Cable for external power - what size?

[mo7]

This should possibly go into DIY as I am not an electrician but cannot post in that forum.

Long story short - I was having some major buuilding work done. I got an electrician in to quote - part of that quote included putting power into my shed. He told me to buy a 6mm SWA cable and get the buidlers to put it in place (i.e put it underground whilst the building work was going on.

I am no longer in touch with that electrician but I need to buy the cable now ASAP and give it to my builder as the work is about to finish in that area. Rather than get another electrician out I was hoping this question would be easily answered on here.

I need to know what cable to get exactly. Electrician said get 6mm but not sure how many cores to get. He did tell me but I forgot.

The new shed will have 3 light bulbs and maybe 3 plug sockets.

Basic knowledge tells me the 6m is to do with how much power the cable can carry at any one time and the cores will be live,neutral and earth - so I assume 3 core is what I need.

I will put the wire in palce an an electrician will eventually connect it up both ends.

Any thoughts?

 

[Knobhead]

I will put the wire in palce an an electrician will eventually connect it up both ends.

Any thoughts?

“I will put the wire in palce an an electrician will eventually connect it up both ends” We hear this all the time from DIYers. Roughly translated to comes out as “I’ll have a go myself” because I don’t want to employ an electrician.

Contact an electrician before you buy any cable. There’s more to running a supply like this than meets the eye. The type of supply to the house dictates the cable type and installation method.

 

[Richard Burns]

We cannot assess the power requirements from a distance as it requires a measure of calculation to determine the correct size. All based on the supply and installation characteristics.

If you ask another electrician to come in and assess the job they may be able to tell you whether the first electrician was correct; if you explain that you will be contacting them to connect the circuit later then they can let you know how they would like the installation done so that there are not problems at a later date from a non complaint install.

 

[Farmelectrics]

consult an electrician do it once do it right

 

[trev]

Put it this way Mo, if you rang me with this story I'd attend to assess the job and tell you what cable would be needed. I wouldn't charge for this as such but that visit would be considered when giving you the price for the full job.
If you're getting an electrician in then the time to do it is now mate.

 

[HandySparks]

Quoting from a previous thread:

Could you give a more accurate location as Hampshire is rather a large place and maybe somebody on here could pm you?

 

[Octopus]

Quoting from a previous thread:

Could you give a more accurate location as Hampshire is rather a large place and maybe somebody on here could pm you?

I thought I'd put a copyright notice on that posting/comment!

 

[aesmith]

I am no longer in touch with that electrician but I need to buy the cable now ASAP and give it to my builder as the work is about to finish in that area. Rather than get another electrician out I was hoping this question would be easily answered on here.

If you need to do the excavation right away, you could possibly bury a pipe so that the cable can be pulled through at a later stage.

 

[mo7]

If you need to do the excavation right away, you could possibly bury a pipe so that the cable can be pulled through at a later stage.

Yes, that is what I was considering.

I have an electrician coming now later this week to give me a quote so I will ask him.

I spsoe the SWA will just run up the outside the shed, can I get external trunking just to cover it as extra safety measure?

 

[telectrix]

i'd bring the SWA up under the shed, through the floor.