Napit registration, aimed at plumbers and some other trades. I'm not sure if they still exist, but it sounds like the sort of thing that would suit your needs. I'm guessing you aren't planning on rewiring a factory or house anytime soon?
Tbh I think the only thing I'll be doing for a while is work on my own house and garden lighting, maybe power to sheds.That's because to do any work all you need to be is ' competent' , whatever that means
There used to be limited scope registrations for NIC/ Napit registration, aimed at plumbers and some other trades. I'm not sure if they still exist, but it sounds like the sort of thing that would suit your needs. I'm guessing you aren't planning on rewiring a factory or house anytime soon?
I get that ponds are a special case as there is water involved (is that right)?
Never heard of an outdoor limited scope and if your not putting in new circuits then part p doesn't apply.
It's more swimming pools, saunas, etc that part p applies to.
Glad your starting the journey but be careful as there is so much confusion out there regarding part p, what it is and what it's needed for.
Best bet is download a copy of the partp requirements from the building control website. Its free and tells you exactly what is and isnt covered by it.
Others may disagree so my tin hat is on and I'm hiding behind the bunker walls).
It's more swimming pools, saunas, etc that part p applies to.
Glad your starting the journey but be careful as there is so much confusion out there regarding part p, what it is and what it's needed for.
Best bet is download a copy of the partp requirements from the building control website. Its free and tells you exactly what is and isnt covered by it.
Others may disagree so my tin hat is on and I'm hiding behind the bunker walls).
The whole garden is wet!
Ponds are a bit interesting, you can have an electrical fault that fails to trip RCDs, but because the plastic liners insulate the water from earth, the water can be live
. My advice is use 12v gear where ever possible. In fact I would recommend 12v gear for the entire garden - it's a lot easier and safer.Practice on your own house, especially testing,as you will need to be able to test. Other than that you need to know how to make off SWA cable glands, and learn the general joys of using IP rated enclosures etc etc.
One tip I will give you, if fitting ground lights, make sure any seals are totally clean before closing them up, and try to get drainage under them.
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Thanks that's great adviceThe whole garden is wet!
Ponds are a bit interesting, you can have an electrical fault that fails to trip RCDs, but the plastic liners insulate the water from earth, so the water can be live
Practice on your own house, especially testing,as you will need to be able to test. Other than that you need to know how to make off SWA cable glands, and learn the general joys of using IP rated enclosures etc etc.
One tip I will give you, if fitting ground lights, make sure any seals are totally clean before closing them up, and try to get drainage under them.
Second-onded on the SELV comment, but with one provisio which might not be obvious to the OP, in that you really don't want to run it too far for volt drop, so the ideal is that your fancy water feature with various lights all around has all the equipment being 12V, but 230v is brought somewhere near by and there a GRP IP rated cabinet nearby in a tucked out the way, semi-sheltered and reasonable distance off the ground location with all the power supplies and drivers nicely mounted in it
Thank youSecond-onded on the SELV comment, but with one provisio which might not be obvious to the OP, in that you really don't want to run it too far for volt drop, so the ideal is that your fancy water feature with various lights all around has all the equipment being 12V, but 230v is brought somewhere near by and there a GRP IP rated cabinet nearby in a tucked out the way, semi-sheltered and reasonable distance off the ground location with all the power supplies and drivers nicely mounted in it
For garden lighting make sure you read reviews of products before you buy because some are so unfit for purpose AND make sure all connections are readily accessible for maintenance
I’ve made really good money fault finding and improving bad workmanship of kit installed by others
I’ve made really good money fault finding and improving bad workmanship of kit installed by others
Thanks Murdoch
Thanks Murdoch
And bear in mind there are still heaps of homes without rcd protection so this needs to be added to
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In regard to ponds etc.........
Lights
Most lights are 12v some are even 24v, but as Phoenix pointed out a good "Plastic" box mounted close to the pond/water feature is a very good idea, yes it adds to the cost, but it makes connecting things easier, and should a problem occur you have a good place to start. If there are to be lights anywhere near the pond/water feature, I would suggest they be IP 67 or above. Water will try and get in anywhere.
The IP rating is a way of saying how much water the item can withstand before water ingress happens. You don't want a side light turning into a floodlight. You can also have lights in the pond or water feature, these must be IP68 rated.
Pumps
Most folk will want a fountain of some sort, a 12v pump sounds good, but in practice they are either too small to do much, have very limited choice of nozzles and often have very short leads. Yes you can get 12v pumps that are "quite reasonable" but they cost close to £1k each (No joke) So the best option is mains operated pumps. Pumps designed for ponds must have an earth connection in the pump. I have actually kept a pump that has failed because it has "gone down to earth" even though it appears to be resin sealed.
Above is a 12v pump sitting next to a mains pump. No contest.
Not forgetting pond filtration, which must have a pump and a UV light, both of which are mains operated. Some people even have a dedicated "cupboard" (For want of a better word) for all the "switch gear" Swimming pool owners have a "plant room"
I would suggest, as has already been said, install a "distribution box" near the pond/water feature, make sure the supply is RCD/RCBO protected and keep the pump cable protected and short as possible. A standard pump cable is 10m Long.
I would also suggest that any "plastic box" you use is securely mounted and that you drill a hole (no bigger than 4mm) in the rear bottom corners of the box, this will allow any condensation to escape.
Lights
Most lights are 12v some are even 24v, but as Phoenix pointed out a good "Plastic" box mounted close to the pond/water feature is a very good idea, yes it adds to the cost, but it makes connecting things easier, and should a problem occur you have a good place to start. If there are to be lights anywhere near the pond/water feature, I would suggest they be IP 67 or above. Water will try and get in anywhere.
The IP rating is a way of saying how much water the item can withstand before water ingress happens. You don't want a side light turning into a floodlight. You can also have lights in the pond or water feature, these must be IP68 rated.
Pumps
Most folk will want a fountain of some sort, a 12v pump sounds good, but in practice they are either too small to do much, have very limited choice of nozzles and often have very short leads. Yes you can get 12v pumps that are "quite reasonable" but they cost close to £1k each (No joke) So the best option is mains operated pumps. Pumps designed for ponds must have an earth connection in the pump. I have actually kept a pump that has failed because it has "gone down to earth" even though it appears to be resin sealed.
Above is a 12v pump sitting next to a mains pump. No contest.
Not forgetting pond filtration, which must have a pump and a UV light, both of which are mains operated. Some people even have a dedicated "cupboard" (For want of a better word) for all the "switch gear" Swimming pool owners have a "plant room"
I would suggest, as has already been said, install a "distribution box" near the pond/water feature, make sure the supply is RCD/RCBO protected and keep the pump cable protected and short as possible. A standard pump cable is 10m Long.
I would also suggest that any "plastic box" you use is securely mounted and that you drill a hole (no bigger than 4mm) in the rear bottom corners of the box, this will allow any condensation to escape.
I have exactly that. It is powered from an adjacent waterproof socket and contains a multi block with RF remote switches which allow the pond pump, misting device and decking lights to be controlled from within the house. The transformers for the two latter are also within the box. I reckon that's as good a solution as any, at least using readily available parts.
The difficulties in assembling it are firstly finding a multi block with wide enough spacing to allow the RF switches side by side, then having sufficient space to plug the wall-wart style transformers into the remote switches. You probably need a bigger box than you first think.
If anyone knows of a more elegant way of doing this, I'm interested for the future.
