Discuss Portakabin Electrical installation in the Electrical Wiring, Theories and Regulations area at ElectriciansForums.net

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S

sparkyork

hi all

gotta job to do and could do with some advice

portalabin has a prewired 63a rcd consumer unit fitted.
power that is likely to be consumed is kettle, lighting, pressure washer, till etc not alot

the kabin is at the side of a quad bike track and will have people sitting in and putting equipment on and paying etc, the other half is a toilet and wash basin

the length of run is getting on for 40m, off to measure more accurately in the morn but its gonna be about that

the supply is from a 1ph 20+ way consumer unit, with what seems to be a 100A supply given the size of cable..

ive been lookin in osg and it seems i might be able to get away with 6mm with upto 45A available

i dont want to order 10 mm if i can use 6mm

if the main supply to the site is tns i will export to the portakabin if TNCS ill TT the portakabin
(just to clarify this method, to do this the supply cable to the portakabin will be 3 core, the earth conncted at the supply and but connected to its own seperate terminal in the dis board. then the earth rod is connected to the earthing bar with the sockets etc etc)

now the unit is gonna be there for upto a year but maybe gone sooner so its portable in my book

im thinking of making a 240 blue plug lead to the dis board in the kabin and connecting this to a caravan type hook up point, that is fed from an adjacent building. the wire from the building will run from the board which will also be rcd protected through the wall and down and underground a a few metres then back up where there is very dense foliage (will be permenant foliage).

im thinking of running the SWA in some downpipe through this foliage and up the power outlet post behind the portacabin, does this sound acceptable? digging a trench through the bushes is a no no. or is a tube over the top as well? could i just lay the cable on top ;-/

im off to the job in the morning so would appreciate any early responses lol

so....size of cable sound ok? 6mm 40A max load upto 40 metre run
defo TT it if tncs etc
caravan power outlet style connection or run swa straight to the kabin? might be handy it been a caravan style point incase the kabin comes back etc


cheers

any advice appreciated


rich
 
10mm. VD could be your downfall with 6mm.
 
cheers chaps

well ive ordered 6mm! so fingers crossed it will be ok, i mean it has 40m length in the osg using a 6mm so there gotta be a fair chance it will be ok
im doing it tomorrow and im pretty sure its gonna be nearer 35m by the time its in, this 40m is my over exagerated dont wanna not have enough cable calculation lol
im giving him 40A from the supply mcb and reclon he should be ok with this. ideally it wants a 60A supply but the board thats supplying the kabin has a 40A in there allready (unlabled) as well as a 32 and a couple a 20's so i dont want to go much higher than 40 amps to the kabin

the cable is gonna get put in some 2" waste pipe thtogh the dense foliage and is going to terminate at a shielded 240v blue socket, where im gonna take a socket and connect to the kabin

unsure of the main supplys earthing arrangements until tomorrow so ive ordererd an earth rod just in case its a tncs

any other comments....hope 6mm is going to be ok. id say the majority of the time its going to be lights on and thats it, jet wash for an hour at end of day, kettle during day etc. diversirty is key??

cheers
 
if they want extra circuits which is unlikely anyway then they/ll have to get a more heavy duty supply in to the board that supplies the kabin. im giving them 40A which is going to be fine, considering most houses have a 60A supply and have showers, cookers, storage heaters and god knows what else.

will do that with the stickers and going to put a sign up near the foliage as additaional warning.
 
Not sure but is a 32A blue plug the largest blue plug?
How will you cable between the plug and cabin.
Can you not fix a 63A rotary switch outside at the back of the CU and terminate the SWA into that this will also offer a isolation point.
 
Not sure but is a 32A blue plug the largest blue plug?
How will you cable between the plug and cabin.
Can you not fix a 63A rotary switch outside at the back of the CU and terminate the SWA into that this will also offer a isolation point.


nope they Also do 63A blue commando plugs - i have seen bigger than that i think too !

always good, order the cable and hope for the best :)
 
I would think the cost of a 63A commando plug & socket will decide in you fitting an isolator only on this job when you see the price,
if your buying 6mm instead of 10mm due to cost. Shame they don't make anything in between 32-63A.
I just bought 3no 63A 5pin plugs and switched sockets and was the best part of a grand.
 
cheers chaps for the input

the cable length ended up been 30 metres lol, i couldnt really determine the length until it was installed.
ive taken the supply to a 240 blue plug socket and the kabin is plugged into that via a male blue plug.
so all's well that ends well.
 
I would think the cost of a 63A commando plug & socket will decide in you fitting an isolator only on this job when you see the price,
if your buying 6mm instead of 10mm due to cost. Shame they don't make anything in between 32-63A.
I just bought 3no 63A 5pin plugs and switched sockets and was the best part of a grand.

Jesus, where did you get them from, I just did a jobs with 3 No 63A 5 Pin and 2 No. 16A SP 3 pin plug and sockets and materials including the MCBs and conduit came to less than £800
 
The Portacabin has to have a means of isolation,I would run my supply cable 10mm Armoured (you gonna have problems with VD using 6mm) straight into a 63A isolater,and then 10mm t&e from isolater,going through body of cabin to DB inside.I also would put your protective device for Distribution cable 32A,and make sure your 63A main switch is RCD protected 30ma
 
Jesus, where did you get them from, I just did a jobs with 3 No 63A 5 Pin and 2 No. 16A SP 3 pin plug and sockets and materials including the MCBs and conduit came to less than £800

Was MK 63A 5pin switched sockets at £300 a pop I believe. Alto ones were about £175 each, a fair bit cheaper but MK was specified.
 
It does have a means of isolation, theres a big blue plug, and its more than 3mm when seperated. measured voltage was 240v on the nose, no need for 10mm, 6mm is fine its only a 30m run, ive ran similar lengths in new builds, properly specd etc
running cable through the kabin was not allowed as its pre-wired and fitted out with desk etc etc
 
Was MK 63A 5pin switched sockets at £300 a pop I believe. Alto ones were about £175 each, a fair bit cheaper but MK was specified.

Ah ok, I just checked on the system what we get the MK ones for and it £232.22. The Neweys ones are quite good tho, they have the quick term connections also
 

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