Just how easy is it to install outside power and lighting. PART 1

[@Cjrelectrical]

Cable depth is around 20 inches. Only place it isn’t is under patio slabs and on top of a French drain. Just to help with any comments coming in.

[@TheRCBiker]

5:28 c'mon mate don't take us for fools, that looks barely 20cm never mind 20 inches!

[@Cjrelectrical]

Under patio yes I agree as it’s quite pointless. But on the grassed area I can assure you it’s deep enough.

[@TheRCBiker]

@@Cjrelectrical 👍

[@spoon1272]

lmao... That is nowhere near 20 inch deep on the grassed area. 20cm maybe... and that would be pushing it..

[@strummer6642]

What's the difference between 20 inches and deep enough? About 8 inches.

[@NBundyElectrical]

good to have u back bud

[@robweedall6002]

Lovely stuff! Nice to have you back! Personally id have fed the next leg downwards so i don't have to pull the whole length to the next point through the conduit, also its easy to get the bush out if you're struggling! But whatever works! Looking forward to part 2!

[@bertbergers9171]

Hi Chris, good to see some footage of you guys again! I wondered how your explaining was talking of following the edge of the lawn and then in execution you made a near straight run through the lawn. Then you talked sense with the underground system being there. Running cable in gardens is never easy. I once wired a blockcabin in the backyard of my uncle (under tips and tricks of a real electrician). (in the Netherlands) I Located a fuseboard 30 cm off the floor and ran my distribution in conduit in the underfloor insulation, then came up 30 cm to sockets around the cabin and on two spots i ran conduit up 2 meters strait, but i picked spots where i could bend a 90 and leave it unclamped for like a meter. The rest of those runs i kept horizontal on the same woodlayer. I made 2 more t's in one of those runs into the sauna (with temp capable cable) and put 2 loops in those drops (for lighting). The 3-phase heating element in the sauna was wired underground in conduit from the consumer board (by the electrician himself) which i located on the backwall of the sauna in the adjacent room. Why all this: well, because of the cabin company telling us the wood shrinks and grows every season and i didn't want to leave tension on the wiring. I am curious if you made a loop inside the consumer board to give the wiring space for growth and shrinkage? Also the cable on the outside of the building might get under some tension? At least you filmed this in a wet summer so the shed could be not to much on it's lowest point. Maybe UK is so wet year round you don't get too much dryness shrinking the building anyhow.

[@Cjrelectrical]

New circuit was not an option. Consumer unit is only there to distribute the power easily when garden lighting will be added. Can go on a minor works as not a new circuit or to fit all on could go on an electrical installation certificate. If they required anymore than 13amp a ie for a fridge heater or similar then we would have installed a new circuit.

[@fatpedro5588]

Quick tip I learnt with feeding cable through conduit. Rub fairy liquid over it. It slides through a lot easy.

[@Cjrelectrical]

Yellow 77 👍

[@piotrlobacz]

I have done a socket ring in my garage with t&e in 20mm conduit. Never again. Rewired it with singles.

[@tuboid001]

Yep, 20mm conduit is not suitable for 2.5mm T&E cables, singles all the way.

[@PaulHeath9]

Log cabins expand and contract mainly in a vertical direction. Can be more than 20mm. Hence the reason the windows and door frames are not attached to the cabin walls. The way you've attached things the tubing will get pulled out of the socket boxes or the top trunking.

[@Cjrelectrical]

We shall see 👍

[@davecowan9466]

What would you suggest @PaulHeath9

[@PaulHeath9]

​@@davecowan9466Mount the consumer unit low at the hight of the sockets and make sure everything is only attached to one row of logs.

[@PaulHeath9]

Use plug in lamps to light the cabin

[@AcheForWake]

Great work! I’ve just build my Dunsterhouse - to use as a home office, require your services to electrify it.

[@shaun30-3-mg9zs]

Nice work👍

[@calvinhale9913]

Personally would've gone for singles or 25mm conduit. and would've buried that cable around the outskirts of the lawn and chucked a few bags of shingle on top. Other than that it's a shed ! :)

[@Cjrelectrical]

Exactly. Only reason went across is due to a French drain around the outskirts.

[@calvinhale9913]

@Cjrelectrical oh yes you did mention that 👍🏻

[@BrianTank]

What type of cable did you lay under the ground. Thanks

[@no_short_circuit]

Hi Chris, thanks for the video. As a trainee can I ask why (at 6.24) the banjo is on the outside of the Wiska box. I understand that the continuity of the SWA must be maintained but would having the banjo outside mean you need to drill through the IP66 box to connect to earth and by doing that are you not compromising the IP rating?

[@baz5329]

Reason why earth locknuts are used

[@no_short_circuit]

@@baz5329 Thanks for that - I understand the earth locknut is inside the box so what function does the banjo have when it's outside the box and not connected to anything?

[@baz5329]

@@no_short_circuitit’s in contact with the gland, which keeps the sheath earthed

[@Blenkinsop999]

That manhole cover at 0:51 sends my OCD into overdrive.

[@MHALI-qv9yc]

how much did you charge for this job? by the way you have done a nice job of it.

