Discuss Small caravan site: Walk in freezer converter to toilet/shower room in the Commercial Electrical Advice area at ElectriciansForums.net

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Hi,

I have a client with a small caravan site, approx 5 hookups.
His old toilet block was nothing much more than an old shed.
He's now 'upgraded' to using an old walk-in freezer, no wheels, but was just lifted onto blocks from a trailer.
He has kitted it out with 4 toilets and one shower which will eventually run from the gas boiler.
I don't like it, anything about it, but he wants me to install a socket1 in each of the toilet cubicles for macerators.
1 fused spur or socket for a panel heater to keep temps above freezing/comfortable, and lighting, obviously including emergency lighting. Oh and supply for boiler. None of that is an issue per se.
The unit isn't large, approx 3m x 5m. I'll have to surface mount all fittings, all rated against moisture ingress, surface mount conduit to run cabling.
I'm stuck deciding where to locate the consumer unit. If it goes inside, just through the door, it's around 2m from the shower, but the shower is within a cubicle. A metal consumer unit won't do, it'll need to be rated, and then be installed within a second enclosure i suspect. Other option is on the outside of the building, again, will need another enclosure to protect from the elements.
The supply will be SWA from the central ground distribution with a local electrode being installed.
Thoughts on consumer unit location in this instance?

Cheers
 
Hmmm..... possible can of worms here. For starters, I'd be looking at putting a DB in an outdoor enclosure, regardless of anything else. Obviously fused spur outlets suitable for the environment and not plug tops.

But the thing which bothers me is bonding, because, most walk in freezer units that I've ever dealt with are constructed such that there's lightweight steel panels for strength sandwiched between insulation sheets and then some sort of plastic final surface. Normally that's fine but in this scenario all of that is presumably being punched through for waste and water pipes etc, as well as your fixings. So whereas it was originally completely shielded you've now got issues of extraneous conductive parts being potentially in contact with water and god knows what else. So somehow you're going to have to ensure that every individual occurrence of a puncture is bonded - and that may be quite a challenge. Be interested to hear other members thoughts on this.
 
Hmmm..... possible can of worms here. For starters, I'd be looking at putting a DB in an outdoor enclosure, regardless of anything else. Obviously fused spur outlets suitable for the environment and not plug tops.

But the thing which bothers me is bonding, because, most walk in freezer units that I've ever dealt with are constructed such that there's lightweight steel panels for strength sandwiched between insulation sheets and then some sort of plastic final surface. Normally that's fine but in this scenario all of that is presumably being punched through for waste and water pipes etc, as well as your fixings. So whereas it was originally completely shielded you've now got issues of extraneous conductive parts being potentially in contact with water and god knows what else. So somehow you're going to have to ensure that every individual occurrence of a puncture is bonded - and that may be quite a challenge. Be interested to hear other members thoughts on this.

Yes, that was actually something making me uncomfortable too, the bonding of it all.
I need to have another look at it, I'm not sure if the internal panels are plastic or thin steel. My assumption was insulation sandwiched between thin steel. Water, steel and electric, what could possibly go wrong!
I had suggested fused spurs for the macerators, but he said occasionally he may need to take the unit out and flush the units, e.g. when people flush wet wipes or the like. I'm not keen, but had suggested that perhaps ip rated enclosures for the sockets, like outdoor type, with lockable facias may be a possibility, but again, none of it sits right with me.

I feel sorry for the chap. He's 84, runs a small site to keep the funds coming in. He said it had taken him 2 years to get the freezer made into the current state, cubicles, toilets, etc, because he was doing it himself.
Lovely old chap, feel bad saying, sorry not willing to get involved, the last electrician clearly had his concerns as he hasn't been back.
 

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