16 AMP Upgrade...Completed

[biskit]

^^^^^ what he said and make sure they are insured. ^^^^^

 

[James-1986]

Use "C" type MCB's, they will deal with the spike in current when you start a motor. With the "B" type MCB's you will have to overate them which isn't great for protecting the machine or yourself. Your new JET planer will cause more problems than your dewalt table saw as it has a bigger motor starting a bigger load.

You can buy a fully populated 10 way consumer unit for £40, a much better idea than replacing that RCD. That way you can have separate breakers for sockets/lights/machinery.

As others have said its a good idea to check the cable, especially if its a long way from the house.

 

[PeteG]

I've called a qualified electrician who is coming down on Saturday to have a look

Hi Pete,
Mate, that's the best course of action for you on this occasion. Not wishing to kick a man when you're down, but as said by others there are a few confusing issues there.
The actual connection/provision of a 16 amp supply is straight forward but there's a few things needing to be put right first. I wouldn't feel confident on advising you on it sorry.
Fairplay though Pete for having the guts to admit you're out of your depth and are calling in a pro =D>
Let us know how it goes.

It makes sense my friend Part of the problem is being so broke, I've been selling off all my worldly belongings to pay for the P/T.
Thankfully a chap is buying my fly tying vice this weekend which will cover the cost of the electrician.

Really appreciate all the advice and help chaps, I can get my head around most things but electrics, my brain goes in to melt down

 

[PeteG]

The electrician has been this morning, we had a brew and a chat and then he showed me his party trick which involved removing the cover from the fuse box
and falling about laughing :lol: He asked who did the work and then explained that not only could he not understand how it's been wired, the RCD hadn't been wired in.
Again it was questioned why a 16 amp fuse was replaced for a 40 when the fuse in the house is 16 amp. He said the first thing to do was sort this out and make everything
safe!

The major problem is the cable to house isn't sufficient enough for a 16 amp upgrade, and it isn't something that can be replaced due to the way it was installed.
To sort this out and put a larger board in the shed, and then run a 16 amp socket off, I'm looking at around £250.00, money I don't really have.

At this point more tea was called for as I had a decision to make, let the chap make everything safe, cancel the Jet and oder an Axminster AT107 which could take another
two to three weeks, or go with the Jet which will be here in a couple of days and let the guy do what he needs to do!

Well, he's coming back this week, may be Monday but more likely it'll be Thursday. He's going to put a 10 mm cable in from the house, a larger board in the
shed and then put the 16 amp socket it. He said I will also be set up for any future machines, but what's more important, everything will work, it'll be safe,
and I won't have to keep turning things off like the heater or dust extractor when I want to use the table saw.

I was hoping it was going to be a simple little job, but then things never seem to work out that way. And the more I think about it, £250.00 doesn't seem that much for
peace of mind.

 

[n0legs]

£250.00 doesn't seem that much for peace of mind.

That Pete is the result you wanted =D>
Yes it's nice to save a few quid and spend it where you really want, but some things need doing right.
The price is very good, two visits, doing the job and it being all above board. Very reasonable I'd say.
Thanks for the update.

 

[Wuffles]

Seems like a decent price for the work involved Pete.

 

[woodfarmer]

I ended up putting 53 amp armoured cable to the barn (on a 32 amp trip) from the house to drive a 4 Kw log splitter. everything starts quickly now, even the welder works better because not much volts drop. Well worth doing.

 

[PeteG]

Seems like a decent price for the work involved Pete.

It's gone up £50 to £300, the chaps just emailed the invoice, apparently he was out a little on costing the materials.

I ended up putting 53 amp armoured cable to the barn (on a 32 amp trip) from the house to drive a 4 Kw log splitter. everything starts quickly now, even the welder works better because not much volts drop. Well worth doing.

He said it would solve a few problems once completed. I have to be careful how many things are running or it trips. When I switch the T/S on, I then go over to switch the vac on, having made sure nothing else is on other than the lights. I also turn a torch on as with having no windows and a good chance the T/S will trip the fuse in the house, once all the lights go out, I'm in complete darkness.

