Need some consumer unit advice please

[squeezyphil]

Hello,

So I am having my newly built workshop wired up soon. I had the electrician around yesterday to talk through the job. I will be running a 10mm twin core SWA armoured cable underground to the workshop. It will run off the house consumer unit and have its own consumer unit in the workshop. I will be running a fairly big lathe and some other machinery, hence the size of the cable.

When the electrician was around yesterday, he mentioned that it could run off an unused 50amp mcb in the house consumer unit. Thats fine, but I'm wondering what consumer unit to get for the garage as I see that the main breaker switches for consumer units generally come in 63 or 100 amp sizes. Is it alright to run the power from a 50 amp mcb in the house consumer unit to a consumer unit in the workshop that has a main trip switch of 63 amps? Or should I get a bigger 63 amp mcb for the home consumer unit? Or am I getting this totally wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm only asking now as I am hoping to get most of the bits bought asap and he is away at the moment and am not able to contact him. I will be calling him as soon as he is back but for now was wondering if anyone online could help.

Thanks,

Phil

 

[DJ Ovengloves]

I wish I could find this mystical holiday destination where my phone stops working too.

 

[Toneyz]

thanks, and yeah as my electrician said, i also believe 50 amp breaker in the house will be fine. The bit i dont understand is the other end of the armoured cable at the consumer unint in the workshop. What amp size main switch should I have? I can only seem to find 63 amp or 100 amp main switch consumer units. Would it be alright to run a 63 amp main switch in the consumer unit in the workshop with the house mcb being 50 amp?

Consumer unit to garage main switch rated 50A or above these are usually manufactured at 63A or 100A so both would be ok as above 50A.

 

[suffolkspark]

the electrician may have preference over what brand of consumer unit he wants to fit you in the garage, and what brand of wiring accessories, more money doesn't always mean a better! even if you buy the materials to save on his mark up you still need to confirm everything with him.. or you might end up having to take it all back

 

[Des 56]

Will the workshop have any services?
If yes,what is the system earthing that is being used?
Murdoch asked why 2 core 10mm
Ditto

 

[Octopus]

He must be doing alright to be able to buy a house at the age of 23 in the South .....

Well, thats what his profile claims.

 

[Dave OCD]

Detailed installation questions are always accompanied by an 'electrician' who's either on holiday, in jail, kidnapped or simply disappeared. Strange isn't it.

 

[HandySparks]

Do you know for sure that a board with a main switch rather than an RCD is required?

Regarding the CU, your electrician will probably have an opinion on internal wiring space, location and type of knockouts, price and availability of parts, number of ways used/spare, etc.

 

[sparksburnout]

Must think we all fell off a gooseberry bush.......

 

[MJPD29]

Running a 2 core sea won't provide an earth to the garage unless you are to going to install a separate earth spike solely for the garage, I'm which car sit would surely be easier just to use a 3 core cable?

 

[PEG]

Nobody has suggested to the OP,that a SWA cable is not the sole means of supplying power...

I have a pal,whose lathe is driven by a leather belt,running through a slot in his shed,to shafting with fast and loose pulleys...

You lot are so stuck,in the 21st century

 

[HandySparks]

Running a 2 core sea won't provide an earth to the garage ...

Eh? Why not 2 core SWA?

 

[Spoon]

Running a 2 core sea won't provide an earth to the garage...

Eh? Why not 2 core SWA?

Can you not Bluetooth earth connections now-a-days.... Then you don't need SWA...
I'm going self employed... you boys are always on holiday.....