Hi

I am installing an outside floodlight, to be fixed on the wall of my house.
I plan to run about 5m of twin core and earth cable from the garage,
connecting via a fused connection unit, and clip the cable to the nearest
wall. Is it ok (Wiring Regs) to do this, or do I need to enclose it within a
plastic conduit? I seem to remember reading that plastic conduit was not
suitable in low temperatures. Cable run is mostly horizontal, but with quite
a lot of bends, so would be easier without conduit.

TIA

Joe

In article ,
Bob wrote:
I am installing an outside floodlight, to be fixed on the wall of my
house. I plan to run about 5m of twin core and earth cable from the
garage, connecting via a fused connection unit, and clip the cable to
the nearest wall. Is it ok (Wiring Regs) to do this, or do I need to
enclose it within a plastic conduit? I seem to remember reading that
plastic conduit was not suitable in low temperatures. Cable run is
mostly horizontal, but with quite a lot of bends, so would be easier
without conduit.

Why not use cable suitable for the job in one go? Hi-Tuf

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Ind...Tuf/index.html

is one type. It also has weatherproof glands for the cable entry to the
light. It's no more difficult to use than TW&E.

Wicks used to sell it in pre-cut lengths. I can't say I looked elsewhere.

--
*Remember, no-one is listening until you fart.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Bob wrote:
Hi

I am installing an outside floodlight, to be fixed on the wall of my house.
I plan to run about 5m of twin core and earth cable from the garage,
connecting via a fused connection unit, and clip the cable to the nearest
wall. Is it ok (Wiring Regs) to do this, or do I need to enclose it within a
plastic conduit? I seem to remember reading that plastic conduit was not
suitable in low temperatures. Cable run is mostly horizontal, but with quite
a lot of bends, so would be easier without conduit.

TIA

Joe

T&E is not good outside - it gets affected by UV in sunlight,
insulation goes brittle.
The suggestion of Hi-Tuff is OK ... bit of a sod to strip outer sheath
in cold weather.

I used product from TLC ... the flexible conduit, with necessary gland,
and used standard PVC flex within it.
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/BHEF25.html
In my case I coupled it to 20mm conduit at the wall as it passed
through the cavity wall, and regs don't like cables in the cavity.
The conduit can't be seen, and it just looks like flexible conduit
gland is screwed into wall - neat solution.

In article .com,
Osprey wrote:
The suggestion of Hi-Tuff is OK ... bit of a sod to strip outer sheath
in cold weather.

Easy with a rotary cable stripper. They're well worth having for ordinary
round flex too - and not expensive. Look for the type that takes ordinary
Stanley knife blades.

--
*If you lived in your car, you'd be home by now *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Osprey" wrote in message
oups.com...

T&E is not good outside - it gets affected by UV in sunlight,
insulation goes brittle.

I don't know where people get this idea from. We've had a length of 1.0mm
T&E on our back (south facing) wall feeing the outside light for about 19
years and it's still OK.

On Wed, 22 Nov 2006 14:41:16 -0000 someone who may be "John"
wrote this:-

T&E is not good outside - it gets affected by UV in sunlight,
insulation goes brittle.

I don't know where people get this idea from. We've had a length of 1.0mm
T&E on our back (south facing) wall feeing the outside light for about 19
years and it's still OK.

How do you define "OK"?


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

David Hansen wrote:
On Wed, 22 Nov 2006 14:41:16 -0000 someone who may be "John"
wrote this:-

T&E is not good outside - it gets affected by UV in sunlight,
insulation goes brittle.
I don't know where people get this idea from. We've had a length of 1.0mm
T&E on our back (south facing) wall feeing the outside light for about 19
years and it's still OK.

How do you define "OK"?

Well, I recently had to unclip part of the cable run to do some other
work and it didn't disintegrate in my hands, didn't break, and seemed to
be still quite flexible. Having said that, I wasn't being rough with it
and I was putting it back in the same place so I didn't have to go
bending it anywhere - like I said, it seems OK.

John.

John wrote:
"Osprey" wrote in message
oups.com...

T&E is not good outside - it gets affected by UV in sunlight,
insulation goes brittle.

I don't know where people get this idea from. We've had a length of 1.0mm
T&E on our back (south facing) wall feeing the outside light for about 19
years and it's still OK.


Well you are luckly, I have seen badly affected T&E and flex ... UV
leeches out the plasticiser - fact
What you are left with is a brittle sheath ... which start cracking
with extremes of weather - and then you get water penetration.

In article .com,
"Osprey" writes:

T&E is not good outside - it gets affected by UV in sunlight,
insulation goes brittle.

Whilst I've heard this a number of times, I have never come
across any which has deteriorated outside. I disconnected a
15 year old length last year, and it's still as good as new,
and I connected a new outside lamp to a piece which is greater
than 20 years old (possibly much greater), also just as good
as new.

--
Andrew Gabriel

On Wed, 22 Nov 2006 09:37:34 -0000 someone who may be "Bob"
wrote this:-

I am installing an outside floodlight, to be fixed on the wall of my house.
I plan to run about 5m of twin core and earth cable from the garage,
connecting via a fused connection unit, and clip the cable to the nearest
wall. Is it ok (Wiring Regs) to do this,

There is no simplistic answer to this.

Twin and earth is susceptible to direct sunlight and cold, both of
which do nasty things to the sheath and insulation. Unless your
cable is out of the sunlight and in a place where it does not get
cold, you didn't describe the installation conditions, then it is a
good idea to enclose it in conduit. Plastic is fine in most
conditions.

Unless you are in a warm place I would suggest that this is not the
time of year to install either.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

Bob wrote:

Hi

I am installing an outside floodlight, to be fixed on the wall of my
house. I plan to run about 5m of twin core and earth cable from the
garage, connecting via a fused connection unit, and clip the cable
to the nearest wall. Is it ok (Wiring Regs) to do this, or do I need
to enclose it within a plastic conduit? I seem to remember reading
that plastic conduit was not suitable in low temperatures. Cable run
is mostly horizontal, but with quite a lot of bends, so would be
easier without conduit.

TIA

Joe

If you use black plastic conduit leave some form of expansion joint in
the run otherwise in hot weather it will have a tendency to buckle.

Dave