[@203MPH]

Just wondering, is there no minimum cable depth in the UK? In the Netherlands cables should be at 500mm minimum.

[@Cjrelectrical]

450mm this was buried at 20 inches where possible.

[@203MPH]

@Cjrelectrical thanks for the reply.

[@markharby180]

'Brute force and ignorance ...' not heard that in a long time ;-)

[@edglue6138]

Why isn’t James using drill with chisel bit to get concrete up?

[@tuboid001]

Daft trying to ram 2.5mm T&E cables down 20mm conduit, that's what singles are for!

[@123mikeyd321]

Great stuff. Can I ask as a non electrician, why the fuse board in there? Wouldn't a fused spur for the lights, and the sockets off the incoming supply be just as good? Is it just for room to terminate the cables in?

[@Cjrelectrical]

Yes absolutely but down the line the client is adding outside lighting etc so it’s easier to distribute the power with a small consumer unit.

[@colinpenfold2971]

DP isolation should be installed at a separate structure (as you have done) Using the above method suggested does not give you that (as often is the case)

[@thedarkweeally]

​@@colinpenfold2971Didn't Chris say the incoming supply would taken from a double pole fused switch located inside the home mate? I'm sure he did.

[@colinpenfold2971]

@@thedarkweeally Probably did. My point was in answer to 123mikeyd321 comment i.e. DP isolation required at a separate building, which he has done with the DB in the outbuilding. If the supply is from a SFCU (DP 13A) in the main property, then there is a selectivity issue by putting a 16A mcb downstream.

[@bertbergers9171]

@@colinpenfold2971 there is no issue, the fused spur will allways go first. The 16A breakers are not for safety but for distribution. Maybe Chris could have exhausted safety by putting a sticker on the fuseboard to tell users not to load the board over 13A total. But that is a bit much in my opinion, client asked for the fused spur option, so imho it's their responsibility to remember somehow that they can't overload the shed. Also their responsibility to notify future owners/users of the house about the 13A max load.

[@Tom-2221]

Nice to see common sense applied with the depth of the cable. Customer is aware of it and will know not to go digging there. Great install, I'd be happy if I were the customer.

[@swifty5783]

Thats not the point surely? You wouldn't use that reasoning to run a cable chase diagonally outside of zones - customer is aware of it and won't go drilling there. The homeowner may move house in the future and the new owner may not know where the cable goes or how deep it is. It needs to be deeper than a few inches with proper protection and warning tape to future-proof its safety

[@martin-davidson]

Just do a risk assessment 👍

[@zippydoodah1547]

Thank you for the laff watching the boy with hammer and bolster, is he in the brownies

[@mickuljatheseagull]

Ah Chris, "a tiny mil", is that the opposite to "a good metre"?

[@JamesMaxwell-l5j]

Any techincal reason to run trunking inside rather than conduit on the exterior and back entry all the sockets?

[@Cjrelectrical]

Yeah the outside has overlapping wood and didn’t want to drill the timbers.

[@steveb1856]

Mini fuse board with 16A radial coming off a supply from a 13A fcu spur from the house. Why as discrimination is backwards?

[@adamdavis2788]

What would you do in this situation then?

[@steveb1856]

Armour to Wiska then 2.5 T&E radial (already fused at 13A in house) to sockets with a FCU fused down to 5A, load side for the lights wired in 1mm T&E.

[@Cjrelectrical]

@@steveb1856consumer unit just gives ease of adding garden lighting etc down the line.

[@martinbateman2467]

Did something similar myself for garden & pool lights and a shed

[@Mainly_Electrical]

Should be a 10 amp in the board

[@cjkokay]

Safety glasses

[@brettuk]

have you lost your rods? :)

[@jasonmart1081]

Sparkies always come up with excuses for never going to the advisable 500mm depth with buried cables 🙄😅 Why didn't you make your life easy and use singles in the conduit (I suppose most domestic sparks don't carry/use singles that often)?

[@613klj]

I had an electrician install electrics in my shed a year ago. I was told to dig the trench to 450mm. I hope I never have to dig a trench again.

[@steve11211]

@@613klj Yep 450mm is the minimum with tape laid around 150mm above the cable. I totally agree with him though it is pointless putting tape over it when its only like 100mm below the ground, cause if you dig you will hit the cable straight away rather than finding the tap... Absolutely shocking... Bet he won the job cause he was much cheaper than the other guy that would actually bury the cable to the correct depth..

[@Cjrelectrical]

We did bury the cable at around 20 inches where possible.

[@steve11211]

@@Cjrelectrical Really? I have dug trenches that are at least 450mm, its surprising just how deep that is.. Its almost half a meter, I tend to go 500mm so I can lay 50mm of sand to lay the cable on... Maybe its the camera but it looks like its about 100 - 150mm.. Apologies if it is actually 20 inches which is 50cm or half a meter. When I stand in a trench that is 50cm deep the ground level is above my knees.

[@Cjrelectrical]

Yeah a standard spade head is 10 inches long and I went double so around 20 inches. I will be sure to stick a tape measure in on the next one to help with any confusion.

