Meter tails from outside??

[Peter1891]

Evening chaps
First fixing a new build this week I’ve got a dilemma I’ve not come across before, the meter box is outside and the consumer unit is to go in the garage it’s on the same wall about 1.5m away but the meter cupboard is outside on faced brickwork and the consumer is inside the garage (obviously) my concern is how Can I get the meter tails from the cupboard into the consumer and keep within the regs?
any ideas?

 

[James]

either use swa cable (suitably terminated)
or enclose the tails in conduit or trunking.

 

[Peter1891]

either use swa cable (suitably terminated)
or enclose the tails in conduit or trunking.

Hi
Yes that’s fine and my plan for inside the garage but how can I get from the meter cupboard outside the garage On a nice brick wall into the garage and make it look pretty?

 

[davesparks]

Hi
Yes that’s fine and my plan for inside the garage but how can I get from the meter cupboard outside the garage On a nice brick wall into the garage and make it look pretty?

Drill a hole,

I can't quite see what your problem is here?

 

[pc1966]

Yes that’s fine and my plan for inside the garage but how can I get from the meter cupboard outside the garage On a nice brick wall into the garage and make it look pretty?

With trunking you could take it in directly behind the external box (so nothing visible) and one the inside it is protected and looks neat & purposeful along to the CU.

With SWA it is a bit of a pain to get an acceptable bend radius when going trough brick from a horizontal run.

 

[R-fur]

Drill through the back of the meter cab into the garage, insert a piece of waste pipe and seal it in. Put your DI tails through the pipe.

 

[R-fur]

Go straight through the cavity and run the tails surface or in trunking inside the garage.

 

[Peter1891]

With trunking you could take it in directly behind the external box (so nothing visible) and one the inside it is protected and looks neat & purposeful along to the CU.

With SWA it is a bit of a pain to get an acceptable bend radius when going trough brick from a horizontal run.

That’s what I was thinking too about bend radius, ideally I’d go into the cavity but that’s not allowed. Inside the garage I’m fine with conduit but can’t run anything like that outside the house

 

[davesparks]

Good idea! But It would need running in the cavity for a metre or so that’s not allowed is it?

If you'd mentioned in your post that the meter cabinet doesn't back directly on to the garage then you might have got a more helpful answer.

Such as chasing the tails in on the inside and protecting them with a thick steel plate, I have used 1/4" thick plate for this purpose.

 

[Peter1891]

What other answer do you expect? I can't see what the problem is that you are trying to overcome here?
You've already said you will use trunking inside the garage, the only other thing left to do is drill a hole into the back of the meter cabinet from the garage.

What else is there that you don't know how to make look neat?

Because the meter cupboard is a metre or so away from the garage door on an outside wall of the house and I can’t run tails in the cavity or clip them To the outside of the house can I?!

 

[davesparks]

I get your frustration Peter1891 but can we not descend into name-calling? The answer is valid to the question; sure it's not informative to the level you were hoping but it is, nonetheless a valid point; to get through the wall a hole will be needed.

The answer would have been more helpful if the question had included enough detail to be able to provide a more relevant answer.

 

[davesparks]

Because the meter cupboard is a metre or so away from the garage door on an outside wall of the house and I can’t run tails in the cavity or clip them To the outside of the house can I?!

Your original post gave the impression that the meter box was in the garage wall.
And I assumed that whoever drew the plans had the sense to put the meter box in the right place for the CU location!

 

[pc1966]

Could you mount a small-ish waterproof metal box on the garage wall, have it drilled/conduit/etc into the back of the CU, and have the external SWA glanded on to the box and the tails (i.e. SWA conductors) run into the CU through that route?

The SWA "storm" glands look a bit better than the PVC sheath for typical outdoor glands and might be an OK solution.

 

[Peter1891]

The answer would have been more helpful if the question had included enough detail to be able to provide a more relevant answer.

How did I not detail it? Did you not read it dave?
“
the meter box is outside and the consumer unit is to go in the garage it’s on the same wall about 1.5m away but the meter cupboard is outside on faced brickwork and the consumer is inside the garage”

I’d say that’s pretty good description Dave..

