Dedicated Mains
- Thread starter justin65
- Start date
Mike Reed
pfm Member
I see. Think my sparks did the lot, but reg's etc. change. Presumably the supplier has to come out to fit the isolator switch as it entails connection to the meter, so whereas I can see the point, I can't see that it's necessary if the supplier has to come out anyway. Think I've lost the plot somewhere here.
I think anything south of the meter just needs a sparky, not the supplier?
Mike Reed
pfm Member
Talk about damning with faint praise !
Depends entirely on what is before these speakers (and the stands). As I installed a pair of originals in a lady's house (ON THE WALL !) after having them for my office system in the eighties, I guess they didn't knock me out either. Before K.K. evangelised them, mind.
Dinovector
pfm Member
Typically an electrician will do the job but it does involve removing the main fuse which is sealed by the supplier which is supposed to be only done by them. You can ask the supplier to fit an isolator but it's not a job that's easy to get them to do in my experience recently so the electrician did it himself
gavreid
Pretty Words...
That's right. It's for the future so that you don't need to get the supplier out again. You can get that done first and then add the second cu later when your spark is ready or for changing a cu down the line. It's a handy thing to have...
paulfromcamden
Baffled
Meanwhile in Japan...
Mike Hanson
Trying to understand...
Don't worry about a fancy cable. Just make it thick. 12AWG is perfectly fine, especially given it's running such a short distance. If you want to go for 10AWG, that's fine too, but it's very likely overkill (and your sparky will look at you like you're nuts).
Mike Reed
pfm Member
Nobody manufactures 'audio-spec' mains cable! Anything you use is off the shelf, not very expensive and has to be rated for the job or kiss your insurance goodbye. If you do find someone selling audio-grade cable, it is off the shelf, not very expensive and they've just put a sticker and a big markup on it. I ran thick armored cable to my shed, maybe a hundred-foot run, and it still wasn't expensive. If you get a spark to fit it his time will be the biggest cost involved.
I don't know why you'd need a shielded cable if you don't have problems with interference now? I remember talking to Robert Ritchie about this and he said that if you use a really heavy cable it actually sounds worse than normal domestic twin and earth.
Cappuccino
pfm Member
Can you come straight off a CU straight into your equipment. So say if your equipment power cables were long enough to reach the CU, you cut off the UK 3pin plug and wire straight into the CU.
If this is allowed, what breaker would be required. If not allowed, why not
If this is allowed, what breaker would be required. If not allowed, why not
Yes indeed, I am happy to pull the fuse. Oops, I never said that nor have I ever in fact even thought about such a heinous crime
No. Your power cable are not rated to go inside the wall and twin and earth is not designed to be flexible so you can't run it all the way to your kit. You can do these things, you can do anything you want, but it'll be illegal and void your home insurance. There are other reasons why you shouldn't do it but the short answer is no.
I would definitely go the whole hog if cost allows - I previously had a dedicated radial out of the existing CU and it is difficult to say how worthwhile it was, if at all. Amps ended up sharing the circuit with streamer, DAC etc., and their possibly noisy power supplies + possible pollution from other circuits on the CU. The new dedicated CU is a considerable improvement.
No, absolutely not. You'll have to wait until the alcohol has worn off for me to provide a coherent answer, (daughter finally home for family Christmas meal) unless one of the other electricians here can step up to the plate. Perhaps Mike can be tied to his armchair
Mike Hanson
Trying to understand...
Jono_13
Duffer
I’m doing the same later this year as well as running some more copper and fibre optic network cabling, same sparky doing it all. From what I’ve read a dedicated CU the like you’d use in a garage is the way to go.
There’s a load of info out there but the Regs change, good bit of info on Naim forum, decent looking diagram.
https://community.naimaudio.com/t/i...ed-hifi-spur-installed-in-your-house/1308/107
We had similar in a former house which fed the lounge for hi-fi and TV, not sure it made a lot of difference but it gave peace of mind knowing the kit was on a separate circuit. the one important thing to remember is to bring all the earths to a single well grounded point to avoid differentials which can cause problems.
MUTTY1
Waste of bandwidth
Yes indeed, I am happy to pull the fuse. Oops, I never said that nor have I ever in fact even thought about such a heinous crime
We have had electricians around a couple of time since because of solar panels being fitted. Neither mentioned the lack of wire tabs on the fuse. I’ve a message on the box saying the electrics of the house have been modified. I spent some time studying the IEE regs before rewiring two houses, but I remain a bit cautious about leaving such stuff to any Tom, Dick or Harry. This was twenty years ago now….
Don't worry about a fancy cable. Just make it thick. 12AWG is perfectly fine, especially given it's running such a short distance. If you want to go for 10AWG, that's fine too, but it's very likely overkill (and your sparky will look at you like you're nuts).
Minimum 2.5 t&e unless a spur from a SFS when you can in certain circumstances go to 1.5 t&e. 4mm is good for 30 and 6mm for 40 amps. Using 10mm t&e is great if you are welding but pointless for a domestic hifi.