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https://www.askthetrades.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl DIY Forum >> Electrical Questions >> Outdoor sockets and lights https://www.askthetrades.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1160351181 Message started by CWatters on Oct 9^th, 2006, 12:46am

Title: Outdoor sockets and lights
Post by CWatters on Oct 9^th, 2006, 12:46am

My electrician isn't on site at the moment so can I ask you folks...

We made provision early on in our build to feed power out to some external wall lights and a mains socket. The coil of special mains cable waiting to be laid when the electrician comes back.

My question is about the outdoor/waterproof socket itself. I looked on the web and saw MK have two types. One is just a socket and the other is a socket with a built in RCD.

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Wiring_Accessories_Menu_Index/Weatherproof_Accessories_Index/Masterseal_Sockets/index.html

When would you use one with a built in RCD? I mean isn't it mandatory to have an RCD in the CU for outside feeds? Is there any advantage in having two in series or do they interact to give false tripping?

Title: Re: Outdoor sockets and lights
Post by plugwash on Oct 9^th, 2006, 12:58am

don't think the wiring itself has to be RCD protected, portable appliances do, not sure about non-portable ones (but its a good idea to protect them)

putting two rcds in sequence is pretty pointless unless one is a time delay type.

putting outside sockets on the main house RCD is often done but a bad idea imo.

for a socket on the outside wall of the house my preffered way would be a RCD FCU indoors (fed from a non-rcd breaker in the CU), this will provide seperate RCD protection (less chance of accidently tripping all your sockets that way) and provide a conviniant place to isolate the socket to prevent electricity theft.

the time when outdoor rcd sockets are a good idea IMO is if the socket is a long distance from the nearest building, in a commercial environment RCD sockets also eliminate the issue of needing to get access to switchgear to reset RCDs.

Title: Re: Outdoor sockets and lights
Post by CWatters on Oct 9^th, 2006, 2:38pm

Thanks. Looks like I best wait for my electrician to come back to see what he recommends.