£250.00 doesn't seem that much for peace of mind.

That Pete is the result you wanted =D>
Yes it's nice to save a few quid and spend it where you really want, but some things need doing right.
The price is very good, two visits, doing the job and it being all above board. Very reasonable I'd say.
Thanks for the update.

It makes sense I know, just took a while to realise it. Bit shocked the other lad didn't wire the RCD up!
I'll post a piccy when it's all in place

 

[biskit]

Sounds a good price, how far is the cable run to your shed? is the cable going in the ground? I want a bigger supply to my shop and that is in the ground. Keep us updated.

 

[PeteG]

Sounds a good price, how far is the cable run to your shed? is the cable going in the ground? I want a bigger supply to my shop and that is in the ground. Keep us updated.

The old cable was set under the kitchen floor and come out of the kitchen about 20 foot from the shed. Originally it then went up the wall to a bracket and then over to the shed. I took it down a while ago and around last October had the flags between the kitchen and shed re-laid with the cable placed below. As there is no way I'm having the flags taken up again to get to the cable, the new one will be coming out the side and running along the kitchen wall at ground level, and then going in a trench through the garden by passing the flags. The electrician will buy a 25 metre roll of cable which he reckons will cover it just fine. So the £305.00 covers all the materials, cable, larger board in the shed, digging the trench for the cable, putting all the wires back in the correct places this time, and once he's done that, then fitting the 16 amp socket

PS: Just realised my next post will be number 666 :twisted:

 

[Adam9453]

Make sure you get the certificate from him for the work as you may need it if you decide to sell the house or in the unfortunate event of making an insurance claim

 

[PeteG]

Would never have thought of that Adam, I really appreciate the help, thank you

 

[PeteG]

I now have a 16 Amp socket The electrician turned up nice and early this morning and started straight away. He drilled through the kitchen to get the 10 mm cable
inside and then attached it to the wall around the extension and just as he was about to start digging a trench through the garden the heavens opened up. He didn't stop,
just kept going until the cable was up to the shed. Cable in, replacement fuse box up, all the wiring put back, 16 amp socket in, and then back to the house to wire the
cable up. He is coming back in the morning to test it all, but he's also going to do a couple of other little jobs.

This evening the Axminster driver called to say he'll be here at 7.30 am tomorrow if I want an early delivery. Couldn't be better.

Here's a piccy of my new, 16 Amp socket

 

[Wuffles]

Smart.

 

[AJB Temple]

You have already got more stuff plugged in to that double via an adaptor, get him to add a couple more pairs of sockets!

 

[sploo]

Siamese you have already got mute stuff plugged in to that double via an adaptor, get him to add a couple more!

If it's one thing I've learnt with a workshop: you can never have enough plug sockets, because there's never one quite where you need it!

Looks good though - nice to see the wiring is in conduit. Much neater and safer.

 

[PeteG]

Smart.

Thanks Wuffles

Siamese you have already got mute stuff plugged in to that double via an adaptor, get him to add a couple more!

I have eleven double sockets so should be OK, just always kept the phone and radio on a double plug, but I could separate them now.

 

[PeteG]

Siamese you have already got mute stuff plugged in to that double via an adaptor, get him to add a couple more!

If it's one thing I've learnt with a workshop: you can never have enough plug sockets, because there's never one quite where you need it!

Looks good though - nice to see the wiring is in conduit. Much neater and safer.

I wished I had known more about electrics when I had the shed re-vamped, I would have had the 4 mm cable replaced then.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've just put 10 doubles in a small garage/workshop. My last one was a double garage and I had 25 doubles.

 

[PeteG]

I've just put 10 doubles in a small garage/workshop. My last one was a double garage and I had 25 doubles.

I should have gone for 16 doubles Phil come to think about it, would have been easier.

It was such a pleasure today be able to use the table saw with out it tripping in the house, everythin now works in harmony
Axminster turned up nice and early this morning with the P/T, around 7.40 am, couldn't wait to get it plugged in and hit the on
button, for once everything has worked out spot on.