Roger440

Sorry, should have been clearer. That continuous max load. I've not concerned myself with start up currents. As you observed, a battery will take care of that Primarily, aqua blasting, but of sand)grit blasting. And painting. Which will mean running the extractor and the same time, which is close to 3kw on its own. I've currently got a noisy 7.5hp petrol compressor, which is marginal if using an air fed mask at same time. So was looking to bump up to 10hp. And, ideally I'd like to have some infras red drying lamps too. But not included those as I can use oil heating. There's obviously lighting and other minor loads. The previous owner had some electric heating but that bonkers so I've switched that off and reverted to oil. I've swapped many of my air tools to battery

My fundamental issue is that the incoming supply isnt big enough to support the loads i want to apply. The secondary issue is when im using the compressor (and fan sometimes) its its likely to be for several hours or all day, and so batteries are not a realistic option to cover the shortfall. Theres also a 3 bed house on this supply, which is all electric aside from the oil boiler, ie electric cooking and electric shower. For reference we are looking at a peak workshop load at 240v of something of the order of 55amps, give or take, depending on what i actually end up using. Sticking a rotary convertor or a VFD in their pushes that up a touch more. If i turn the house off when i want to use the workshop i could make it work, but im not really seeing that as a sensible solution. The current situation also rules out ever fitting a heat pump or car charger. Its fair to say the high load situation isnt frequent, im not doing this every day by any means. But when i need the power i need it. A three phase connection was an obvious, easy answer. But as National Grid/Western Power, want me to pay for all of the supply side work, (despite their PR to the contrary) its not remotely a viable option from a cost perspective. Which is why ive arrived at a genset, with batteries to cover the smaller loads, like a vehicle lift. It also means i dont need to change any of the existing infrastructure, such as the house wiring and the supply to the workshop, which in its current form couldnt support much higher loads. To do so will be disruptive and expensive. But id do it if i had the three phase supply as the end result would be far superior. The aditional benefit of the genset route, is if i have batteries, i can connect solar to them. Ive said it before, but its 2025, theres 3 phase 50ft from where its required, but the only cost effective solution is a diesel generator. Something has gone wrong somewhere............................

Not heard of that. Ill have to look into that. But i still have a limited single phase supply. When i use the compressor, its likely to be for several hours, far more than any battery will be able to provide

Pretty similar to mine! Ill drop you a pm.

That sounds interesting. Would be good if you could post up more details if you don't mind? I've got, essentially, unlimited space for solar panels. What sort of equipment will you be running from the 3 phase?

For anyone remotely interested, ive got nowhere with National Grid. i can have a 60 to 80 amp single phase upgrade, which i will probaly just do anyway (before the buggers decide to lower the max limit further), or spend the best part of £20k for a 3 phase supply, which is actually what i want. My only angle would be to challenge their public info that says the customer doesnt have to pay for Network re-inforcement. Essentially its not true, as there are so many get outs and exceptions, it not much beyond (untrue) PR. Dont know if i can be bothered with the fight, one ill likely lose anyway. One thought i had, are there consultants that can argue on your behalf, who know how to play the system? Google didnt bring any actual companies up. Over the winter, i will start planning my alternative which, as im out of options, is a silenced generator, solar and batteries. Ive got the solar already, will use my forklift batteries, so just a genset, and invertors and ancilliary stuff to buy. Which is a bonkers position to be in, in a developed country, with a 3 phase pole 50 feet from where the power is needed. I might start a thread later as this needs to be a DIY effort primarily!

And in my case a nice genset as well as connection costs are ridiculous.

No it wont. Not in any meaningful way. Mucho cash is being made. Vested interests will make sure that continues. As pocster says, electricity prices are a one way bet. And for one overiding reason. Its in nobodies interest, apart from us consumers to reduce prices. Everyone involved in making and selling electricity is doing very nicely with the current arrangement.

If you can put that much into one, then great. Much less likley to run into trouble. Im not sure id describe it as the sweet spot though, as thats a lot of cash tied up.

All of this for me too. Plus, no one has mentioned weather. You hire a digger then it rains and you cant do the job, or it makes the job 10 times harder than it needs to be. But you still have to pay if you are hiring. Own it, and you can sit indoors and drink tea when its raining, safe in the knowledge, the digger is sat waiting. Cheaper diggers, providing they stay working wont lose value. My last one, i had for 4 years, and lost £500 on a £5.5k outlay. Yes, i did some minor repairs plus a slew motor that cost me £300. Cheaper diggers are a gamble though.

That's quite good compared to mine. Wanted not much less for 50 feet. As Dave said, more details required.

