Electrical supply to static caravan

[flanagaj]

I’m not doing this work myself and my nephew who is a qualified sparky is looking at the job at the weekend.  He tells me he’ll get it done in a day and I can nip off to the merchants to buy the bits.   Trouble is, I hate merchants and I’m not sure he’s thought too much about what bits are required.

 

The plan is to run 16mm 3 core Swa to the shed from the kiosk.  The shed will have a CU with a 6 amp lighting circuit and a 32 amp socket circuit.

 

All simple stuff.  The plan is to then the SWA 16mm to the static caravan.

 

this is where I have questions.

 

1) Do I need 3 core SWA to the static?

2) I know I need an earthing rod

3) The caravan has the CU in the photo and the plug too.

 

how do you connect Swa to the plug thing.  Do I need some sort of box?

 

[Nickfromwales]

If he’s doing it, why are you asking? 
 

He should be just calling the merchant with a list and you go fetch. 
 

Good to hear there’s an earth rod going in. What’s the supply type? PME? 

[flanagaj]

1 hour ago, Nickfromwales said:

why are you asking? 

As explained in my post.  "I hate merchants and I’m not sure he’s thought too much about what bits are required".

The ****** always want to rip me off.  Buying online means I can get the best price and avoid having to haggle with some arsehole behind the desk.

 

Edited Tuesday at 22:53 by flanagaj

[Gus Potter]

1 hour ago, flanagaj said:

The ****** always want to rip me off. 

I've seen a lot of changes in the merchants business over the last 40 years ago. 

 

One thing that has driven this is that is it a lot harder for them to take cash and not really put it through the books. The other is that the increase in dodgy customers who don't pay their bills has also increased. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[flanagaj]

7 hours ago, Gus Potter said:

I've seen a lot of changes in the merchants business over the last 40 years ago. 

 

One thing that has driven this is that is it a lot harder for them to take cash and not really put it through the books. The other is that the increase in dodgy customers who don't pay their bills has also increased. 

It's the random price generator bit that annoys me.  The moment they say "Cash" or "Account", I know I am about to be fleeced.

[G and J]

8 hours ago, flanagaj said:

The ****** always want to rip me off

You may want to rethink that a bit for your project.....yes you can get good prices online, but you can't always get things as quickly as you need them, or if something crops up or understand all the alternative, which takes time if your hands on with the project "doing".

 

We've established relationships locally (we would like money to stay in local area if we can) been straight and told them that, but also that we are looking for a "sensible" cost, and made no bones about that fact that we do check prices online. So far, its worked for us, and when there has been a need for a quick response they've come up trumps.

 

Also set up accounts, if nothing else it helps cashflow.

[dpmiller]

Don't go near CEF or any of the other big boys, seek out a small indy wholesaler- or just go to Screwfix...

[Russell griffiths]

1 hour ago, flanagaj said:

It's the random price generator bit that annoys me.  The moment they say "Cash" or "Account", I know I am about to be fleeced.

Open an account and go and discuss your prices. 

[Nickfromwales]

21 hours ago, flanagaj said:

As explained in my post.  "I hate merchants and I’m not sure he’s thought too much about what bits are required".

The ****** always want to rip me off.  Buying online means I can get the best price and avoid having to haggle with some arsehole behind the desk.

 

Doesn’t he have an account if he’s a qualified spark? 
 

His prices will be fixed then.

 

Odd situation.

 

You’ll find some of these arseholes are very approachable and pragmatic. I never use accounts, I pay as I go as I’m up and down the country all the time, but I walk in and say straight away “give me the prices as you would for an account holder or I’m buying my stuff elsewhere”. They then tap a bit more on the keyboard and adjust the rates.

 

If you’ve a whole build ahead of you, you’re going to need to embrace this not hide away from it. 
 

Some more advice is to do your ‘online shopping’ and then email those prices to a few local merchants, and say “I dare you to beat that”. Then see what happens. 
 

Not always a good idea to keep grabbing low-hanging fruit. 

[Mattg4321]

TLC are good if you have one locally. Quite competitive on most things and their pricing is very transparent- all on the website. 
 

I don’t get much of a discount even spending 5 figures there per year as their prices are already quite good. CEF on the other hand…

[Nickfromwales]

CEF I use in desperation. 
 

TLC has been my go to for best part of 25 years.

[Mattg4321]

CEF can occasionally be good, but you have to negotiate everything. They are unbeatable on some items. Also, unlike TLC, they are a proper wholesaler and will get you anything. TLC are not really too interested if it’s not on their website. 
 

I’d never recommend a member of the general public goes to CEF though!

[Nickfromwales]

1 hour ago, Mattg4321 said:

CEF can occasionally be good, but you have to negotiate everything. They are unbeatable on some items. Also, unlike TLC, they are a proper wholesaler and will get you anything. TLC are not really too interested if it’s not on their website. 
 

I’d never recommend a member of the general public goes to CEF though!

It’s down to cherry-picking; use the likes of TLC for the bread & butter, then look elsewhere for whatever they cannot supply.

[flanagaj]

10 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

Doesn’t he have an account if he’s a qualified spark? 
 

His prices will be fixed then.

 

Odd situation.

Nothing odd about it.  He works for a company and they don't allow their staff to moonlight.   But he takes a chance and does work for family at weekends on the quiet. 

@Nickfromwales are you an electrician as you give off those defensive vibes when it comes to people asking questions about electrical work?

[G and J]

26 minutes ago, flanagaj said:

are you an electrician as you give off those defensive vibes when it comes to people asking questions about electrical work?

