Venum 10 Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Evening boys and girls, hope you enjoyed New Years Eve. Was thinking of having a go at making my own extension cable for use in the garage, Its a dangerous when I start to get ideas but I like cracking my own, I can get hold of some cheep 1.25mm 3 core flex cable, I read that this would be good for upto 15 meters? If this is true I am thinking http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-GANG-RUBBERISED-TRAILING-SOCKET-AND-ORANGE-13A-PLUG-EXTENSION-LEAD-/281436779278?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Other&hash=item4186f0730e now I can wire a plug socket but I am not so sure about wiring the 2 gang socket. I will use it for normal(ish) things like a dremel or a drill on my work bench, hovering the car, charging a phone, winding up the rest of the street with my shite music and that sort of pish Is it quite simple and safe as long as its tidy (plenty of common sense, ect) or should I stay well away!? Cheers and best wishes Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mattyg1086 52 Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 I am an electrician and no you cant use 1.5 3 core you must use 2.5 minimum. 1.5mm will take i think ul to 26 or 36 amps before it starts to break down but once you start to plug things in the 1.5 mm cable will become a heating element and could catch fire under the right circumstances/ enough load is placed on the cable as for wiring it up it is simple just make sure there is no copper showing outside of the terminals and that they are tight and you cant go wrong as all the terminals are marked. However isnt it just cheaper to buy a lead if you consider the cost of the parts and the time it takes to make it up. If you are going to permenantly wire up the shed then you really need fp200 minimum preferably armoured cable 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mattyg1086 52 Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 If unsure get it looked at as you cant see or smell electricity so if your not confident uou could end up with a problem 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fox digger 1,086 Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Mate work away, what your doing will be fine, you'll have a 13amp fuse in your plug top and the socket you plug the lead into in the house will be protected by a 16 or 20amp mcb so you will have no issues as long as you aren't running heavy stuff of it, if you were to put a heavy load on it the fuse in your plug will just blow. 1.5 flex is rated to carry 16 amps BTW!!! You can buy 1.5 extension leads so what your doing is fine. A double socket or 2 gang as you call it only has 3 terminals, L, N and earth, its internally wired to both outlets. Atb. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fox digger 1,086 Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Just to prove my point here is a 1.5 CE certified lead!! http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=161412374169 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Venum 10 Posted January 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Cheers for the heads up boys, sound and sensible advice, Going to have a go... I think it will be useful to be able to knock one up/repair if ever needed, and have the confidence in it being safe. I will be well aware of the heat risk and I will opt for armoured in the long term, wouldnt want to spend top dolla on a store bought one now, wheres I could pick the wire up on the fly, if its as safe and simple as it looks and sounds, Best wishes Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redcharge 378 Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 I am an electrician and no you cant use 1.5 3 core you must use 2.5 minimum. 1.5mm will take i think ul to 26 or 36 amps before it starts to break down but once you start to plug things in the 1.5 mm cable will become a heating element and could catch fire under the right circumstances/ enough load is placed on the cable as for wiring it up it is simple just make sure there is no copper showing outside of the terminals and that they are tight and you cant go wrong as all the terminals are marked. However isnt it just cheaper to buy a lead if you consider the cost of the parts and the time it takes to make it up. If you are going to permenantly wire up the shed then you really need fp200 minimum preferably armoured cable I'm sure the 13A fuse in the plug top would pop before it got too hot, and quite possibly it will be backed up by an RCD back at the consumer unit as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mattyg1086 52 Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 If you run a cable near its linit you shorten its lifespan due to the increased heat i am of course talking about the extreme but you would never wire a socket in 1.5mm which is why i suggested not to 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wildling 520 Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Using extension leads that are protected by a correctly fused plug generally do not cause overloading issues since the maximum load that could potentially be drawn through the plug before it would fail and "blow" is 13A. The real issues with overloading of 13A single or twin socket outlets usually occurs when someone uses one of those 3-way plugs that allows you to potentially plug in multiple 13A plugs into one socket outlet which causes a massive overload on that socket outlet that in turn leads to fire! A handy guide on extension leads from the organisation Electrical Safety First can be found on the link I've included below: http://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guides-and-advice/electrical-items/overloading-sockets/ However if what you want to achieve is power to a outbuilding or shed I'd suggest that you at least have a registered qualified electrician take a look at it first, most house fires caused in the UK are the result of poor electrical institutions! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nothernlite 18,028 Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Get a sparky to do it for you price of mind Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bracken boy 584 Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 gotta be honest its a big of a gamble, if somethink goes wrong i mean really wrong then you will never forgive yourself... how much do they cost the proper ones?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mattyg1086 52 Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Using extension leads that are protected by a correctly fused plug generally do not cause overloading issues since the maximum load that could potentially be drawn through the plug before it would fail and "blow" is 13A. The real issues with overloading of 13A single or twin socket outlets usually occurs when someone uses one of those 3-way plugs that allows you to potentially plug in multiple 13A plugs into one socket outlet which causes a massive overload on that socket outlet that in turn leads to fire! A handy guide on extension leads from the organisation Electrical Safety First can be found on the link I've included below: http://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guides-and-advice/electrical-items/overloading-sockets/ However if what you want to achieve is power to a outbuilding or shed I'd suggest that you at least have a registered qualified electrician take a look at it first, most house fires caused in the UK are the result of poor electrical institutions! Make sure you unwind the reel of cable aswell if you have something big plugged in like a kettle.. i once saw a 110v extension lead smoking that was charging a scissor lift Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pegleg33 134 Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 If you run a cable near its linit you shorten its lifespan due to the increased heat i am of course talking about the extreme but you would never wire a socket in 1.5mm which is why i suggested not to All centre parcs chalets ring mains are wired in 1.5mm cable, apparently they can does this because they aren't classed as permanent buildings. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brigzy 1,298 Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 To be honest mate, if you are unsure how to make something as basic as an extension cable, you should leave it to someone who knows what they are doing or buy a ready made one, the cost next to nothing at places like B&Q. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vanman1 411 Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Mate just get it powered up properly and permanent is my advice. Depending how far away your shed is its not that expensive.I ran my own armored cable from consumer to shed,brought a garage consumer unit,run 2.5 cable from there to all sockets in shed and back to shed consumer(creating a ring)Then ran1.5 cable to a couple of lights/Switches. I then paid a spark £75 to come in and wire it all up took him about an hour and half. Most sparks if they can clearly see what you have done and the cable you have used are happy to do this in my experience.The whole job probably cost me £250 but its safe and i have peace of mind,and all the sockets/lights i could ever want!! I plan on being here atleast 10 years so it equates to about 50p a week small price to pay for safety/peace of mind and a proper job imo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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