For that kind of money, three things strike me as worthy of investigation:

1. Ask the DNO to price for a closer installation point;

2. Conductors in parallel;

3…. slightly out of the box thinking here, but, use a matching pair of LV to MV transformers and do the long run in 11kV
 
Done something similar before got two units made by ec services in Bradford double pole mccb front end and a at dwelling end was small bus bar set up got both for around a grand to my exact spec
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jim_e_Jib
Thanks for the reply, The client has taken delivery of the 120mm 3 core SWA.
OK so they are kind of committed to the cable sizing now!
I did consider a resin torpedo joint (this may be an option?) but I don't think this option would work with the meter box/cupboard
I really doubt the resin joint would fit in there at all!

But you can bury it and just take some 25mm (or 35mm if saving a few mV drop) from a buried resin joint in to the DNO cabinet.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: brianmoooore
3…. slightly out of the box thinking here, but, use a matching pair of LV to MV transformers and do the long run in 11kV
I suspect going above LV is a whole lot of trouble for most folks and would really push the job back to the likes of the DNO who have HV approved persons.

It all seems a done-deal now, but they might have been better to have gone for a smaller 3-phase supply. After all 40A/phase would match the total 100A single phase supply and less issues of volt drop. However, no idea what the additional DNO cost or standing charges would have been.
 
I suspect going above LV is a whole lot of trouble for most folks and would really push the job back to the likes of the DNO who have HV approved persons.

It all seems a done-deal now, but they might have been better to have gone for a smaller 3-phase supply. After all 40A/phase would match the total 100A single phase supply and less issues of volt drop. However, no idea what the additional DNO cost or standing charges would have been.
Would be an interesting conundrum for Part P / DI’s, though! Not even a departure from 7671 as 7671 wouldn’t apply to that bit….. Interesting.
 
Would be an interesting conundrum for Part P / DI’s, though! Not even a departure from 7671 as 7671 wouldn’t apply to that bit….. Interesting.
Indeed!

You could step up to something like 400-0-400V for the link and still be within sane normal LV voltages for most switchgear, etc, but it would really take a bit of computing for the transformer/installation cost versus the cable costs.
 
Cable that size you are either looking at an mccb in an enclosure at the source or a Glasgow switch-fuse. Personally it would be a 315A switch-fuse with an extension and down rate the factory fitted fuses to 100A. Same the other end but replace the fuses with links.
I have just been on a site where a 400A supply was required to a new building but due to cost the new head was fitted to the perimeter of the site, here a Schneider NSX board was fitted and parallel 150.0s connected from a 400A mccb.
Unfortunately big cables require big switch gear.
 
Last edited:
I have been impressed by the Schneider Square D Quadbreak fused-switches, but they are fairly compact considering so as you say you really would need an extension box to get the cores fanned out and aligned with the terminals.

You might get away with a 250A one down-rated with 100A fuses, but having taken a quick look I'm really struggling to see any specifications from Schneider on the max cable capacity or BS88 size to see what choices would be supported.

From memory the 100A uses M8 bolts, but by 250A it would have to be something like M12 and matching lugs / crimp tool, or those shear-bolt ones shown in one of the above posts?

EDIT: Found this:

Has 200A & 250A as M10 and max 120mm, then 315A is M12 and up to 400mm.

I just can't begin to imagine how hard 400mm is to wrangle!!!
 
Last edited:
This sort of thing:
You could use one line and the non-switched neutral link for single-pole isolation, but for DP use then use two of the line terminals but have one with a link instead of the fuse.
 
Come to think of it, if you bought a TPN fuses switch for the feed and (e.g. the SQB2503K above), and the switch-only version for the consumer end (SQB2503L), you would have a spare link from it for such a trick without buying any more.
 
Overcomplication going on here. It may be a cable rated at 230A or so, but it will be running at an absolute maximum of 100A, so change at each end to a short length of 25mm2 in a resin filled buried joint, then terminate in 'normal' domestic gear at each end.
 
I'm not seeing anything complicated and less joints the better.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: UNG
Although the Glasgow range or the Schneider boards look the dogs dangles , don't forget he is only dealing with 100 amps at the end of the day.
Those inline reducers with heat shrink in a suitable enclosure with the joint coming down to 25 mm tails for the final connections , are likely to be at least £££s cheaper if not possibly ££££s.

I have just realised that I did not mention that they can handle large difference's in CSA between sides.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pc1966
Don't disagree that the less joints in a circuit, the better, but properly made, resin encapsulated joints are at the higher end of the reliability spectrum.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pc1966
I think the OP is busy rolling out his 260m of cable?
 
  • Like
Reactions: DPG
Don't disagree that the less joints in a circuit, the better, but properly made, resin encapsulated joints are at the higher end of the reliability spectrum.
Can imagine doing a periodic on it without any info on the cable except a 25.0 coming out of the ground each end and wondering why your Zs is so low for an imagined 260m of 25.0??
 
Can imagine doing a periodic on it without any info on the cable except a 25.0 coming out of the ground each end and wondering why your Zs is so low for an imagined 260m of 25.0??
Well if it is for a certain Dr Who then maybe there is tardis technology involved :)
 
I think the OP is busy rolling out his 260m of cable?
Hard work I'm sure! A quick check has 120mm 3-core as about 5.1kg/m so total of just over 1.3 tonnes of wire to be laid out.
 
We recently pulled in 185M of 4 core 120mm swa on high level ladder. Certainly not an easy task!
 
  • Like
Reactions: pc1966

Similar threads

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses Heating 2 Go Electrician Workwear Supplier
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc

Advert

Daily, weekly or monthly email

Thread Information

Title
120mm to 25mm connection
Prefix
N/A
Forum
UK Electrical Forum
Start date
Last reply date
Replies
42

Advert

Thread statistics

Created
tony rowan,
Last reply from
mechelec,
Replies
42
Views
5,351

Advert