Theres not much of a sweet spot. Anything thats ex company or ex hire are a lot of money. Anything older seems to disappear abroad. Older stuff here, is hard to find. They do come up, but you need to be on the look out all the time. Plus of course the market is rife with scammers. Also, if going for older, factor in it probably will break down. If you are hands on and practical, mostly not the end of the world, but if you need to pay every time, the cost and delays will quickly render it a false economy. Im on my second Kubota KX61 (which was £5k, Mostly because its got no cab or roll over hoop). Which as it happens, broke down mid job yesterday. Got it fixed this morning but lost 6 hours productive time with the rain closing in. It also broke down a couple of weeks ago, and desperatley needs new tracks (steel). Im nursing it as tracks are mad money. And one of the rams is pissing out oil But it was cheap, so no real surprise.

The best builders merchants would be one i dont have to interface with. i am amazed however, that the world seems to have mostly passed them by. As Alan said earlier, the online activities are mostly woeful, lie about stock, no idea when they can deliver etc etc. The in store experience exsasparating. How much is anything, really? Im my world and many other sectors, if you dont have it, and cant deliver next day, you are not really in the game. Sooner or later, hopefully sooner, someone, probably one of the big boys, (with a big distribution/delivery network)will realise they can clean up by getting their act together. Charge sensible prices that are what they are, deliver next day, and be transparent about your stock. Bit like screwfix, but bigger. In the process they can just close the doors at the braches and concentrate on being efficient distribution points. Cant happen to soon. Whole industry needs dragging into this century. Im still amazed no one has jumped into this space, but im sure it will come.

You think £8k to run a cable down a pole and across a lane isnt "gouging"? Grant, not as outrageous as mine, but hardly reasonable. £8k to connect, so you can pay for electricity. Like going to a petrol station to fill up and getting charged for pump installation.

Can you imagine getting a spares catalogue , materials directory and trouble shooting manual from your average UK house builder!!!

I think that is maybe to miss the point a touch. Their way of working is to cover all the bases and have solutions before they ever set out to the job. They wont need to "fix things up on site". Ive worked with a fair few German companies over the last 30 years. Whilst they are not all perfect, they have a very different outlook and approach to us. In most respects, a better one.

i wish!

I bought a tracked electric barrow, Google mule. Got to say it's been fantastic. Will shift 250kg over almost any terrain, certainly places I'd never have got a wheelbarrow. As you observed, pricey.

Ref your last paragraph, I'd suggest you don't do that. In the event if a flood, your wall will never be able to dry out. So you will have damp inside. Any suggestions or ideas that you can keep water out to the extent the structure stays dry is a fantasy. Water will get in, and definitely into the cavity. I speak from experience. Personally, I'd have had no insulation at all below dpc level in a flood prone situation.

It's crazy isn't it. How are you supposed to know ahead of time, the exact details of everything you will fit to the house. Anyway, that's the least of your worries. Wait until you get the quote for connection.

Lets say you could just bulldoze your house, how could that ever work financially? I did some very loose numbers on mine. It would cost for a similar sized dwelling at a basic level circa £300k. Probably a good deal more. The current house, whilst a thermal disaster in many respects, is, essentially sound. Value, circa £400k. If it made any kind of sense financially, id do it tommorow. But it doesnt, and as far as i can see, wont, ever. Yes, id have a better house, but not £300k better. Whilst planning is clearly, currently a block to such a thing occuring, even if removed, it would only ever be a niche thing for people for whom, money is no real object. So, dont understand your thinking here.

As more and more money hinges on epc rating, at least in the rented sector, the more corrupt it will become. Now that BCO's have at least some responsibility for what they sign off, epc's are, essentially, the weakest link in the chain. Its a market, that has no meaningful oversight. Just like building control has been for a long time. Pay money to the right person, get the result you want. And save 10's of thousands.

What Dave said up there ^^^^^ What i did. You cant win against government.

If i put my cynical hat on, id say the government will force you to upgrade, but if you cant afford it, they will "lend" you the money, payable if you sell or when you die. The latter would allow the government to aquire the house. And sell it to "chums".

Thanks, most useful The below seems to be they key point. ie, 100A may be acceptable.................... Depending on if one can take workshop loads into account, depends which side of the line you fall. With an EV charger, a heat pump, cooker, shower, plus my workshopn inc compressor, one could easily calculate accordingly for a 100A supply. But i dont currently have all those thngs. Because i dont have a supply. I shall have to try and see if i can make progress on the single phase side of things. All that said, its probably acedemic as the supply cable almost certainly isnt big enough if we take the below into account. The supply id suggest is no more than 10mm2 cable. Its all rather complicated for the layman to challenge.