Caravan park wiring

[Carlosfandango]

Looking for a bit of guidance and how people go about connecting caravan pitches. Basically there is a PME supply on site which will be used to supply the toilet block and septic tank etc but I'm looking for guidance on how to terminate the hookups. There is a 16mm 3core armour run out to feed 3 pillars with 2 hookups on each. Can I fit a plastic/rubber gasket between the armour gland and the gland plate to prevent the PME being used. The third core would also be kept separate from the cable supplying pillar 1 but I was thinking I could bang a rod or two in at each pillar and link all three up using the black core that is linking on to pillars 2 and 3? Or is there a better way?
Thanks

 

[davesparks]

Linking together the rods at each pitch sounds like a sensible plan to me.

You just need to make sure the armour of the supply SWA and any metal connected to it is insulated completely at the load end.

Personally (and this will no doubt be controversial) I would look at using a plastic stuffing gland at the load end of the SWA and using adhesive heatshrink to seal off the exposed end of the armour.

 

[Carlosfandango]

The only problem with that is that I would need to continue the armour onto the second and third bollards. But I guess I would have that problem even when glanced to the brass plate. Also, is there an arguement that if the bollard was knocked over the cable would pull through the stuffing gland and maybe pull the cables out of the terminations? At least the gland may prevent that a bit more?


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[davesparks]

The only problem with that is that I would need to continue the armour onto the second and third bollards. But I guess I would have that problem even when glanced to the brass plate. Also, is there an arguement that if the bollard was knocked over the cable would pull through the stuffing gland and maybe pull the cables out of the terminations? At least the gland may prevent that a bit more?


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Ok yeah, I've missed an obvious one there I think. I'll have to think about it a little more. You won't be able to link the rods at each pitch together via the SWA as you'd then have two different earths in the same cable, which sounds like a bad idea (though I have no regs to support this yet)

I would probably be looking at installing some sort of distribution unit at the first stop of the supply cable where each pitch gets distributed from.

My thoughts on that are that the bollard should be fitted in a location which minimises the risk of this happening or have some guarding installed to prevent it being knocked over.
The problem wouldn't go away with a metal gland, because you would then have to fit the metal gland into a plastic insulating piece of some sort so the whole,gland would just rip out.
I'd go for securing the cable with a couple of metal cleats I think

 

[Sparky Pat]

personally I would TT entire site and use time delay rcd's for supplies to pillars etc.

 

[davesparks]

personally I would TT entire site and use time delay rcd's for supplies to pillars etc.

It's certainly possible, but do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

 

[westward10]

The biggest stumbling block here is one cable supplying three separate pillars. Is there no way you can run three separate supplies or is it already in situ. A totally off the wall way to isolate the armour of a single supply is to make it off underground at a through joint with the armour and sheath stripped from the outgoing cable and fed through an insulated/protected tube.

 

[richy3333]

The biggest stumbling block here is one cable supplying three separate pillars. Is there no way you can run three separate supplies or is it already in situ. A totally off the wall way to isolate the armour of a single supply is to make it off underground at a through joint with the armour and sheath stripped from the outgoing cable and fed through an insulated/protected tube.

How do you I&T that with a minimum of 600mm of soil on it?

 

[westward10]

Are you saying how do I Inspect and Test this, what is there to inspect it is a sealed joint underground. I agree you cannot carryout an EFLI test but the scenario is no different to Dave's suggestion of using a stuffing gland and put on adhesive heat shrink, you still cannot carry out an EFLI test. I personally have no problem with the stuffing gland due to the restricted space. Like I said my idea was off the wall.

 

[telectrix]

insulate the armour of the feed cable from the 1st point box if the box is metal. then you can TT all points and use the armour as cpc as well from the outgoing SWA if point 1 onwards, sinking a rod at each point and linking them with the cpc core and the armour.

 

[westward10]

What is providing fault protection for the outgoing cable from point one.

 

[davesparks]

insulate the armour of the feed cable from the 1st point box if the box is metal. then you can TT all points and use the armour as cpc as well from the outgoing SWA if point 1 onwards, sinking a rod at each point and linking them with the cpc core and the armour.

That only works if the outgoing cable from point 1 is fed via an OCPD at point 1.

The way I've understood this (eventually) is that this is a single radial distribution circuit feeding all of the points which would require the cpc to be kept continuous throughout.

 

[bigspark17]

Looking for a bit of guidance and how people go about connecting caravan pitches. Basically there is a PME supply on site which will be used to supply the toilet block and septic tank etc but I'm looking for guidance on how to terminate the hookups. There is a 16mm 3core armour run out to feed 3 pillars with 2 hookups on each. Can I fit a plastic/rubber gasket between the armour gland and the gland plate to prevent the PME being used. The third core would also be kept separate from the cable supplying pillar 1 but I was thinking I could bang a rod or two in at each pillar and link all three up using the black core that is linking on to pillars 2 and 3? Or is there a better way?
Thanks

Hi, best solution for me would be to TT the whole site with and your own earthing arangement at origin and a rcd time delay at origin for fault protection. ESQCR statotary regulation prohibites the use of PME earth at caravan connection so i would be eliminating every possibility of it being done on the site without some major tampering by a wally in the future! Obviously you may find customer doesnt want to spend on this, which then i would walk away from the job (don't need customers like that) but there are other ways to comply with bs7671. You are correct in your post you could export the pme out to each bollard/hook up on a radial glanding each swa gland into the bollard for good mechanical termination then have rcd 30ma main switch in each hook up and in/out cables doubled up incoming side of rcd & armour bangod together not linking to emt in hook up and also crimping cpc 3rd core of swa to bangos, then each bollaard having two 16amp ocpd for each socket, you would need an earth inspection pit by each hook up and rods(5/8 not twigletts) to provide each hook up with its own TT earthing arrangement obviously keeping the pme earth and tt earth seperated and clearly labbeled so that a less competent next electrician that comes along realises somebody has labbeled and done it like this for a reason! This way you can test the supply zs at end of line to comply with TN readings, your hook up sockets are not connected to a pme earthing arrangemant and you are providing 30ma protection to the outlet. Hope this helps

 

[telectrix]

That only works if the outgoing cable from point 1 is fed via an OCPD at point 1.

The way I've understood this (eventually) is that this is a single radial distribution circuit feeding all of the points which would require the cpc to be kept continuous throughout.

sorry dave. brain fart. been driving most of the day.