electric! help please!

[scottrac]

Could anyone help with this please as i'm not getting anywhere with local sparkys.I have an old farmhouse thats been played with/bodged by the previous owner I think.
I have rubbish electric ,if I put anything big on like kettle or shower lights dim,If I'm welding and someone puts the kettle or shower on welder starts to struggle (even the inverter one)if i use my old welder the lights in the house are like a disco,
If we try and have both showers on neither work right!
Ive had 3 different sparky's in and they reckon the problem MIGHT be volt drop.
My meter is 350 meters away from house and workshops at the end of my track,
I have just found out the previous owner laid the cable and used a 16mm 4 core cable and doubled them together as two pairs with the idea of it being equivalent to 32mm!
I'm being told that to run everything i need (welder,plasma etc)I will need 95mm cable from meter to house to reduce voltage drop.
When Ive asked them to price it up they never come back with a price for the job?
any advice would be great please before I spend 9k on cable and start trenching
thanks in advance
scott

 

[Ukjay]

Not a sparky, but voltage drop is a possible root cause if you are using a fair load and the main tails are too small so are you able to get someone to put a test meter on your cable to check the line at source, then the house consumer unit, as they should be able to see / prove voltage drop by doing this and give you a printout?
Also, as you have stated previous owner has basically bodged the wiring, have they checked all other areas like poor wiring in the home / workshop, loose connections etc, as this can not only cause dimming lights etc - but more of a concern is loose connections are fire hazzards?

Are you dealing with single or 3 phase, and how many Amps are they working on for your new supply - as that may help others offer some guidance?

 

[scottrac]

Not a sparky, but voltage drop is a possible root cause if you are using a fair load and the main tails are too small so are you able to get someone to put a test meter on your cable to check the line at source, then the house consumer unit, as they should be able to see / prove voltage drop by doing this and give you a printout?
Also, as you have stated previous owner has basically bodged the wiring, have they checked all other areas like poor wiring in the home / workshop, loose connections etc, as this can not only cause dimming lights etc - but more of a concern is loose connections are fire hazzards?

Are you dealing with single or 3 phase, and how many Amps are they working on for your new supply - as that may help others offer some guidance?

thanks
single phase and either 80 or 100 amp (will confirm tonight when i get home)
The last sparky looked at the wiring and said thats dangerous and illegal to do it how he has.
To be fair the whole house/farm is a bodge If I'd known what I know now 5 years ago when I bought it I might of had an accidental fire,would have been cheaper to start again,bodged roof,bodged heating etc.
water is poor aswell so thinking of laying a new bigger bore pipe for that while i'm at it.
can I do those tests with a multimeter?
I'm good at dc (cars etc) not done alot with ac

 

[Timbo]

Could anyone help with this please as i'm not getting anywhere with local sparkys.I have an old farmhouse thats been played with/bodged by the previous owner I think.
I have rubbish electric ,if I put anything big on like kettle or shower lights dim,If I'm welding and someone puts the kettle or shower on welder starts to struggle (even the inverter one)if i use my old welder the lights in the house are like a disco,
If we try and have both showers on neither work right!
Ive had 3 different sparky's in and they reckon the problem MIGHT be volt drop.
My meter is 350 meters away from house and workshops at the end of my track,
I have just found out the previous owner laid the cable and used a 16mm 4 core cable and doubled them together as two pairs with the idea of it being equivalent to 32mm!
I'm being told that to run everything i need (welder,plasma etc)I will need 95mm cable from meter to house to reduce voltage drop.
When Ive asked them to price it up they never come back with a price for the job?
any advice would be great please before I spend 9k on cable and start trenching
thanks in advance
scott

It would likely be cheaper to ask the power company for a new supply to your premises, then when that is in, ask for disconnection of the original.

With regard to the house installation (and possibly the rest) bear in mind you will likely not be insured if you have a fire.

 

[milkloss]

It would likely be cheaper to ask the power company for a new supply to your premises, then when that is in, ask for disconnection of the original.

might be cheaper to get a new supply for the house and divert/extend the old cable to the workshop.

 

[Sid]

Barn conversion 500 m away from farm supply
I asked about cable underground from meter.
2 different electricians said you would struggle at half that distance running any more than a few light bulbs.

Over mains supply run in.

 

[Ukjay]

thanks
single phase and either 80 or 100 amp (will confirm tonight when i get home)
The last sparky looked at the wiring and said thats dangerous and illegal to do it how he has.
To be fair the whole house/farm is a bodge If I'd known what I know now 5 years ago when I bought it I might of had an accidental fire,would have been cheaper to start again,bodged roof,bodged heating etc.
water is poor aswell so thinking of laying a new bigger bore pipe for that while i'm at it.
can I do those tests with a multimeter?
I'm good at dc (cars etc) not done alot with ac

Feel your pain, two properties now that have had "quality work done by previous owners", so understand your frustrations.

With regards to the voltage drop - personally I would get a sparky out to get the correct values that would cost you mx couple of hundred, as they will have the kit to clamp on to print out the readouts etc vs struggling with a general purpose multi meter and AC is a lot different to DC cars - it can kill you if you get it wrong.
Having said that though, me being me, I would probably look into it myself if the access points are easy to get too each end first, but could not possibly advise anyone else to do such a thing for obvious safety reasons.

