Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

I have a cable trailing across about 25ft of grass just now. It's just a standard 2 core orange extension cable. Can this be buried itself or do I need to fit some form of conduit?

Cheers
D

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

"glasgowdan" wrote in message
...

I have a cable trailing across about 25ft of grass just now. It's just a
standard 2 core orange extension cable. Can this be buried itself or do
I need to fit some form of conduit?

Cheers
D

You mention an 'extension cable to the shed'. I assume this is a 240V
supply. Is this to be for power or lighting?

Your cable will need to be twin and earth i.e. three core not two. Orange
cable is strictly for indoor use only. The supply will need to run in a
buried conduit unless you are using armoured cable. The conduit will need
to be sealed at each end against water (and vermin). It will need to be run
from a fused switched spur unit inside the house and in one length with no
joints. None of this should be carried out by someone who is not a
qualified electrician - this is the law, not my opinion.

There may be other rules that I have missed out but since you will NOT be
doing this work yourself that doesn't matter.

R.
(not a killjoy - just don't want you to have a nasty accident)

I'm confused now. Don't most people use orange cables to plug in their lawnmowers, strimmers etc? I already have an external socket on the wall. It's to run a fridge freezer in the shed. If I can plug this extension into the external socket, fit a conduit and bury the cable myself that would be the ideal solution as it's simplest... what do you think?

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

www.shanklinmanormews.co.uk
"glasgowdan" wrote in message
...

I'm confused now. Don't most people use orange cables to plug in their
lawnmowers, strimmers etc? I already have an external socket on the
wall. It's to run a fridge freezer in the shed. If I can plug this
extension into the external socket, fit a conduit and bury the cable
myself that would be the ideal solution as it's simplest... what do you
think?



Your total lack of Electrical knowledge tells me that you should get a
qualified Electrician in. One does NOT run a Freezer off a two core
extension lead which I believe is rated at about 5 amps. On top of that, as
someone has pointed out, you need an Earth wire.

--
Mike

The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
www.rneba.org.uk
Luxury Self Catering on the Isle of Wight?

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

glasgowdan writes

I'm confused now. Don't most people use orange cables to plug in their
lawnmowers, strimmers etc?
I already have an external socket on the
wall. It's to run a fridge freezer in the shed. If I can plug this
extension into the external socket, fit a conduit and bury the cable
myself that would be the ideal solution as it's simplest... what do you
think?

When you use an extension cable for your lawnmower, you are acutely
aware of where it is, and you look after it very carefully, and check it
for damage after every use.

If you bury the cable, not everyone in your family will know exactly
where it is. Someone could cut through it with a spade, it could get
damaged with movement of the soil, rodents could gnaw through it .... It
would only need a small amount of damage to the cable itself for water
to be able to get in. If you sell the house, the new owners may have
work done to the house; workmen may not know where the cable is and
could damage it or injure themselves.

It needs to be installed according to the IEE Wiring Regulations, the
current edition of which is the 17th.

With electricity (as with gas) the simplest solution is ideal only if
it also provides an adequate level of safety.
--
Kay

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

glasgowdan wrote:
I'm confused now. Don't most people use orange cables to plug in their
lawnmowers, strimmers etc? I already have an external socket on the
wall. It's to run a fridge freezer in the shed. If I can plug this
extension into the external socket, fit a conduit and bury the cable
myself that would be the ideal solution as it's simplest... what do
you think?
Actually, the colour of the cable is irelevant. You need 3 core cable. As
Ragnar said, 2.5 T & E. Encased in conduit, pref biried a foot undrground.
It should be installed by a qualified electrician, or by yourself, then
certified by an electrician. Cost of certificate, £50 - 80. Unfortunately,
that is the law.
--
Pete C
London UK

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

Martin wrote:
On Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:18:26 +0100, glasgowdan
wrote:


I'm confused now. Don't most people use orange cables to plug in
their lawnmowers, strimmers etc? I already have an external socket
on the wall. It's to run a fridge freezer in the shed. If I can plug
this extension into the external socket, fit a conduit and bury the
cable myself that would be the ideal solution as it's simplest...
what do you think?

You are breaking the law and may kill somebody. An orange cable
doesn't have an earth wire.
Martin, I know your thinking, But I have an extension lead, rated 13 amp, 3
core and it's orange.
--
Pete C
London UK

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

In message , Martin
writes
On Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:18:26 +0100, glasgowdan
wrote:


I'm confused now. Don't most people use orange cables to plug in their
lawnmowers, strimmers etc? I already have an external socket on the
wall. It's to run a fridge freezer in the shed. If I can plug this
extension into the external socket, fit a conduit and bury the cable
myself that would be the ideal solution as it's simplest... what do you
think?

