Help from our sparkies lol :) plz

Rs2k_Rider

DW's Resident Medic
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Hi ppl,

Right, I got the kids a new swimming pool this year as the old one had some parts missing.. anyway, this new pool is 16ft x 48inchs. Intex Metal Frame Swimming Pool 16' x 48" & Filter NEW | eBay UK

Same as that one :)

Anyhow, the heater I had on the old one which was only 3kw running off a rcd plugged into the wall - which is how it came. This is no good for the new pool as will take an age to heat the pool 1oC lol !

I am going to buy a new heater, one of these > Elecro Pool Heater 6 KW | eBay UK

Or more likely this one due to cost > Swimming Pool Heater - O'Blue 5 KW For Pools upto 18ft | eBay UK

either way, it needs to be run on a dedicated supply from the MCB, so I am told :s

I intend to run 6mm armoured cable to the MCB and place a IP44 outside high amp socket, out in the garden on the exterior wall. I am aiming on around 30amp max.


Can you guys recommend anything specific ? I am going to have a qualified spark make all the final connections for me who has done part p. I am just going to do the leg work so to speak.

I am in Dagenham if anyone wants to give us hand :p wink wink lol
 
anyone lol, ya cant all be down the pub watching footie :p
 
32 amp MCB in the consumer unit. 6mm SWA cable to 32A rotary isolater outside switching a 32A interlocked 3 pin "commando" type socket.

Gewiss GW66 015 230v 32A Interlocked Socket - New Boxed | eBay UK

Cable entry to socket should be into bottom an I would site the socket somewhere sheltered as IP44 is not massively high rating. A small drip hole in the bottom wouldn't hurt either.
 
32 amp MCB in the consumer unit. 6mm SWA cable to 32A rotary isolater outside switching a 32A interlocked 3 pin "commando" type socket.

Gewiss GW66 015 230v 32A Interlocked Socket - New Boxed | eBay UK

Cable entry to socket should be into bottom an I would site the socket somewhere sheltered as IP44 is not massively high rating. A small drip hole in the bottom wouldn't hurt either.

Cheers for that bud :D

The socket will be going into a cupboard I am going to build out of ply, then clad with decking... and seal with decking sealer :) so should be pretty dry in there.

Cable entry wise, I use a gland on the armoured cable dont I, and bolt this up onto the socket housing ?
 
Yes you will gland the cable to the housing of the socket and isolator :)

Cheers bud :)

Just had a thought, the sparky will be doing the final connections so shall I leave the gland to him or can it be done leaving enough cable in the box for final connections ?
 
I would get him to gland it :) Its an easy enough job though.

Cool :)

One last question, how many amps can 6mm safely run ? as the heater is 27amp... BUT I might want to put a splitter into the socket and run the pump as well, maybe music too.... I know id have to put a bigger breaker in and poss socket ?
 
I would say around 53 amps, as its going to have some tight bends in it.

so I will be able to run things that can be run on a std 13amp socket on it as extras safely ? I will have to check the amps rating of the pump, its not huge... the cable on it is only thin.

Not too sure about tight bends lol, the armoured cable I got can hardly bend lol !
 
If the heater needs its own dedicated supply then you cant run anything else off the same rcd...so therefore no extras even though the cable is capable. Run another cable out at the same time to cover the extras.
 
Why would the heater need a dedicated supply?

The cable selection chart in earlier post is for a 90 degree rated xlpe swa. Is the swa being used rated as this? Even if it is the terminals of the equipment it is connected to is likely to only be rated at 70 degrees. As such I wouldn't connect a 6mm SWA to any MCB/fuse above 40A and I would prefer 32A.

That said it is fine for your purpose :)

I would personally fit a twin socket on the circuit too and lose no sleep over it. I dont see a problem with it as long as the swa is fused at the correct rating back at the consumer unit and ALL cabling is in 6mm.

Also I dont think anyone has stated and may be obvious but you should make sure this circuit is being connected to an RCD protected way in the consumer unit. If it is not it will need an RCBO instead of an MCB.
 
Why would the heater need a dedicated supply?

The cable selection chart in earlier post is for a 90 degree rated xlpe swa. Is the swa being used rated as this? Even if it is the terminals of the equipment it is connected to is likely to only be rated at 70 degrees. As such I wouldn't connect a 6mm SWA to any MCB/fuse above 40A and I would prefer 32A.

That said it is fine for your purpose :)

I would personally fit a twin socket on the circuit too and lose no sleep over it. I dont see a problem with it as long as the swa is fused at the correct rating back at the consumer unit and ALL cabling is in 6mm.

Also I dont think anyone has stated and may be obvious but you should make sure this circuit is being connected to and RCD protected way in the consumer unit. If it is not it will need an RCBO instead of an MCB.

Can I have that in english ? lol


The power requirements are : 6-kW 230V 27Amp

Elecro Engineering - Power Requirements
 
The right hand side of your consumer unit is the rcd protected side. There is no room for it there so you have two choices.

1. Fit an RCBO to the left hand side instead of fitting an MCB. An RCBO is an MCB and RCD built into 1 unit.

2. If your cooker circuit does not have a socket on it (ie no socket on the isolating switch next to the cooker) you could disconnect the cooker circuit from the right hand side and connect it to the left hand side (the mcb's in your consumer unit just unplug). This then free's up a space for the new circuits MCB to connect into.
 
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The right hand side of your consumer unit is the rcd protected side. There is no room for it there so you have two choices.

1. Fit an RCBO to the left hand side instead of fitting an MCB. An RCBO is an MCB and RCD built into 1 unit.

2. If your cooker circuit does not have a socket on it (ie no socket on the isolating switch next to the cooker) you could disconnect the cooker circuit from the right hand side and connect it to the left hand side (the mcb's in your consumer unit just unplug). This then free's up a space for the new circuits MCB to connect into.

Hmm, didnt consider that lol... ermmm

cooker has a plug and switch in one mate :( plug is used as well.

Looks like the RCBO is an option, how much are these ? can I not fit a separate unit for garden stuff fed from the main consumer unit, or would that still give me the same situation ?
 
I personally would get the 32A. I would also use one of these to add to circuit for pump

Outdoor / Garden Weatherproof Double Socket Waterproof | eBay UK

I dont see any reason for that to cause a problem. If the heater draws 27A then you will still be able to draw another 5A from the sockets. Plenty to run a pump and a radio I would think. Might be worth just checking rating of the pump tho to be safe

Incidently a more accurate calculation for the heater comes out at 26.08A m8.
 
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