Plastic Switchgear Enclosures - Acceptable in barn?

[WillWX]

Is the price difference between plastic/metal CU fairly substantial? I haven't looked at plastic for a while.

 

[SparkyChick]

The plastic CU is going in a steel IP68 enclosure which will be mounted at head height (roughly). The cables will all be SWA. Conduit makes it prohibitively expensive. There was evidence of one cable being chewed through by a rat, but that was at ground level. Within the barn itself, I saw no evidence of any rodent damage to any of the existing installation (now decommissioned and in a sorry state) which was wired in T+E.

Since I've no chance of getting a suitably sized bond through (the T+E that will supply is already in place and looks to be in good nick), I'll be TT'ing, with a 10mm bond running with the SWA that goes through to a separate shed. This will be buried, and protected where it runs down the walls.

The main driving force for my question is that metal weatherproof enclosures seem to stop at garage units which only have 3 circuits... this requires more. After that, if you want metal, they become prohibitively expensive... cheaper to whack a non-weatherproof board in a weatherproof box.

 

[suffolkspark]

I wouldnt be using a t/e submain in a barn that's open to the elements and our little furry friends! id stick an off the shelf metal board inside a plastic meter box

 

[SparkyChick]

If the supply cable was going to be installed, I'd agree with you, but it's not, it's already there so I'm just going to be using it.

Like the idea of the meter box though, good thought

 

[suffolkspark]

sori when I read your first post... "this will be a....." I assumed none of it was in yet

ive used a surface mount meter box before with a metal board inside, took the swa cables through compression glands in the meter box, then armoured glands into the dis board inside it... no creatures getting in there!

 

[Ian1981]

Can you install metal containment like galv trunking for the t&e supply?

 

[SparkyChick]

I'm in the process of putting final pricing together for the job and I've been giving it some thought... I'm going to cut a hole in the back of whatever enclosure I use and stick it over the cable entry into the barn... problem solved

 

[westward10]

How are you going to support the swa cables considering the entire area of the barn being an escape route.

 

[SparkyChick]

How are you going to support the swa cables considering the entire area of the barn being an escape route.

I'm planning on clipping the cables to the lights to the roof trusses (metal trusses, using clips designed for the purpose). They are the only cables that will go overhead in open space, the rest will be running along the walls, nothing going over doors. They'll be fixed to the walls with plastic cleats with some glav band on every other one.

 

[SparkyChick]

I wasn’t sure if by ip enclosure you meant plastic.
I should have known better tho

Sorry Ian, didn't really make that part clear originally. My bad