You are breaking the law and may kill somebody. An orange cable doesn't have an
earth wire.
Some do, some don't. My orange cable to my caravan definitely has an
earth wire.

--
hugh
It may be more complicated but is it better?

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

In message , glasgowdan
writes

I'm confused now. Don't most people use orange cables to plug in their
lawnmowers, strimmers etc? I already have an external socket on the
wall. It's to run a fridge freezer in the shed. If I can plug this
extension into the external socket, fit a conduit and bury the cable
myself that would be the ideal solution as it's simplest... what do you
think?




A two core cable should only be used to an appliance which is double
insulated. Check the lead on the fridge freezer and if it is 3 core your
existing installation is dangerous enough without burying the cable and
making it worse.
--
hugh
It may be more complicated but is it better?

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

In message , Ragnar
writes

"glasgowdan" wrote in message
...

I have a cable trailing across about 25ft of grass just now. It's just a
standard 2 core orange extension cable. Can this be buried itself or do
I need to fit some form of conduit?

Cheers
D

You mention an 'extension cable to the shed'. I assume this is a 240V
supply. Is this to be for power or lighting?

Your cable will need to be twin and earth i.e. three core not two. Orange
cable is strictly for indoor use only. The supply will need to run in a
buried conduit unless you are using armoured cable. The conduit will need
to be sealed at each end against water (and vermin). It will need to be run
from a fused switched spur unit inside the house and in one length with no
joints. None of this should be carried out by someone who is not a
qualified electrician - this is the law, not my opinion.

There may be other rules that I have missed out but since you will NOT be
doing this work yourself that doesn't matter.

R.
(not a killjoy - just don't want you to have a nasty accident)


No the killjoys are the ones who introduced these daft rules in the
first place.
--
hugh
It may be more complicated but is it better?

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

hugh ] writes
No the killjoys are the ones who introduced these daft rules in the
first place.

Why are they daft? Which bits are not necessary?
--
Kay

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

In message , K
writes
hugh ] writes
No the killjoys are the ones who introduced these daft rules in the
first place.

Why are they daft? Which bits are not necessary?
The bits which deem that no DIY person knows how to install a new
circuit and so create a closed shop for electricians, who to be fair to
them, are then faced with substantial costs in keeping their
certification up to date, which have to be passed on to their customers,
meanwhile keeping loads of jobsworths in their positions.
--
hugh (B.Sc Elec Eng)
It may be more complicated but is it better?

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

hugh ] writes
In message , K
writes
hugh ] writes
No the killjoys are the ones who introduced these daft rules in the
first place.

Why are they daft? Which bits are not necessary?

The bits which deem that no DIY person knows how to install a new
circuit

But you can do it yourself and get it certified. Does not that make
sense in a world where people move house frequently? Some DIY people can
install safely, others just *think* they can.

Are you happy with the Regs themselves? Is it just the certification
side which you are unhappy about?

Interested in your comments as I've had similar from my father (60 years
as Chartered Elec Eng)

--
Kay

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

"K" wrote in message
...

Interested in your comments as I've had similar from my father (60 years
as Chartered Elec Eng)

--
Kay

Kay, sorry, but don't say too much about Chartered Electrical Engineers.
When I was appointed Electrical Design Engineer at FBM Marine, they had a
problem on their hands on some ships out in Saudi which CEEs had looked at
and were stumped. I am NOT CEE, but solved the problem within 24 hours. An
Electrical Engineer went out to Saudi with the equipment I designed. Problem
solved.

If you have sailed from Southampton or been a foot passenger to the Isle of
Wight, you would have seen some of my work, I was the Electrical Design
Engineer of Red Jet 1 and Red Jet 2

--
Mike

The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
www.rneba.org.uk
Luxury Self Catering on the Isle of Wight?
www.shanklinmanormews.co.uk

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

In message , Pete C
writes


Martin wrote:
On Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:18:26 +0100, glasgowdan
wrote:

I'm confused now. Don't most people use orange cables to plug in
their lawnmowers, strimmers etc? I already have an external socket
on the wall. It's to run a fridge freezer in the shed. If I can plug
this extension into the external socket, fit a conduit and bury the
cable myself that would be the ideal solution as it's simplest...
what do you think?

You are breaking the law and may kill somebody. An orange cable
doesn't have an earth wire.
Martin, I know your thinking, But I have an extension lead, rated 13 amp, 3
core and it's orange.

My lawnmower and shredder cables are orange and are three-core.