I'm sorry but this comment feels off. You (and we) are getting huge amounts of input from this forum. It's by asking questions and getting others inputs that we learn......the answer may not always be what we were expecting but that doesn't mean it's wrong.

 

So rightly or wrongly I am offended for @Nickfromwales

 

And as to the question at hand good luck with your project. From our perspective there is no way that we'd let anyone near site (knowingly) that didn't know what bits to bring.

 

 

Maybe because I haven't had my second coffee yet, but right now, not feeling like I'll bother to share any experience (as  hands on self builders, mid project) with you right now.

[Nickfromwales]

Second coffee is crucial!!

 

Should be law afaic. 
 

@flanagaj you can turn the 10 down to a 2, I’m just assuming things and am confused as to why your molehill has snow on the peak.

 

The issue with written text is it can be interpreted many different ways by many different people, so I don’t take offence (and vice versa I hope). I like to assume the best of people which keeps my blood pressure in check, much better that way.  

 

Plus I’m just some random guy on the internet whose opinion is his own.

 

Yes, I’ve wired umpteen new builds for previous (and now current) domestic self-build clients, single phase / 3 phase and more, Royal Naval fleet and cruise liners, and am very well versed in electrical regs / installation standards, but I’m not a qualified sparky as I don’t want to be one. I paid NAPIT the 4 figures to get on board, then I had the text we all got to “stay at home” (C19) ffs. 

 

Cant be arsed with it now, as I’m flat out helping folk make new homes and that keeps me busy 24/7, so nowadays I get suitably qualified sparks in at key points who then sign my work off. Far easier, and I don’t need to be sitting exams every feck knows how often, being insured, etc etc. life’s too short to be doing everything, in a nutshell. 

 

It makes sense that he’s not got an account, it’s my fault for assuming he was a self-employed spark vs an employee. Now this makes more sense.

 

It also means (potentially) that he can’t sign this off?

 

Anyways…..

 

Theres defensive, and then there’s concerned, I am both as death is permanent, and simply put some folk dabble beyond their capability / competency; irrelevant here as you’re delegating to a qualified spark, but that is my default position when dealing with lethal items such as combustion and electricity etc.

 

You say you hate going to visit “assholes in merchants”, so I guess that made a few hairs stand up. Get your big boy pants pulled up past your waistline and march in there and demand to both be nice to each other. You’ll find your concerns soon evaporate; if you don’t like what they say, they don’t get your business, it’s literally that simple.
 

If you’re buying a couple of items for the first time then please don’t expect the rates an account holder will get as you very likely won’t, but instead try going in less guarded, speak to the branch manager, explain you’ve a full house to build, and the chat will soon change (hopefully).

 

There. All good. 😊 🫡👍. 
 

“As you were, people!”.

[Nickfromwales]

1 hour ago, G and J said:

I'm sorry but this comment feels off. You (and we) are getting huge amounts of input from this forum. It's by asking questions and getting others inputs that we learn......the answer may not always be what we were expecting but that doesn't mean it's wrong.

 

So rightly or wrongly I am offended for @Nickfromwales

 

And as to the question at hand good luck with your project. From our perspective there is no way that we'd let anyone near site (knowingly) that didn't know what bits to bring.

 

 

Maybe because I haven't had my second coffee yet, but right now, not feeling like I'll bother to share any experience (as  hands on self builders, mid project) with you right now.

Easy tiger. 
 

It’s all good.  

[ProDave]

I gave up with wholesalers a long time ago.  The final straw was when I went to get a load of lights for a job, they didn't have enough and could only supply half what I needed straight away.  I went next door to Toolstation where they had the whole lot and for less than the wholesaler would have fleeced me for half of them.

 

So it was always been Screwfix, Toolstation, TLC (online) CPC (on line) for me.

 

[Gone West]

4 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

If you’re buying a couple of items for the first time then please don’t expect the rates an account holder will get as you very likely won’t, but instead try going in less guarded, speak to the branch manager, explain you’ve a full house to build, and the chat will soon change (hopefully).

When we built our house I went to one of the two Jewsons in the city as they specialized in timber, and we were building a timber frame. We spoke to the manager, explained everything, set up an account, and he gave us a list of all the products Jewsons stocked with the full price and our discounted price listed for everything. Those prices applied to the other Jewsons as well. Their timber was sometimes complete crap, but they always replaced it and often we kept the old stuff. They can be ok, but you do have to ask. Free delivery is useful too.

Edited 13 hours ago by Gone West

[flanagaj]

Just for the record.  This forum is very useful, but if I ask for advice I am not looking for a “you should leave that to the big boys you incompetent fool” type responses.  I see enough of those on other forums.

 

At the end of the day, we are all grown ups.  If I decide to start messing with electrics and kill myself or someone else, then that’s my prerogative.  I’ll face the legal consequences that come my way.

 

I was merely looking for advice as to how others may have wired up their statics when said static has a hook up connector.

[ProDave]

36 minutes ago, flanagaj said:

 

I was merely looking for advice as to how others may have wired up their statics when said static has a hook up connector.

If you really intend this to be a temporary fixture then you would be as well to just connect a suitable 3 pole socket to plug it into, then when it comes to time to sell it on, you just have to unplug it, no need to get anyone back yo disconnect it.

[flanagaj]

14 minutes ago, ProDave said:

If you really intend this to be a temporary fixture then you would be as well to just connect a suitable 3 pole socket to plug it into, then when it comes to time to sell it on, you just have to unplug it, no need to get anyone back yo disconnect it.

I did consider whether I could run a suitable amperage female socket from the shed CU suspended from so poles.  It’s out the way and will be cheaper and easier than using Swa and termination boxes.