Electrical cable for outside wall lights.

onejontwo

I'm about to fit two new outdoor 60w bulkhead lights for a relative, now I fitted two to my own house many years ago using the standard 0.75mm 3 core cable purchased from any DIY shop. With the new regulations being branded around am I ok to use this cable or is this no longer acceptable?
The next question is :- does anybody know of a simple tool used to strip the outer cable from the inner cables without damaging the three inner cables which always seems to happen when using a stanley knife?

Mark_Mark

I thought 1.5mm was lighting cable.

Do you consider yourself competent to do it?

SailorSam

You only need to cut the very end of your cable with the stanley knife, then as you pull the inner cables away from each other they split the outer cable where you started the cut. Try getting 2 prs of pliers to grip the inner wires to pull on.

Jonesya

The cable needs to be fit for the application.

Flex might be OK if it's above ground and in an area/height where it won't get damaged, also you want a type, pref. neoprene rubber which has better UV resistance. You could go for Hituf or conduit if it's above ground and needs to be more robust.

If it's buried then you need armoured, buried at the necessary depth with suitable tiles/marking.

almillar

Something like this
https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/product/6830659574759425879?q=wire+stripper&client=firefox-beta&hs=0lB&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&channel=sb&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.60157871,d.ZGU,pv.xjs.s.en_US.ykZ6A2hLA-I.O&biw=1280&bih=894&tch=1&ech=1&psi=DfzoUofnH4uS7AajsYDQCA.1391000589946.3&ei=E_zoUuS8JJHB7Ab414GADA&ved=0CKYCEKYrMAo
Can be very hanndy for stripping cables, depending on the size of the cable.

Gloomendoom

If I remember correctly, regs now require outside lamps to have a dawn to dusk sensor or a pir in the circuit.

100w per fitting is the maximum permissible and these must be automatically controlled i.e. with a dusk to dawn sensor or used with a proximity or PIR detector.

onejontwo

After having read the above posts and checking on-line I now realise the 0.75mm 3 core flex I used many years ago for outside lights was incorrect. But out of curiosity many appliances indoors ie. lamps, tv's, pc's, fans, dvd players, hair dryers etc all have all have 2 or 3 core flex and all consume more wattage than two 9 watt (energy saving bulbs) outside lights, so what is the reason 0.75mm or 1.0mm flex with a permitted load of 1200 watts + shouldn't be used? Surely two small lights wouldn't overload it, or is it more to do with protection from the weather?



Edit:- after reading up on an electricians forum it seems that it's acceptable to use 0.75mm or 1.0mm flex outside clipped to the wall, but they do recommend conduit but not absolutely necessary. I'm starting to get confused now. Any electricians out there to put me straight?

onejontwo

Any electricians?

maninthestreet

You do realise that your proposed work requires part P certification, don't you?

http://www.esc.org.uk/public/guides-and-advice/building-regulations/england-and-wales/

Owain_Moneysaver

onejontwo wrote: »

After having read the above posts and checking on-line I now realise the 0.75mm 3 core flex I used many years ago for outside lights was incorrect. But out of curiosity many appliances indoors ie. lamps, tv's, pc's, fans, dvd players, hair dryers etc all have all have 2 or 3 core flex and all consume more wattage than two 9 watt (energy saving bulbs) outside lights, so what is the reason 0.75mm or 1.0mm flex with a permitted load of 1200 watts + shouldn't be used? Surely two small lights wouldn't overload it, or is it more to do with protection from the weather?

1. Appliance flexes aren't covered by IEE Wiring Regulations but by product safety regulations which are different.

1a. The current carrying capacity for flex of a certain nominal cross sectional area is not the same as for cable. In particular flex is intended for use in free air where heat can dissipate.

2. Appliance flexes particularly the thinner ones are very short. This keeps the resistance down and means that in the event of a fault, a large current will flow and the fuse or circuit breaker will open quickly enough to prevent damage to the flex. Fixed wiring is longer and has a higher resistance. A fault would not be cleared as quickly and the cable could overheat.
This is also why extension leads are limited in length; a 0.75mm extension lead should not be more than 7.5 metres long, regardless of what you are running on it.

Strip the sheath from the cable using your knife running the knife along the length of the cable, not around it.

Neither flex nor ordinary PVC cable are really suitable for use outdoors. Either use Hi-tuff or conduit.