Outdoor socket from Garage

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infaddict

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Hi everyone, first post so be gentle :)

Firstly, I'm not an electrician and realise the work I require is covered by Part P and notifiable.  I will therefore be getting a sparky in to do the actual work, but I like to research my requirements, understand the work and decide whether to buy the hardware myself if cheaper.  So this is advice to help with that, not to complete the full job myself.

I have a 5 year old house with external garage.  The garage came with power supplied, via a large SWA from the house, to a consumer unit on garage wall with 2 MCB's, one for lighting (single bulb) and one for sockets (1 double socket).  I have photos of the house consumer board and garage consumer board attached for more info on fusing etc.  In the house, the garage MCB is a B16 alongside a 80A RCD.  In the garage itself, the lighting MCB is B6 ad socket MCB is B16, with a main switch (63A).  

I want a double external socket fixed to outer wall of garage, conveniently the same wall as the garage consumer unit, only 2-3 metres away.  There is a spare (blank plate) in the garage consumer unit which could be used.  My question is around connecting a IP66 double socket (13A) to the outside of the garage wall, hopefully coming through the wall to inside the garage and up to the consumer unit.

My questions:

1) Is there enough capacity on the system (house and garage consumer units) to take an additional double socket?

2) What size MCB would be preferred in the garage consumer unit, to connect the double socket?

3) What size wiring would be preferred to run from garage MCB to outdoor socket?

House consumer unit picture: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MjNVYsMOMPN6shikxluD9jDL6ei4O43u/view?usp=sharing

Garage consumer unit picture: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fuf5bHh5RrN0CyF355gva2KR8B899s9D/view?usp=sharing

Thanks in advance!

 
Hi,

Your links to the photos don't work and to be brutally honest you need to get electricians to come on site to advise and provide prices ................... the questions you are asking suggest you are planning to do this yourself.

 
Hi,

Your links to the photos don't work and to be brutally honest you need to get electricians to come on site to advise and provide prices ................... the questions you are asking suggest you are planning to do this yourself.


Wow, so much for the UK's friendliest electrical forum.  The links work fine and have been tested in private windows in multiple browsers so the problem must be at your end.  I was not asking for prices, I was asking for guidance on approach to the job.  In other far more helpful forums I have been informed this job is not notifiable and can be carried out by a competent person, so I'm unsure why you remark on my planning to do this myself (which I'm not, as I clearly stated in my original post).

 
To be fair there are a few issues a professional electrician should be looking at noting:  e.g. 

What is the total power and lighting demand in the garage and potentially in the garden as well at any time.  Is the current SWA cable correctly sized and installed for adding more sockets? . .  What are the Earthing arrangements.  Are current regs met?

The RCCD protection that would trip when the mower gets drowned is in the house which is not particularly convenient (and would trip other important areas of the house too) A furious user of the oven might reset the RCCD without checking the garden !!!

Certification would be needed - what sort would depend on what was done

It can seem infuriating that running a plugged in extension lead out into the garden is legally 'fine' while fixed wiring on a wall begs a lot of questions but there you have it

 
Wow, so much for the UK's friendliest electrical forum.  The links work fine and have been tested in private windows in multiple browsers so the problem must be at your end.  I was not asking for prices, I was asking for guidance on approach to the job.  In other far more helpful forums I have been informed this job is not notifiable and can be carried out by a competent person, so I'm unsure why you remark on my planning to do this myself (which I'm not, as I clearly stated in my original post).


Specifically because you want the forum to specify the cables required ........................... why would you need to know this?

And new circuits ARE notifiable on the basis you live in England or Wales...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wow, so much for the UK's friendliest electrical forum.  The links work fine and have been tested in private windows in multiple browsers so the problem must be at your end.  I was not asking for prices, I was asking for guidance on approach to the job.  In other far more helpful forums I have been informed this job is not notifiable and can be carried out by a competent person, so I'm unsure why you remark on my planning to do this myself (which I'm not, as I clearly stated in my original post).


Oh god, here we go again! 

Possibly the most contentious subject on a electrical forum. 

TBH it's your house and you can do what the fudge you like. 

It doesn't sound overly complicated to me....

1: probably

2: 16 or 20 amps should do it 

3: 2.5 twin and earth

You can do this work yourself by all means but you won't have the correct equipment to test nor will you have the accreditations to certify and sign off the work for that part pee malarkey, nor will you have the insurances to cover you should the brown stuff hit the fan and that is why most on here would recommend calling in an electrician.

 
whether or not the supply is adequate depends on what you intend to plug into the socket? If you are talking about a lawn mower, it's fine. If you are planning to plug in  a MiG welder or jacuzzi, then probably not. 

@Murdoch  keep  it freindly..

 
 In other far more helpful forums I have been informed this job is not notifiable and can be carried out by a competent person, so I'm unsure why you remark on my planning to do this myself (which I'm not, as I clearly stated in my original post).


OK so why ask the same question again? As a new cct, which this would be, it is notifiable as a new cct. There's little to stop you doing the work even then!  Any competent person can do electrical work, likewise any hairdresser can cut your hair. The unfortunate thing with the UK is that I might consider myself a competent hairdresser and set up a barber shop tomorrow (it wouldn't last long  :^O ).  This sounds like a simple straight forward peice of work, but as I also can't get your links to work, it's hard to advise.

 
If you connect your new cable from your external socket to the existing 16A socket MCB already supplying the garage sockets then technically you are extending an exiting circuit which is NOT notifiable. But if you connect the very same cable onto a new MCB then technically it is a new circuit which IS notifiable. One of the stupid anomalies of the Part-P fiasco. However irrespective of notifiable or not, ALL electrical work should be correctly designed, installed and tested in accordance with BS7671 wiring regulations, to verify ALL safety protective devices will operate fast enough in the event of a fault to prevent killing anyone in under a second. Your description of the RCD only relates to the maximum power it can safely disconnect, you do not mention its tripping current, which should be 30ma? The tripping times of this RCD will need to be tested along with the earth loop impedance to verify the overload protection of the MCB's will  also operate quick enough. If you do not have access to, and knowledge of how to use, Earth-Loop-Impedance Testers, and RCD testers, etc. then I would just leave it to a competent person to undertake the work for you. . Especially as all external wiring has added dangers where you export power outside of the equipotential zone. if you get it wrong you or your loved ones could be dead very quickly.  (links don't work)

Doc H.

 
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