3-phase wiring in industrial unit

[DeLaurel]

Hello! I'm new to the forums and I'll be honest, I'm no electrician. I do however use the infrastructure provided by electricians, mainly in the form of 3-phase power to run my welding plants. You guessed it I'm a fabricator/welder by trade.

Anyhow I've got a query that I'm hoping someone on these forums will be able to help me with. I'm currently looking at a couple of small industrial units to move into as a start up business and I'll need 3-phase to run my welding plants and possibly other heavy machinery. The estate agents running the units say there is a 3-phase connection into the building but no actual lines/sockets. I'm pretty clueless with electrics but can confirm there are what appears to be 3 small grey boxes with L1, L2, L3 on them by the main switchboard suggesting there is a 3-phase connection (can provide a photo if required).

My question is, is it possible to run a power cable + sockets from this switchboard setup and how much would it cost to do? (I.e. To pay an electrician to do it) the line would have to run approximately 6m around a roller shutter, then 12m down the length of the unit ending in a single pair of 3-phase sockets (believe they wanna be 32A).

This is most definitely not a job posting (yet) I'm just trying to get a handle of what it is I'm dealing with. In return I'll be happy to provide any answers to questions you guys have about fabrication and welding.

Photos should be attached to the post for reference!

 

[Pete999]

Looks to me like you have a TP&N supply with only a single phase Consumers unit (fuse board), in order to run any 3 phase and N circuits you would need to get a TP&N distribution board fitted by an Electrician, that what it looks like from the Pics anyway

 

[telectrix]

as above.not a huge job. a TP&N DB, tails, check earthing and bonding, a few yards of SWA and 32A TP sockets. test & cert. all in a day' work for a good sparks.

 

[ruston]

If the fuses are telling the truth you have 300amp . As above , that should be straight forward depending on your loading.

 

[DeLaurel]

Wow, didn't expect a reply so quickly. Seems I'm not the only one up early on a Saturday. So from what you're all saying it seems that the connection is there but I'll need a distribution board hooking up to the connection on top of the cabling and sockets? Seems reasonable to me, was worrying it was going to be a nightmare/impossible to get done. I know it's a stretch as none of you can physically see what you're working with but if everything is A-ok with the connection what is a very rough price guide for this kind of job? Again thanks for the info!

 

[telectrix]

ballpark figure, i'd estimate around £600 - £700.

 

[Pete999]

N0 I think you would do better getting rid of that Single phase CU replacing it with a 3 phase jobby, transferring the circuit into the new board and carry on from there

 

[westward10]

Double that.

 

[ruston]

^^^^ Agree , that might be his labour charge.


Of course we will all have a different scenario in our heads of what is going in there lol.

 

[westward10]

^^^^ Agree , that might be his labour charge.

I know

 

[ruston]

I know

Sorry , I have woke up but my brain hasn't .

 

[DeLaurel]

So about £1200-£1400 from what you're all saying. I can thrash out the details of how/what to do with the boards when I get an electrician out to look at it. That price is a lot of cash for me n will mean a couple more months of saving to keep my budget on-track but I'm super keen on these industrial units, cheap and with a host of other benefits that makes them worth spending some money on. Thanks everyone, the offer about advice on any fab work is still there if any of you need it!

 

[ruston]

Good luck.
To be honest pricing that without seeing it is like a piece of string .
It will all depend on the plant you are having installed and office , lighting etc.

 

[telectrix]

my bad. missed the cost of the DB when totting up materials in 70 year old addled brain. still be able to do the whole job for 1K. that's not including any single phase., which i assume is already installed on that SP DB.( if it weren't so far away ).

 

[UKMeterman]

If the fuses are telling the truth you have 300amp . As above , that should be straight forward depending on your loading.

Hi,
Please take another look at the picture, that is not a 300 amp supply, it is a 100A three phase supply, the two are very different.....