Garage Supply Advice

[mike350]

Hi

Im hoping you can help.

We live in a newish house (13months old). With a single detached garage, to which there is a feed (through armoured cable) to a couple of lights and sockets direct (no consumer unit in the garage).

Obviously the house is has a modern unit in it with an RCD etc.

My question:
Should the garage be wired to its own fuse within the consumer unit?

At the moment its on the same fuse as the rest of the house sockets.

We also have a second fuse and this seems oddly for an outside plug - which when we had an extractor replaced under warranty, were inform they obviously made a mistake as this was wired to be the feed to the neighbours garage.

My thinking is they wired correctly a feed to the garage off its own fuse from the main consumer unit protected by the house RCD.
Then realised they wired it to the wrong garage (wrong side of the house). So put a feed off the lounge/main house sockets fuse to power the garage.

Covering up the mistake by then putting the waterproof outdoor socket on the wall.

As the house is still under warranty and I use the garage for proper car stuff (compressors welders etc) i want to get this right.

Help...

(sorry for a long first question!)

 

[Sintra]

IMO the garage should be fed from a seperate circuit in your main cu. Ideally this should be run to another cu in the garage. Your garage cu should then feed your lights, sockets etc.

Hopefully there is adaquate circuit protection for the garage lighting as you mention spurring from house sockets.

I would get somebody to check it out.

 

[cryoservice1]

The garage should be fed from a seperate circuit in your main board. Then this should be run to another cu in the garage.

 

[Phil]

yeh like sintra says get someone in to advise then get on the phone and get them to sort it, needs putting right for you

 

[mike350]

Thanks guys

This is what i thought.

Ill get on to them and see what they say

 

[mike350]

Right its taken a little time! but the response im getting is its all ok - although i dont believe it, even the diagram they sent me doesnt follow, so maybe one you could could cast an expert eye?

Just as a reminder - the detached (seperate) garage is wired direct out of the back of a socket in the lounge to a socket in the garage via armored cable - no switch (other than on the double socket in the garage) or fuse is in place. The lounge ring is on the same as the rest of the house, linked to 1 fuse on the consumer unit on the green RCD protected side.

Bearing that in mind this is the response:

It is acceptable to spur one socket from a ring socket which is what we’ve done in your garage.

The switched fused spur connection unit installed in the garage provides a functional switch for the light and provide protection to the 1mm cable that feeds it.

I instruct our electricians to leave the 13 amp fuse in the spur because it is acceptable to protect 1mm cable with a 13 amp fuse and if a lower rating were used it would need replacing when the lap blew.

If only one socket is spurred from the ring circuit a means protecting the cable from overload is not necessary. In this instance one socket is installed in the garage together with a light so this is the case.

Another way of looking at this is if a spur is taken from an existing socket to an additional new one no fused spur is necessary. What we’ve done in your garage is the same as this.

Should additional items be installed in the garage at a later date, a fused spur would be required to protect the cable taken from the ring circuit from being overloaded. The electrical contractor carrying out the work would need to deal with this.
Apart from the connection box which is untidy please let me know what part of this installation breaches BS7671 (IEE Wiring Regulations)

Really big thanks in advance

 

[ezzzekiel]

after a quick scan I would say its acceptable but a quick and cheaper way of doing it.
as mentioned best option is feed from dedicated circuit to garage cu.


just to add, not sure where you going with this but unless the required circuit was specified then theres not much can be done without additional costs.

 

[mogga]

personaly if I was mike id be trying NICEIC and get them to come out and check it as if its a newbuild then how many on the estate would be done the same ?(if proved to be wrong)

 

[mogga]

just another thought you dont mention how the SWA is terminated Is it glanded at both ends?

 

[JUD]

Hi

Im hoping you can help.

We live in a newish house (13months old). With a single detached garage, to which there is a feed (through armoured cable) to a couple of lights and sockets direct (no consumer unit in the garage).

Obviously the house is has a modern unit in it with an RCD etc.

My question:
Should the garage be wired to its own fuse within the consumer unit?

At the moment its on the same fuse as the rest of the house sockets.

We also have a second fuse and this seems oddly for an outside plug - which when we had an extractor replaced under warranty, were inform they obviously made a mistake as this was wired to be the feed to the neighbours garage.

My thinking is they wired correctly a feed to the garage off its own fuse from the main consumer unit protected by the house RCD.
Then realised they wired it to the wrong garage (wrong side of the house). So put a feed off the lounge/main house sockets fuse to power the garage.

Covering up the mistake by then putting the waterproof outdoor socket on the wall.

As the house is still under warranty and I use the garage for proper car stuff (compressors welders etc) i want to get this right.

Help...

(sorry for a long first question!)

Why would you have a feed to the neighbours garage from your consumer unit???

Wouldn't that be giving them free electricity for their garage???

 

[mike350]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the input so far...

First one is easy. There isnt a feed to the neighbours garage as it stops at the wall on our house - but on their garage's side of our house. The box (with live wires to the spare CU fuse) is identical to our garage feed (and the 2 neighbours) just without the connecting armoured cable.

Second I like the idea of NICEIC - im going to look into that now.

Third - Where im going: Its simple We just want it right, right for our needs and most importantly dont want a bill to put it right when we sell the house (havinghaving been through an electrical inspection on a 5yr old house).

Fourth - I read it simply (in the wiring regs etc), which is why im getting confused more and more (bearing in mind they sent me a document showing this)
A detached (or any) external building or garage, should be wired from its own feed in the consumer unit to the garage via armoured cable. (?)
It shouldnt be wired off an exsisting ring
The circuit should be protected by a fuse

At the moment i get the impression from them, im getting the regs to fit the real wiring, not the real wiring to fit the actual regulations?

Surely it should be clear cut? at the minute im reading it that its OK to have a socket in an external garage ETC not fuse protected and on the main house ring?

(PS what ever happened to upstairs ring, down stairs ring, garage ring and lights?)

Always welcome you comments...

 

[Stokey]

The contractors work does comply with regs and is acceptable, as others have said separate protected cable from cu and 2 way cu in the garage is better, but could be more expensive to install, the contractor has meet the minimum requirements of BS7671. Where he may be in error is no earth connection on the armour of the SWA if it is run underground, but that depends how it is terminated to the socket in the house.

 

[mike350]

The contractors work does comply with regs and is acceptable, as others have said separate protected cable from cu and 2 way cu in the garage is better, but could be more expensive to install, the contractor has meet the minimum requirements of BS7671. Where he may be in error is no earth connection on the armour of the SWA if it is run underground, but that depends how it is terminated to the socket in the house.

Thanks

Can you clarify - is it ok for there to be no fuse protection (other than the main socket fuse for the house) for the garage?

 

[Stokey]

Thanks

Can you clarify - is it ok for there to be no fuse protection (other than the main socket fuse for the house) for the garage?

Yes it is ok and is allowed under BS7671. I don't agree with it, and I would not do it, but to say the contractors work is incorrect, you must be able to reference a regulation number to show non compliance, from what you describe he achieved the minimum to satisfy BS7671.

 

[GT1]

Can you clarify:

Is there a fused connection unit in the garage ?

Your post says feed from house into a double socket and no fuses ?

The response from the company says there is an fcu, which also doubles as the light switch ?