Having said that, they are run from a 13A socket in my detached garage,
which has an electrician-installed supply using buried armoured cable,
protected by a covering of earth and concrete. The socket in the
garage is built-in to a hard-wired RCD.

I gave up installing my own sockets when the law was tightened some
years ago. ;-)
--
Gordon H
Remove "invalid" to reply

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

In message , Martin
writes
On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:38:34 +0100, K wrote:

hugh ] writes
No the killjoys are the ones who introduced these daft rules in the
first place.

Why are they daft? Which bits are not necessary?

The bits that interfere with natural selection? :o)

ROTFL!
--
Gordon H
Remove "invalid" to reply

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

"Gordon H" wrote in message
...

Having said that, they are run from a 13A socket in my detached garage,
which has an electrician-installed supply using buried armoured cable,
protected by a covering of earth and concrete. The socket in the
garage is built-in to a hard-wired RCD.

I gave up installing my own sockets when the law was tightened some years
ago. ;-)
--
Gordon H
Remove "invalid" to reply

SPOT ON :-))

That is why I had a qualified Electrician call YESTERDAY to give me a quote
to install power to my garage at the bottom of the gardens :-))

No price yet, but I figure in excess of £500.00

--
Mike

The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
www.rneba.org.uk
Luxury Self Catering on the Isle of Wight?
www.shanklinmanormews.co.uk

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

The message
from Martin contains these words:


My son and my daughter both bought bottom of the range Flymo hover mowers,
mainly because they had tiny lawns. Just outside the guarantee period, both
managed to throw stones through the plastic sides of the hover bit.
Both motors
burnt out in the second year. My son complained to Flymo. Flymo appeared to
believe that a hover mower with a life of a bit over 12 months was
normal. 12
calendar months is only a few months of actual use.

They must have been unlucky. I bought the smallest electric Flymo c
1976; used it for 5 years,
and have very occasionally used it since; it still works fine :-)

Janet.

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:22:14 +0200, Martin wrote:

My son and my daughter both bought bottom of the range Flymo hover mowers,
mainly because they had tiny lawns. Just outside the guarantee period, both
managed to throw stones through the plastic sides of the hover bit. Both motors
burnt out in the second year. My son complained to Flymo. Flymo appeared to
believe that a hover mower with a life of a bit over 12 months was normal. 12
calendar months is only a few months of actual use.

M'Lord, I would refer you to the little-known EU law which provides
that you do have a 2-year cover for faulty goods, and not just
electrical items.

The specific EU directive is 1999/44/EC and the important clause is
this, "A two-year guarantee applies for the sale of all consumer goods
everywhere in the EU. In some countries, this may be more, and some
manufacturers also choose to offer a longer warranty period"

You are not required to prove that the fault was not down to your
actions and you must report the fault within 2 months of it happening.

Good luck


--
®óñ© © ²°¹°-°¹

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

In message , Martin
writes

My son and my daughter both bought bottom of the range Flymo hover mowers,
mainly because they had tiny lawns. Just outside the guarantee period, both
managed to throw stones through the plastic sides of the hover bit. Both motors
burnt out in the second year. My son complained to Flymo. Flymo appeared to
believe that a hover mower with a life of a bit over 12 months was normal. 12
calendar months is only a few months of actual use.

My last Flymo lasted several years until one of the switch handles
stopped working, and the bottom plate split, but I used to drag it over
concrete paths to get from one of the 5 areas of grass in my garden to
another, so I blame miss-use for that!

The simple basic Flymo I passed on to a lady friend about 10 years ago
is still working, but she's more gentle with it. ;-)
--
Gordon H
Remove "invalid" to reply

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

In message , K
writes
hugh ] writes
In message , K
writes
hugh ] writes
No the killjoys are the ones who introduced these daft rules in the
first place.

Why are they daft? Which bits are not necessary?

The bits which deem that no DIY person knows how to install a new
circuit

But you can do it yourself and get it certified. Does not that make
sense in a world where people move house frequently? Some DIY people
can install safely, others just *think* they can.


How many people per annum are killed arising from wrongly installed
electrical wiring?

In the year before this legislation was passed it was 2 - but one of
those was an MPs daughter IIRC

We have become an obsessively risk averse society.

Ladders are far more dangerous - lets ban climbing ladders unless you
have been certified.

Are you happy with the Regs themselves? Is it just the certification
side which you are unhappy about?

I haven't read them in detail. However it's taken 7 attempts to produce
what we have today and no doubt an eight attempt will follow.
Interested in your comments as I've had similar from my father (60
years as Chartered Elec Eng)

No doubt he feels even more p****** off than I do as I gave up
engineering many years ago. A "certified" electrician did the wiring on
our extension a couple of years ago. I think I've now sorted out all the
poor connections.
--
hugh
It may be more complicated but is it better?

