Wiggly Amp supply to my workshop

[Digizz]

I need to get some wiggly amps (electricity for the non-initiated!) into my workshop (yet to be built) and need some advice:

My house's consumer unit is of the split type - one side is protected by an RCD and supplies ring mains and some other areas (garage and hot tub - very nice ). The other side supplies lighting circuits.

Should I take a feed off of the RCD side to the workshop (via armoured cable) or from the unprotected side and then fit a new RCD in the consumer unit that will be fitted in the workshop?

My plan is to fit a couple of separate circuits in the workshop - one for general use and a few for specific items such as table saw etc.

Ta.

 

[Bean]

My workshop runs off a 45Amp breaker on the Earth Leakage side of my split consumer unit via another consumer unit in the workshop which replaced a 30 Amp switch.
I am in the process of planning where I need sockets as I now have some power tools and would also be interested in the answers to the above.

Bean

 

[Aragorn]

My workshop has the heavy duty wiring for the table saw and jointer, plus regular wiring for sockets and lights. I have the protected circuitry in the workshop coming from an armoured cable out of the house. In the house I have a heavy duty trip switch between the armoured cable and the house mains.
This was all done by a qualified electrician a couple of years ago, and it hasn't caused me any problems!
Hope that helps.

 

[sawdustalley]

I rekon you should bring an electrician in - he will know what to do best :wink:

 

[Dewy]

There is plenty of advice on such subjects in the Screwfix electricians forum.
http://www.screwfix.com/talk/forum.jspa?forumID=23
Read what has already been posted regarding outdoor power supplies & if your question hasn't been answered, post a topic there.
Those guys may crack jokes but they are an invaluble source of advice.

 

[DaveL]

I would recommend that you try for a split feed. You want the earth leakage to protect the power circuits, but I would want the lights on a separate feed. This is how the house should be wired. It stops you being plunged into darkness when a fault occurs on a power circuit.

 

[Anonymous]

Or try here, this topic was covered in the electric forum not so long ago.


http://www.diynot.com/

 

[Anonymous]

Digizz

The consumer unit in the house will only be protecting the cable, not you. The second consumer unit in garage protects you.
You should probably feed it from the non-RCD side using an MCB rather than RCD in the house to avoid nuisance tripping of the RCD. RCDs (residual current devices) usually trip at 30mA of leakage current to earth and I have seen them nuisance trip with long buried cables as well as neutral loops where not all neutrals on the RCD are terminated in exactly the same place in the main consumer unit.
Ideally, make sure the cable is steel wire armoured (not cheap but best) and buried under a fence or similar to reduce the chances of accidental damage.
In the garage definitely use an RCD protected consumer unit to protect YOU.