 

[davesparks]

A)It’s not a valid Answer it’s stupid and uselss
B)he’s done this before to me it’s ----ing me off. Don’t need to talk to people like he does.

Based on the information you gave originally it is a valid answer, if you had made it clear that the meter box isn't in the garage wall then I would not have given that answer, instead I would have given the answer that I did when you provided this information.

 

[davesparks]

How did I not detail it? Did you not read it dave?
“
the meter box is outside and the consumer unit is to go in the garage it’s on the same wall about 1.5m away but the meter cupboard is outside on faced brickwork and the consumer is inside the garage”

I’d say that’s pretty good description Dave..

Yes I read it, you said "it's on the same wall" this implies that the CU is on the garage wall and the meter box is also on the garage wall.

If you had perhaps said that it is on the same wall but backing on to a habitable room, or just that it isn't possible to drill straight through into the garage, it would have been a lot clearer.

 

[Peter1891]

Yes I read it, you said "it's on the same wall" this implies that the CU is on the garage wall and the meter box is also on the garage wall.

If you had perhaps said that it is on the same wall but backing on to a habitable room, or just that it isn't possible to drill straight through into the garage, it would have been a lot clearer.

The line that’s marked WG10 is the garage up and over door..I’ve marked the CU and the meter cupboard

 

[pc1966]

The line that’s marked WG10 is the garage up and over door..I’ve marked the CU and the meter cupboard

Ah, that is trickier. The cavity would be the best solution but probably too late to put in some conduit for physical protection or (maybe) to run SWA through.

You might be able to angle-drill holes from the back of the external box and from the back of the CU that would preserve acceptable SWA bend radius and allow enough access to pull/push some cable through the cavity but I would not relish doing that without some assistance.

What you would not get is a proper gland in for armour connection directly to the backs of other CU or entrance box, unless there was some angle plate arranged for that, but it is not beyond reason to do it.

 

[westward10]

It may of helped if you put the plan up in the first place. You could see the situation but your description in #1 gave the assumption the CU was behind the intake. Can this be now kept civil @Peter1891 .

 

[davesparks]

It Had plenty of Detail most people have provided sensible helpful answers and not looked to instantly belittle or put me down like Dave seems to love to do.

Posts 2,5 and 6 all look to be based on the same assumption I made that the meter box backs on to the garage.

I do not look to belittle anyone, however I do speak as I find and not 'sugar the pill'.

Yes I do come across as harsh to a lot of people, I can't really explain why, it's one sort of mental illness type thing, my psychiatrist is far better at explaining it.

 

[Peter1891]

It may of helped if you put the plan up in the first place. You could see the situation but your description in #1 gave the assumption the CU was behind the intake. Can this be now kept civil @Peter1891 .

I am being civil, what’s the difference between me not agreeing with daves responses and his passive aggressive tone he displays Constantly towards me?

 

[westward10]

I am being civil, what’s the difference between me not agreeing with daves responses and his passive aggressive tone he displays Constantly towards me?

Several posts have been deleted as you were not being civil. @davesparks responded with the assumption the CU was on the reverse side of the intake, everyone made this assumption and couldn't understand the difficulty of this. If your opening post had clarified the situation with your later schematic then assumptions would not have been made.

 

[pc1966]

To move the subject back to the underlying problem, how about another suggestion:

Use 3 parallel runs of 3-core 10mm SWA. Will meet the bend radius going through brick and round cavity, easy to route through said cavity, all can be glanded to a plate / CU back. As strands add up to less than 35mm of equal stand-size (ferrule crimped on to guarantee they don't separate is optional), should be fine in any standard cable clamp arrangement.

Discuss...

 

[Peter1891]

Several posts have been deleted as you were not being civil. @davesparks responded with the assumption the CU was on the reverse side of the intake, everyone made this assumption and couldn't understand the difficulty of this. If your opening post had clarified the situation with your later schematic then assumptions would not have been made.