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

hugh ] writes
How many people per annum are killed arising from wrongly installed
electrical wiring?

In the year before this legislation was passed it was 2 - but one of
those was an MPs daughter IIRC

We have become an obsessively risk averse society.

Ladders are far more dangerous - lets ban climbing ladders unless you
have been certified.

Those are very fair points, but I think there's a difference between
killing yourself and killing others. No problem with allowing people who
should know better to do daft things and injure themselves, but I think
we should try our best to stop people doing things that might injure
other people.
--
Kay

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

In message , K
writes

Those are very fair points, but I think there's a difference between
killing yourself and killing others. No problem with allowing people
who should know better to do daft things and injure themselves, but I
think we should try our best to stop people doing things that might
injure other people.

Quite. Burying a cable without proper protection is leaving a
potential death trap for whoever tends your garden/buys your
house/replaces the shed.

When we moved into this (new) house 48 years ago my energetic neighbour
had his front garden dug over and grassed long before I tackled mine.
In the process he put his pick through the surface drain, which ran into
a shared soil pipe drain.

He was living 5000 miles away when I discovered that he had "repaired"
it by covering the hole with an opened-out baby food tin, which had
subsequently rusted away.
(Thanks, Brendan)!

I only sussed this out after having to rod out the shared drain at
regular intervals over a period of many months, when topsoil appeared
amongst the sh**. 8-(

Fortunately my other neighbour was a builder by trade and he helped to
diagnose the problem and replaced the pipe, using his professional
skills.
--
Gordon H
Remove "invalid" to reply

Ok folk, I appreciate all the info for now.

Bit more though... the cable has an earth wire, my mistake. Until I get a day off to get it done properly, I have literally popped the cable two inches under the grass. It is nowhere near any drains or somewhere that work is likely to take place, and is not going to get in the way of cutting the grass.

The external electrical box on the house has a trip switch too.

I hope to get some armoured cable in the next month or so, but would prefer to still leave it as a temporary installation a few inches under the ground as I know that no work will be done that could affect it. It is just the fridge running off it as any garden tools are powered from another extension plugged into the kitchen.

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

In message , Martin
writes
How many people per annum are killed arising from wrongly installed
electrical wiring?

How many near misses?
I believe near misses don't count in law :-)

--
hugh
It may be more complicated but is it better?

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

In message , K
writes
hugh ] writes
How many people per annum are killed arising from wrongly installed
electrical wiring?

In the year before this legislation was passed it was 2 - but one of
those was an MPs daughter IIRC

We have become an obsessively risk averse society.

Ladders are far more dangerous - lets ban climbing ladders unless you
have been certified.

Those are very fair points, but I think there's a difference between
killing yourself and killing others. No problem with allowing people
who should know better to do daft things and injure themselves, but I
think we should try our best to stop people doing things that might
injure other people.
But I might fall off the ladder and hit someone else and so it goes on
and on and on.

--
hugh
It may be more complicated but is it better?

Best way to bury an extension cable to the shed?
 

In message , Gordon H
writes
In message , K
writes

Those are very fair points, but I think there's a difference between
killing yourself and killing others. No problem with allowing people
who should know better to do daft things and injure themselves, but I
think we should try our best to stop people doing things that might
injure other people.

Quite. Burying a cable without proper protection is leaving a
potential death trap for whoever tends your garden/buys your
house/replaces the shed.

In this particular instance the OP planned to plug it in to an outside
socket so it would have been visible.

When we moved into this (new) house 48 years ago my energetic
neighbour had his front garden dug over and grassed long before I
tackled mine. In the process he put his pick through the surface drain,
which ran into a shared soil pipe drain.


So the primary fault was with the (qualified/certified) builder who had
put the surface drain close to the surface without protection. or are
you saying only qualified/certified people should be allowed to use a
pick?

God I've just thought. I've never been taught to breath - better stop
right awa..... :-)
He was living 5000 miles away when I discovered that he had "repaired"
it by covering the hole with an opened-out baby food tin, which had
subsequently rusted away.
(Thanks, Brendan)!

I only sussed this out after having to rod out the shared drain at
regular intervals over a period of many months, when topsoil appeared
amongst the sh**. 8-(

Fortunately my other neighbour was a builder by trade and he helped to
diagnose the problem and replaced the pipe, using his professional
skills.
So you want to have only licensed people doing any maintenance work
whatsoever?
There are far worse things in life than a blocked drain.

--
hugh
It may be more complicated but is it better?