Thorfun

Opening the back door and fly it out of that might be a cheaper option. 😂

does it need to open to purge heat? having a non-opening one will save quite a bit of money! maybe enough to allow an alternate cooling system to be installed? just an alternate angle to consider.

I wouldn't worry about the lack of building experience as @PeterW says, BCO will check that stuff and what they don't check you'll pick up on pretty quickly. I would be more concerned about the amount of time it consumes! it's very much a full time role. researching, purchasing, ordering, planning and so on and all very much in advance of when you might actually need it. It's not easy but it is very rewarding. it will also save a ton of money on materials (as the main contractor won't put their 20% on top of all of the materials) and also allow you to shop around. it's not easy but is definitely do-able.

That’s what I was hoping to avoid though if possible. The cost of an enclosure and a CU.

I presume you also mean IP65 as it’s the same liquid protection as IP55. I’m assuming also that the solid protection level of 6 to 5 is not an issue? Hager make outdoor units that are IP55 https://hager.com/uk/products/residential-distribution/consumer-units/insulated-consumer-units/outdoor-units i guess ultimately I really need my sparky to approve as he’ll be doing the work and signing it off! has anyone fitted a CU outdoors without issues? Would rather not have to buy a suitable IP rated enclosure to put a CU in

Ok but isn’t that just semantics? Or does the addition of the components change the external usage?

Yeah. That’s was my understanding as well but nowhere in the description does it say suitable for outside use and I was wondering if the regulations are different as it’s a consumer unit.

can a CU be housed externally if it is suitably rated or should it still be housed in an external cabinet? I ask because this IP65 rated unit from TLC direct (https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Consumer_Units_Index/Wiska_Consumer_Enclosures/index.html) states external building but doesn't seem to suggest that it can be installed outside. other IP55 rated CUs state suitable for damp/moist areas. ps. I will speak to my electrician but he's done for the day and I don't like to disturb him OOO and I do value the expertise of the many electricians and knowledgeable people on this forum

if you're putting a screed above the insulation is there much point getting the slab level? surely the screed will sort that out? if you've got hollows then I'd just use sand to fill those in. it's what we did.

I like this idea

thanks. something else to add to the list of things to investigate! 🙂

that's some good research! and if the Ebara pumps don't work out then i'll revisit the Zoellar pumps. can't break the hole wider. it's fine as is. message understood. both pumps will be at different levels and floats will not be near/facing the other pump so free movement should be possible.

https://www.pumpsukltd.com/ebara-best-one-m-a.html

thanks. I get it now. for me it'll probably be a CT clamp of some kind then as my pumps will be hard wired to a CU. yeah, I was going to go with the loose floats with a control panel but one chap said there's not enough room in my sump and they could get tangled up! obviously something I want to avoid. so I'm going for pumps with floats attached. then I'll have a single loose float attached to an alarm panel (https://www.pumpsukltd.com/puk-alarm-box.html) that has an connection for an external trigger that can feed into my Loxone system. I looked at the Zoellar pumps but I couldn't see one with a 1 1/4" discharge outlet so I've gone with Ebara instead. Neither of us want to run a separate 2" outlet pipe hidden below the patio and behind a studded wall so I needed a 1 1/4" pump. I'm confident they will do the job and the flow rate at our static head level is good and with the redundancies and monitoring I'll build in I'm very confident I can be flood free. I guess only time will tell if I've made the correct decision!

hey @pocster. qq. what HA sensor do you use on the higher pump? I'm leaning towards having built in floats on the pumps now (due to potential lack of space in the sump for 4 floats) and a separate alarm float/box. but I'd like a way to monitor if a pump is running so need a way to trigger that into my Loxone system. I was thinking a CT clamp on the power cable? but I'm sure there has to be a more elegant way!

will run it by SWMBO and see what she says exactly!

that's the thing, the 32mm pipe is very gentle bends with no joins directly from the sump to an inspection chamber where it feeds in to our RWH tank. so I'm not worried about that side of things. tbh, I'm not really worried about just using a 32mm pipe! yeah, I guess I could do something like this. I am going to put paving slabs and an ACO down in the courtyard so I could have space for a 50mm pipe that then is run up the wall but it's a bit of a bodge and we'll have to box in and make good which will cost more money whereas we really simply want to paint the concrete walls!

I've been talking to a pump supplier who originally recommended pumps with a 2" outlet. once I pointed out that my pipe going out from the sump is 32mm he said, oh dear, and said that was quite restrictive. he has recommended a 1 1/4" outlet pump but thinks I'll only get about 50l/min at the required head height we have. I'm sure that'll be enough as the current temporary pump (https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb844pmp-750w-mains-powered-dirty-water-pump/495xf#product_additional_details_container) is also only a 1 1/4" outlet and is coping fine. if only someone had told me that 32mm pipe wouldn't be enough (or could cause restrictive flow I should say) when we had this designed I'd have specced up a 50mm outlet pipe. 😞 yet another lesson learned too late as I can't replace the existing pipe as it's going through the concrete and is buried under tonnes of backfill/soil/concrete!

it's a great idea except the gap is below the level of the screed internally. but i will just put some of the good foam under there. i've got the Shelley flood sensor working now so i think i can rest a bit easier until i have my final pump solution in place

working on it!

this is a shame as that's waterproof concrete so it's just that small slit beneath the DPC that allowed the water in (i think!). if i didn't have that door then the basement would be swimming pool water tight. i'm sure this won't happen again but i was hoping that maybe i might find a way to reduce the ingress substantially. i might try a bit of expanding foam. i might put a couple of tubes of CT1 under there as well! surely it can't hurt?

so, not the best photos but I was getting wet. I have a step down to the courtyard as well. you can see in this photo how deep the water was internally! so despite also having a large area to 'store' water in the courtyard it was excessive. I believe the water came in under the DPC. at least I can't really think of any other real way it did. although there is a duct from the courtyard to the comms room where I guess water could've come in from as well. I'll also need to seal that up once the power cables have been put through. in the photo below you can see the line of silicone between the sliders and the dpc so I think this should be ok. I'm sure it's under the DPC that let the water in. although, with the quantities we're talking about that was in the basement it must've been coming in for quite a while. I started a new job last Monday so hadn't been in to the house since the previous Sunday and with all the rain we had I think it was a slow flooding event over the course of a number of days. it's so sad when I think that if I'd only popped out I might've noticed that the I couldn't hear the water going in to the sump which would've triggered some alarm bells. but, it's happened now. just got to get on with it all.

there will eventually be some form of drainage channel. i'm thinking short term for now just in case! i'll get a photo once it's stopped raining

thinking about my flooding issue some more and i believe it's obvious that the water got in to the basement from underneath the sliding doors. there's silicone between the door and the dpc but there's obviously a gap between the concrete base and the dpc that allowed water in from the outside. how could i best seal this gap? concrete? silicone? a.n.other method? the opening is approx just over 2m wide. just thinking that if this did ever happen again then if i can stop the water entering the basement the courtyard will fill up but the basement won't!

because I like the idea of it. 4 floats controlling the pumps and giving an alarm built in. I can also use those floats to trigger the HA system so when the 2nd pump is triggered by the float an alert can be sent letting me know that the 1st pump either can't handle the flow or is broken! and these things have built in audible alarms as another warning alarm.