Electricity to Shed Workshop

Wavey75

I would like to know if anyone as any suggestions on how to best run an extension lead to a garden shed.
I thought of running a supply from the main house via SWA and having part p permission, etc. but for the occasional user (summer only) for small projects like woodworking, etc I thought of a solar system.

However, the solar system would not be suitable without spending almost as much on the equipment as my first idea.

So, what I would like to do is, run a simple outdoor extension lead from a plug in the house to a weather-proof box on the outside of the house. Then, another weather-proof box with a open and close door also, that I could pull the plug from and plug into the other, to form a nice temporary power supply to my shed for some power tools while I am working in there.

I'll never be using more than one tool at a time and I was thinking that I could install a small solar system 12v for things like USB charging my phone, cordless batteries for power tools and some LED lighting.

This makes sense to me as it will only be connected during the time I am in my shed, which will not be much often, and out of the time I will spend in there, only a small part of that time will be spent using power tools, such as a compound mitre saw, a table saw, router, etc.

The majority of my time in there the solar system will take care of my needs, etc.

Am I breaking any laws with this?

I am open to advise on this, as it makes sense to me, but i do not want to break any laws and I have seen this kind of setup in other homes.

BigBopper

What will the landlord think of your bodged electric attempts?

Geodark

BigBopper wrote: »

What will the landlord think of your bodged electric attempts?

? How do you know a landlord is involved and the house isnt his?

Also, I think once you start attaching something down (sockets etc) you are no longer fitting a temporary supply and therefore all regs come into play as if it was a permanent fitting.

Wavey75

What I currently do now is run my extension lead from the kitchen, out the window and into my shed to power tools, so all I would like to do is make use of the same setup but without having to open windows and doors for cable to pass through.

There already is a hole for a cable to pass through, down some sort of conduit, hidden by a thick drain pipe, down to the ground, 4 feet from the shed.

I hardly think this is best described as a 'Bodged Job' and it is simply tidying up what I currently use.

Wavey75

Hi Geodark,

I wasn't sure if this would fall outside temporary or not as it is essentially an extension lead that has a 3 pin plug at one end and 2 13 amp plugs at the other end, separated by the weather proof boxes (or something similar) I previously described.

If I connected the wiring behind the face of the 13 amp socket in the home, I would need a fused spur at the other end, etc. but I am keeping this as an extension lead and it can be removed just as easily, as nothing will be fixed to the house, it will all run down conduit that would be tie wrapped (or something similar) around a drain pipe, also hiding it so it does not spoil the look of the house.

BigBopper

Geodark wrote: »

? How do you know a landlord is involved and the house isnt his?

Also, I think once you start attaching something down (sockets etc) you are no longer fitting a temporary supply and therefore all regs come into play as if it was a permanent fitting.

Because it's not his first thread on the topic.

Wavey75 wrote: »

Good to know re: SWA not needing to be buried.

I think I will just rip out the existing spur altogether and not bother with upgrading as described above. If I need electricity for a saw or a drill, I'll run an extension lead from the house and then reel it up again when done, just like I do now for hoovering the car.

I'm not going to spend £300 on a part p plan before I've even bought a 13 amp socket, which will increase the project overall costs up near £1,000 either.

I may invest in a 12v solar lighting system (roughly £30 on eBay), but a 240v solar system (to the best of my limited knowledge) will run into the £1,000's, plus may also require part p.

No point doing anything else for a rented house, even if I do plan to stay in it forever.

BigBopper

Wavey75 wrote: »

What I currently do now is run my extension lead from the kitchen, out the window and into my shed to power tools, so all I would like to do is make use of the same setup but without having to open windows and doors for cable to pass through.

There already is a hole for a cable to pass through, down some sort of conduit, hidden by a thick drain pipe, down to the ground, 4 feet from the shed.

I hardly think this is best described as a 'Bodged Job' and it is simply tidying up what I currently use.

Just bite the bullet and do it properly.

zax47

Wavey75 wrote: »

Hi Geodark,

I wasn't sure if this would fall outside temporary or not as it is essentially an extension lead that has a 3 pin plug at one end and 2 13 amp plugs at the other end, separated by the weather proof boxes (or something similar) I previously described.

If I connected the wiring behind the face of the 13 amp socket in the home, I would need a fused spur at the other end, etc. but I am keeping this as an extension lead and it can be removed just as easily, as nothing will be fixed to the house, it will all run down conduit that would be tie wrapped (or something similar) around a drain pipe, also hiding it so it does not spoil the look of the house.

I'm past caring what you do about this, but for God's sake please don't make ANYTHING which has a plug at BOTH ends - they're called "widow-makers" for a good reason! Whatever you do only ever put a plug at the origin of the cable (inside the house) NEVER, EVER at the other end - you'll kill yourself, or worse someone else! :A

BigBopper

zax47 wrote: »

I'm past caring what you do about this, but for God's sake please don't make ANYTHING which has a plug at BOTH ends - they're called "widow-makers" for a good reason! Whatever you do only ever put a plug at the origin of the cable (inside the house) NEVER, EVER at the other end - you'll kill yourself, or worse someone else! :A

I think he means socket at the shed end, it's worrying he calls himself a builde though.

zax47

BigBopper wrote: »

I think he means socket at the shed end, it's worrying he calls himself a builde though.

A "builder" who doesn't apparently have access to a tame sparky he can even just ask for advice...

Wavey75

zax47, I never said I was a builder, I said I was an experienced builder, for the record.

My earlier typo may have implied I was talking about putting a plug or two on each end of the same wire, but again, for the record that was never my intention.

Also, I do not have access to a tame sparky, but there are some 'wild plumbers' in the woodlands, so maybe I can keep 'hunting' for a wild sparky, as the ones in captivity are all too tame.