Off Topic, workshop electrics

[outboard]

Hi Guys

My garage is about 30ft from the house. I'm ok with basic electrics, so I've got a small consumer unit for my garage. I'm putting in about 4 double sockets and a few single. Plus two strip lights. This is no problem. What my question is, I've got a 30amp cooker socket unused in the kitchen, could I make the cooker socket a junction box, discard the cooker socket and run cooker cable out to supply my consumer box in the garage?

[Horsley-Anarak]

Have had a quick look, in Scotland 2004 regs apply.

You will need to do some research, a quick call to your local authority building control should sort it.

My workshop is run from a 30 amp MCB which was the cooker supply, it was not used as we have a gas cooker.

The distribution board in the workshop has RCD protection, and the cable running to it is steel wire armoured.

If you have any doubt get the work done by a qualified electrician, 30 amps can kill you!

For this to be done in the UK, it would need to be done by a Part P electrician. Otherwise you would be breaking the law.

H-A

[outboard]

Cheers, I'll take your advice on this one. I can get an electrician to wire up in the house, as per regs. I know about armoured cable so that's fine, it was more a case of, I wasn't sure if the 30amp cable would be ok, I thought it would. I'll do all the donkey work and save cash (a true tight arsed Scot).
Thanks H-A

[Hugz]

I'm an Electrician or Electrical Contractor as we are known down here. 30 amps is more than enough to power your workshop. Definitely install a RCD. If you were downunder you will need a circuit breaker board to step down to circuit protection of 20 amp. I seem to recall you guys have protection in each power point and a ring main. I would suggest you get an electrician in to advise what needs to be done and then wire it yourself and have him check it. ie you would be supervised. Over here a 30 amp sub main would not be legal ie too small.

[outboard]

Thanks for your advice, with regulations being strict I'll certainly get an electricians' advice and help. I'm a time served plumber but due to ill health I gave it up, even after doing years of fitting gas supplies and fittings, it's now illegal for me to touch anything gas because I don't hold an up-to-date gas certificate. So yes, I do realise there are legal implications with these things, thanks guys for your input.

[Charles uk]

Unfortunatly when they changed the rules about all work must be signed off by a real electrician they also changed the colours of the inner layers of insulation.

[outboard]

It's a little bit older than two weeks, in fact it's badly needing rewired, apart from the kitchen where it was partly rewired for renovation purposes.
I believe with a chat with an electrician, I could do the wiring in the garage and back to the house, let him inspect it and do the final connection to the unused cooker supply. I have a small consumer unit for the garage which will be suitable for the regulations.
It's a wooden garage so I'm planning lining it with glass insulation and plywood. Would anyone use polythene first or would this induce condensation?

[Hugz]

Must be a black market in the old wire.... was it red/black and now brown/blue??

[outboard]

Cheers guys, it's a long time since I used to freeze my knackers off on the building sites, my knowledge of materials isn't quite up-to-date. Do they still rope & pour lead for downpipes in Oz? Hugz, red and black was changed when I was an apprentice.

Cheers anyway, I know my plan of attack once I check out the builders' merchants.

Gerard