Single phase is probably your achilies heal on that distance in terms of cable sizing / costs for that amperage as the cable cross sectional area will be a lot higher as you are being advised.
Our last property was 290mtr (measured with wheel meter) from the incoming supply to the meter that was located at the end of the drive - and we had 3 phase to that, which then they split the phases inside the property consumer unit to give the 240v domestic.
To get that installed would cost you 10's thousands to get connected, as I recall the seller advising they were charged £45k for the old place after changing from generator to mains as it was off grid previously.

If your water supply is also an issue, I would also drop a new one in at the same time if you know what you need, where the mains is etc - and what your water provider would require.

As stated above - anything you do to the property that causes damage, may invalidate your insurance if it is investigated and found out that you are not qualified to work on the areas in question, so the risks are yours to take if that makes sense.

 

[scottrac]

It would likely be cheaper to ask the power company for a new supply to your premises, then when that is in, ask for disconnection of the original.

With regard to the house installation (and possibly the rest) bear in mind you will likely not be insured if you have a fire.

thanks
Would the power company do that?
drive isnt mine (next door farmer) but have permanent access.
Would they put a new supply all the way to the house?

 

[scottrac]

Feel your pain, two properties now that have had "quality work done by previous owners", so understand your frustrations.

With regards to the voltage drop - personally I would get a sparky out to get the correct values that would cost you mx couple of hundred, as they will have the kit to clamp on to print out the readouts etc vs struggling with a general purpose multi meter and AC is a lot different to DC cars - it can kill you if you get it wrong.
Having said that though, me being me, I would probably look into it myself if the access points are easy to get too each end first, but could not possibly advise anyone else to do such a thing for obvious safety reasons.

Single phase is probably your achilies heal on that distance in terms of cable sizing / costs for that amperage as the cable cross sectional area will be a lot higher as you are being advised.
Our last property was 290mtr (measured with wheel meter) from the incoming supply to the meter that was located at the end of the drive - and we had 3 phase to that, which then they split the phases inside the property consumer unit to give the 240v domestic.
To get that installed would cost you 10's thousands to get connected, as I recall the seller advising they were charged £45k for the old place after changing from generator to mains as it was off grid previously.

If your water supply is also an issue, I would also drop a new one in at the same time if you know what you need, where the mains is etc - and what your water provider would require.

As stated above - anything you do to the property that causes damage, may invalidate your insurance if it is investigated and found out that you are not qualified to work on the areas in question, so the risks are yours to take if that makes sense.

I was thinking of asking the power company how much for 3 phase to meter (not that far) then using the existing cables to take 2 single phases to house but still not sure the 2x 16mm cables will be big enough.
I wont be doing the connecting up myself,only the trenching and laying.

 

[scottrac]

Barn conversion 500 m away from farm supply
I asked about cable underground from meter.
2 different electricians said you would struggle at half that distance running any more than a few light bulbs.

Over mains supply run in.

if you don't mind me asking what was the price of a new supply?
Thanks

 

[upnortheast]

if you don't mind me asking what was the price of a new supply?
Thanks

Depends on distance & size of supply.
But suggest you sit down when you read the quote

 

[Highland Mule]

I was thinking of asking the power company how much for 3 phase to meter (not that far) then using the existing cables to take 2 single phases to house but still not sure the 2x 16mm cables will be big enough.
I wont be doing the connecting up myself,only the trenching and laying.

Get it done properly. New meter at the house, new cabling from the grid. Anything else is just a bodge on top of a bodge.

 

[scottrac]

thanks for all the help
Just rang northern power to ask for a quote,just hope they let me do the trench to keep costs down

 

[Sid]

if you don't mind me asking what was the price of a new supply?
Thanks

This was 15 years ago.
IIRC 8k. 4 poles plus some underground
Upgrade to 3 phase 4 years ago same distance was 19k.
But I double checked what they quoted and what always supplied and got a third back, then neighbour tapped into my supply so that gave me another lump sum back as within x years of new equipment.

Always check what Western Power or the likes of actually do against the quote.

 

[Sid]

thanks for all the help
Just rang northern power to ask for a quote,just hope they let me do the trench to keep costs down

We dug the trench for both of ours.

Really interesting that BT openreach let us dig the trench, supplied us with free ducting and wire and just charged for connecting the wires either end.

 

[Timbo]

Depends on distance & size of supply.
But suggest you sit down when you read the quote

It will be cheap in the long run

 

[scottrac]

We dug the trench for both of ours.

Really interesting that BT openreach let us dig the trench, supplied us with free ducting and wire and just charged for connecting the wires either end.

I'm tempted to do the phone line aswell,dug it up a couple of years ago had it joined back up by a bt guy but never been the same since (crackly line,rubbish internet)

 

[milkloss]

I'm tempted to do the phone line aswell,dug it up a couple of years ago had it joined back up by a bt guy but never been the same since (crackly line,rubbish internet)

i would question what to bury. Maybe someoptic fibre for future proofing too? Someone will know more.

 

[Highland Mule]

i would question what to bury.

A duct with a rope through it.

 

[Still Farming]

Get quote off your distribution company first possibly.
Supply Company may need contact also about new meters?
If as bad as you say watch they don't condemn it as you be knackered in the mean time?