Garage Power Supply

[Nivag]

Our house has an attached garage which is accesible by a door from the utility room. The problem is the main consumer unit with electricity meter is in the utility room. The garage is wired for light and normal 13 amp socket outlets but I want to install Lewden type sockets (16amp or maybe 32amp) for my welders (160 AC/DC TIG, 190amp MIG and 180 Arc). I think I will need a distribution board/consumer unit in the garage. Presumably I need to run a heavy duty cable from the existing utility room consumer unit/electricity meter back out to the garage?
Thanks Nivag.

 

[brightspark]

without going in to a lot of detail u can put a double pole service conector block on the mains tails from the meter then add an rcd protected distribution board adjasent to the house board . then wire out to your circuits . if the new db was wired in to your garage and was more than 3m away u would need a 60 or an 80 amp switch fuse back at source for isolation and to protect the feed cable to distribution board . if the supply was wired in to your existing db providing it was modern with mcb s and a spare way u could put a 50 amp mcb in the board and run a 10.omm cable out to your new db in the garage for a lot less cost

 

[Nivag]

Thanks Brightspark - much appreciated. It's helpful that there are electrically minded people on here to help us mechanical engineers.
Nivag

 

[Nivag]

Brightspark, picking up on the second part of your post, I have just checked the db in the house. The house was built circa 8 years ago so the system is fairly modern. It has no spare ways but I have an idea. Currently one of the MCBs is a 20 amp which currently supplies the garage. If I changed this for a 50 amp, disconnected the normal domestic cables from the MCB and then ran a 10mm2 cable back out to a new db in the garage, could I then run everything off that?
I have been running my Arc and my MIG off the 13 amp socket with no problems but generally only shortish weld runs with stops between for set ups etc. But, I am concerned my 160 amp AC/DC TIG might be a different story.
Thanks again, Nivag.

 

[Wedg1e]

But, I am concerned my 160 amp AC/DC TIG might be a different story.
Thanks again, Nivag.

I should say so: my 170A AC/DC TIG takes 27A at full chat.

 

[brightspark]

changing the 20 amp mcb to a 5o amp type c mcb and running a new 10.omm cable to new 5way db wiill be fine . then run a 4.0mm cable or a 6.omm cable from new db to a dedecated 30 amp socket for the welder on its own 30 amp mcb that will leave u 4 spare slots for lights and sockets

 

[Wriggler]

Are you allowed to do this yourself or do you need to get someone qualified in?

 

[julieanncharters]

think the clues in being able to buy all the gear you'll need from B&Q.
Part P another non enforced goverment knee jerk joke.

 

[brightspark]

Are you allowed to do this yourself or do you need to get someone qualified in?

in your own house u can do all the work yourself without being part p registered and theres nothing anyone can say or do about it ; if someone comes in and does the work for u and isnt registered and something goes wrong they can be prosecuted . a for not being registered and b for faulty workmanship the fines generaly range from a £1000 on each ofence all i will say though is make sure do the work to the 17 th edition regs. eg rcd protection on all new circuits check and install mains service gas and water are bonded .ive seen some good work done by householders and crap done by suposedly registered firms

 

[Omniata]

think the clues in being able to buy all the gear you'll need from B&Q.
Part P another non enforced goverment knee jerk joke.

Joke? Round here it's enforced heavily, and the consequences cause more grief than you'd think, being asked to put back what's been taken out is a ****** when the cables been sent for recycling...
Then being told to rip "everything" out and replace as per regs, with regular inspection, is more grief...
Not worth the hassle IMHO...

in your own house u can do all the work yourself without being part p registered and theres nothing anyone can say or do about it ...........

Hate to jump on the band wagon but you "can" do anything you want as long as your not adding new circuits and aren't working in the kitchen, bathroom or working/adding a connection to outside...

Adding a "substantially modified" circuit to the garage is notifiable, especially if your interfering with the connections to the db, as in this case your completely changing what was already there, and not replacing "like for like"

If your local building control office is ok, go ahead, if not, check first...


If you do the work, "they" have to pay to have it inspected and can't charge you for the work , if you want the regs/instruction to bc to prove it I have them in word document for email
If they try to charge you, in effect your paying the sparky to inspect, which is illegal...

 

[Nivag]

Thanks guys. Aware of part P and why it was introduced (I heard a politician's daughter alledgedly got electrocuted when a kitchen utensil rack became live - presumably because someone put a screw through a cable embeded in the wall).
I have wired a complete house in the past so it is very frustrating. I consider I am very careful and fussy in what I do but I am resided to having a work colleague or local friendly electrician do it for me to avoid and repercussions.
The wiring and the gas for my TIG will have to wait a while as the Golf MK4 has been costing money.
Nivag