So daves passive aggressive responses are fine you’re saying? Only so I know for future. I can’t tell someone they’re a idiot but I can do it quietly and make them feel crap is what you’re saying then? Surely these forums should be to help people. How does daves “JUST DRILL A HOLE” comment help at all?

 

[SJD]

How does the supply get up into the meter cabinet? Just wondering if you can use a similar route down from the cabinet, underground and up into the garage? All this assumes it is not far too late in the day!

 

[pc1966]

Use 3 parallel runs of 3-core 10mm SWA. Will meet the bend radius going through brick

In fact 2 runs of 10mm SWA, or 3 runs of 6mm SWA, would exceed 100A rating. Could even be 2-core SWA and use the armour for CPC if properly glanded at both ends.
[automerge]1594242261[/automerge]
If viable, SJD's suggestion is simple and a very good solution!

 

[davesparks]

The line that’s marked WG10 is the garage up and over door..I’ve marked the CU and the meter cupboard

Well that's a terrible bit of design by somebody. In the past I have dealt with this kind of stupid design by bringing it up at a site meeting with the architwat etc and explaining exactly why it's wrong, what I think of it, and getting it fixed.

As I suggested earlier, you could chase the tails into the study wall and protect them with 1/4" steel plate, and probably earth it too just for good measure.

Alternatively you might be able to do it with a 32mm steel conduit chased in, but that's a lot of aggravation to bend, thread etc for a short run.

If you've got the builders on side then get a couple of blocks taken out on the inside skin and run a suitable duct through the cavity.
[automerge]1594242690[/automerge]

To move the subject back to the underlying problem, how about another suggestion:

Use 3 parallel runs of 3-core 10mm SWA. Will meet the bend radius going through brick and round cavity, easy to route through said cavity, all can be glanded to a plate / CU back. As strands add up to less than 35mm of equal stand-size (ferrule crimped on to guarantee they don't separate is optional), should be fine in any standard cable clamp arrangement.

Discuss...

For me that fails the KISS test, its not keeping it simple.

Whilst it is theoretically OK, in practice it would likely be a pain and is somewhat of a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

 

[ipf]

So daves passive aggressive responses are fine you’re saying? Only so I know for future. I can’t tell someone they’re a idiot but I can do it quietly and make them feel crap is what you’re saying then? Surely these forums should be to help people. How does daves “JUST DRILL A HOLE” comment help at all?

Don't worry about it, mate. The more info given the better....but you'll always get plenty of presumption. People see things in their mind.....and just know. Human bleedin' nature, eh?

 

[Midwest]

I knew what the OP meant originally, don't why but I did. Guess I'm just special . Not been able to read the OP's deleted posts, but @davesparks, whilst being very knowledgeable, can come across very obtuse and curt sometimes. Could you perhaps be less abrasive Dave, like it says in the reply box, being polite & professional.

 

[Peter1891]

I knew what the OP meant originally, don't why but I did. Guess I'm just special . Not been able to read the OP's deleted posts, but @davesparks, whilst being very knowledgeable, can come across very obtuse and curt sometimes. Could you perhaps be less abrasive Dave, like it says in the reply box, being polite & professional.

thanks mate,
I sorted the problem Today, I had a site meeting and the builder has agreed to move the Meter box inside the garage and directly under the CU so all good now.
Thank you all for your helpful comments and ideas on the whole. ????

 

[Lucien Nunes]

That's good, but I was going to say that it was screaming out for MICC. Small, accurately formable to a tight bend radius, etc.

 

[davesparks]

That's good, but I was going to say that it was screaming out for MICC. Small, accurately formable to a tight bend radius, etc.

And it wouldnt look wrong on the face brickwork.

But probably add quite a bit to the price of the job.

 

[ferg]

MICC is outwith the skillset of most domestic sparks. Myself included.
I haven't done any meaningful pyro work since I was an apprentice 20 odd years ago.
Even then I wasn't great at it.
I would think SWA is within the skillset of just about everyone and if it's a new build a route could be found.

 

[DefyG]

Ask Clarkson Evans how they do it!

 

[Let me think]

Surely, we won’t have any of these types of issues, if we followed current trends and have all of our power distributed wireless. ?