Horse Stables and Workshop

[ruu]

Hi,

I'm looking for some help / guidance, so please be gentle as I do not normally get involved with this type of work.
I have been asked by my cousin (freebie job) to connect up his newly built horse stables and workshop.
He has run a supply cable from his TN-C-S incomer to the workshop, which is SWA 3 core 50mm direct in ground and total cable length is 110m.
The 4 stables and workshop sit on a concrete slab (no bonded metal grid in concrete) and the building material is wood.
The only other service coming into stables is a plastic water pipe and any supply off this will be run in plastic.

I have suggested all cables run for lights and sockets should be in SWA or PVC conduit (protect against rodent / horses)
He would like one light / stable and 2-4 outside lights (ceiling height approx 5m) and one socket outlet for use in one stable for vet etc. all light switches and socket will be mounted on the outside of the workshop next to end stable.
The workshop will have a ring main and lights and possibly a car ramp rated at 16a (I was tempted to spur of ring with a 16a socket).
Does the above make sense and can I use the TN-C-S supply or do I need to make TT?
Is there any other considerations I need to take into account or have I overlooked anything?

Regards,

ruu

 

[Guest111]

I used to do a few of them and always put the switches in the tack room and a blue commando socke at either end of building away from horses,as well as rcd I used to give them an extension lead made of sy cable as it is less prone to damage,all lighting cables ran on top beam well away from horses,damn things will pull at anything they can get at,once watched one rip out a water supply for no apparent reason.It may seem strange putting switches in tack room but its usually the last place visited before they lock up.

 

[alarm man]

use hd pvc conduit,ip rated sockets and switches,lights should be high enough that a horse cant touch them when they rear up,remember horses have metal feet so even the slightest leakage can harm them,stables might be nice and dry in the summer but come winter they are very damp and you will have people mucking out and cleaning their horses with hoses etc all switching things on with wet hands while standing in pools of water..

 

[ringer]

Recently worked on a farm/stables and the PME was exported to the stables block using the third core of the 10mm swa supply. Unsure if concrete base for stables has steel reinforcement or not, but there was nothing in sight to supplementary bond. This was my first agricultural job, and am just now, having read this thread, thinking back on what was there at the time. So what should/ought to be said or done when you come across an installation where the PME has been exported to the stables and the regs recommend that PME is not exported? Am no longer on that particular job (was fault-finding and rectifying, not installing) but this is a valued customer. Should I be recommending to disconnect the third core and to put in a rod(s) for the stables? Don't want to seem to be making up work for myself, but do want to be seen to be doing the right thing when advising customer.

 

[JD6400]

Hi Ringer , tell them and simply show them the regs .
Not best practise in my book is just another way of saying do it right and don't bodge it !
Generally the wife or daughter is the one the stable is for and this means the hubby / daddy is normally reluctant to have to tell a loved one that ( probably ) the most important thing in the world to them is dead because he was a tight arse !

 

[Engineer54]

The concrete floors re-bar grid/network needs to be connected to the PME earthing arrangement, it's not just a case of having a steel grid in the concrete base and all's well!! lol!!! In situations such as been described, a TT system is the way to go, only please make sure it's a working TT system and not another 200 ohm fiasco!! Our 4 legged friends as far more susceptible to leakage currents than we are!!!!


It'll be worth doing a sheath test on this DIY SWA cable installation, there is every chance that the sheath has been compromised, either by sharp stones/debris or by abrasion when pulling the cable in!!! What's the betting that there isn't any warning tape, cable tiles or sand bedding etc, and that the cable burial depth doesn't comply either!! lol!!!

 

[JD6400]

I for one can tell you that E54 is spot on with his advice when it comes to the sub main !
I will hopefully soon to be reporting back on another thread as to the out come of a fault on a largish sub main we have been tasked to sort out which appears not have been laid correctly and it does somewhat look ominous at the moment .

 

[ruu]

Hi Guys,

Thanks so much so far for all the feed back so far.

In answer to a few points raised, yes I'm a sparks but I very rarely do any installs now and certainly never been involved with agricultural / horticultural installs as for the last 25 years I have been involved in maintenance and fault finding mainly, so I want advice from people who have experience in this field (excuse the pun).

It is a freebie job because he's family and we're close, I can also rely on him to help me out whenever / whatever I need.

The submain has been laid in soft sand at a depth of 1000mm, cable warning tape was laid on top of the sand before trench was back filled.

Regards,

ruu

 

[Jurassic Sparks]

I have worked on a few stables over the years
a few practical things to bear in mind
Rats like being near horses and horses bedding and food
so I always used metal conduit or SWA
horses wee is corrosive !
just want to throw that in
horses seem to have a nasty habit of dropping dead when in receipt of very small voltages
had a problem on a job ( not of my doing) a vet called me over as the Horse had keeled over brown bread, gradients was the problem and the earth electrode was adjacent to the building so a small voltage was detected a few feet away, usualy they recomend earth electrodes to be some distance from the building
any thing electrical switch gear sockets etc in stables needs to be substantial as for some odd reason horsey people are a trifle clumsy and often a little intoxicated !
i have often found in that in conversation horses are more intelligent than their owners !
sorry I cant be of much technical help just thought I would throw a few words in
ps consider an alarm as well as tack room thefts are regular

 

[alarm man]

and with intruder and fire alarm sounders,put them outside of the building not inside the stable block,a spooked horse is a dangerous beast..

 

[Jurassic Sparks]

OOOOPs yes forgot to point that out
had one lean on me once not a pleasant experience

 

[Litttle Shonet]

As Phil D said, all lighting runs on top beam, but switches (IP rated) between each stall, far enough away from any inquisitive horses. Sockets in tack room; if power needed, then use an extension lead.

 

[alarm man]

you dont want an extension lead running through a stable block,bar the trip hazards a cable possibly running through water and the potenial for a horse just to stand on it and crush it adds other risks,an external socket would be best to provide power for the vet and blacksmith.