Calling Commercial Electricians: "Wrong wiring used in Garden lights, he's used SY instead of MYY"

FrankFalcon

Hi all

Hope an electrician can help here.

We had some garden lights fitted 3 years ago by an 'Electrician'.  I must admit, he came recommended by a mate so I didn't check his credentials out.  So, in the last few weeks the lights started to fail.. So, I tried to ring him back but I found out that he's retired now and moved away (and doesn't answer his phone).  Therefore, I managed to get hold of the apprentice who worked for him at the time.  He said he would come and have a look,  He rang me last week and told me...'All the cable is broken and corroded in the soil.  He's used the wrong cable.  He should have used MYY instead of the SY that he's used. 

So, my questions are...

1. What's happened here please and does it make sense "He should have used MYY instead of the SY"?
2. Now its obvious I have to dig up the cable and get it replaced.  What cable do I need to get?  It will be buried in Soil about 3 feet down.

Thanks in advance.

born_again

1st thought was it not installed in trunking & armoured?

MyRealNameToo

FrankFalcon said:

Hi all

Hope an electrician can help here.

We had some garden lights fitted 3 years ago by an 'Electrician'.  I must admit, he came recommended by a mate so I didn't check his credentials out.  So, in the last few weeks the lights started to fail.. So, I tried to ring him back but I found out that he's retired now and moved away (and doesn't answer his phone).  Therefore, I managed to get hold of the apprentice who worked for him at the time.  He said he would come and have a look,  He rang me last week and told me...'All the cable is broken and corroded in the soil.  He's used the wrong cable.  He should have used MYY instead of the SY that he's used. 

So, my questions are...

1. What's happened here please and does it make sense "He should have used MYY instead of the SY"?
2. Now its obvious I have to dig up the cable and get it replaced.  What cable do I need to get?  It will be buried in Soil about 3 feet down.

Thanks in advance.

If you are questioning his standards why are you looking to his apprentice? Why would the person he trained be better than him?

Do they mean YY cable rather than SY? This cabling is normally used in industrial settings and doesnt automatically meet the requirements for fixed electrical systems. The SY versions has reinforcements around the cable with galvanised steel whereas YY has no braiding around it. SY is normally used with motors and heavy machinery to give extra protection to the cable 

Get a properly qualified electrician to have a look and check their credentials beforehand. 

Vitor

MYY is the correct cable for burial in the ground without ducting.

Heedtheadvice

Marine grade cable?

Ectophile

SY is a bit of an odd cable.  It has a wire braid around it.  But that is only really fit for electrical screening.  It's not strong enough to count as armoured cable, and it's too thin to be an acceptable earth connection.

It also meets no British or harmonised European standard.  Which means it's not recognised by BS7671 (the IET Wiring Regulations)..  That makes it a problem to sign off on.

Eldi_Dos

Sounds to me like the orginal electician had some 'leftover' from a previous industrial job.

Section62

FrankFalcon said:

We had some garden lights fitted...

Are the lights mains voltage, or low voltage?

silvercar

There are decent solar garden lights available. Our wired garden lights would fail every few years, generally corrosion where some water leaked into the lights themselves or in cable joins by the light unit. Sometimes where enthusiastic gardeners dug through cables and damaged them or pulled cables too tight and broke connections. We’ve replaced the lot with solar now and even in Winter the sunlight is enough for them to light for a few hours.