[@jan-dr1xl]

I thought an earth rod was required if the supply was TNC-S so your not extending the supply earth outside the equipotential zone due to the possibility of a potential difference between the earth your standing on and the supply earth.,And im sure the trench depths supposed to be 450mm not 45mm.

[@lissa020609]

I think your correct but at the same time you need to be around 10m away from any metal pipeing in the ground ect witch isn't rely possible in most domestic settings due to other houses other wize it's not rely on a tt because of the bonding to the pipes in the house that go underground ud be just putting a extra earth rod into the pme system or that's my understanding of it

[@Cjrelectrical]

It’s a shed mate only need its own earthing system if made from metal.

[@jan-dr1xl]

Tents aint made of metal but were still required to use a rod for supplies on campsites if the incomer is TNC-S

[@Cjrelectrical]

@jan-dr1xl applies to caravans and motor homes.

[@tuboid001]

This only applies if you have metallic water/gas services also going to the shed/cabin.

[@Daniells1982]

The consumer unit via a switched fused connection unit was an odd way of doing it mind and I dont think that complies. I'd have either ran a new circuit in if u want to put a small CU in there, or spur off the ring as you have done with a 13A switched fused connection unit and just wire the sockets as a radial and a switched fused connection unit derated to 3A for the lights. How would u even fill out the test cert for a CU installed off a ring final circuit? Are they new circuits or an alteration to an existing? Not having a go mate just didn't get this one and not your normal way of approaching a job.

[@tobysherring1369]

It's a spur and can be tested as such. Adding a CU doesn't make it a new circuit. But I agree with others a 5a spur for lights would be simpler, and could feed future extra lighting.

[@RB-xg2vz]

Hope the assault on James by the metal level went in the accident book??? 😅

[@doomain6769]

When your level hit james on head... Should have said " might help you think straight"

[@Cjrelectrical]

Haha or level headed.

[@stevespoor6567]

I was told, your not allowed to install a consumer unit to a ring circuit? (NICEIC)

[@Cjrelectrical]

It’s not being fed from a ring circuit. It’s off a 13amp connection unit. The consumer unit is for ease of switching and adding additions later on.

[@Mainly_Electrical]

No you shouldn't . The spur will melt

[@Cjrelectrical]

🤣

[@Mainly_Electrical]

@@Cjrelectrical 🔥remove the board and fuse the lights down . Basic stuff kiddo

[@Cjrelectrical]

Ok little sausage.

[@calitos55]

pea gravel - tape - sand

[@peterhealey8270]

I wonder if you realise, Chris, what a bit of a gay icon you've become among us gay men who watch your videos. Some of us electricians, and some of us not. Yes, there are gay electricians out there! You're just so damned cute, and the way you often say 'he', instead of 'this', in your regional accent is so endearing. Best Regards from Peter.

[@Kikz-1v1pinginit]

I prefer to run all the conduit work on the exterior down low and come up to a junction box to drill into the cabin for the power and come up high from the rear of the cabin for the lights. That conduit and ducting inside the cabin is a eye sore, no one wants to see conduit work, looks horrible

[@mikebashford8198]

All that electrical training, and then you have to dig trenches ...

[@andysims4906]

It amuses me people do unsatisfactory work then advertise the fact they have done a inferior job on here. There is no way you can make excuses for not burying that cable it the correct depth . Oh it’s RCD protected. RCDs can fail. In the very rare case I can’t get a section to the correct depth. I sleeve or run the whole section in heavy duty plastic pipe. I also recommend the customer gets someone else to dig it if they can to save on my labour cost.

[@Cjrelectrical]

There is no correct depth unless you are burying cables on a camp site for obvious reasons. Please use your common sense Andy.

[@andysims4906]

@@Cjrelectrical common sense tells me this is not acceptable. Just imagine could have kids want to put a tent up in the back garden . Or a swing ball . Even a free standing bird feeder .the list goes on .

[@jamieisbadiof6106]

@@andysims4906 have you been abused or are you just mentally unstable ? get a grip ffs

[@speedbird300]

I’d agree it’s unlikely someone would dig in the lawn but a spike or hollow core.aerator wouldn’t be unusual

[@1x3dil]

Hi sir I new you would come in for some grief over the armer cable depth , and also the 13 amp fuse supply . But as you rightly said your are limited to 13 amp fuse which in reality would react as designed in an overload situation , and as for the cable in the ground as electrical contractors we have to make common sense decisions every day of our working lives . And this is exactly what you did , obviously we have to be sensible but as a well retired contractor I can say you work is always well above board . A statement that I could not say about many in the industry , were I spent a lot of my time rectifying work that had me wonder how the individuals concerned slept at night . Also in many cases were not talking about single phase supplies , no the stuff that if you come a cropper you don’t get up and walk away from . But I will give you and everyone a tip for an old lag . We found if you leave the sockets off and then push the two cables down the conduit first, even before fixing the saddles in place . So you have your cables coming out of the trunking and you then slide the conduit up , and because you can angle the conduit it makes life a lot easier and who’s not for an easy life 😂. Best wishes and kind regards. 😀👍👍👍