This is a plan of the dedicated radial I am going to install.
Key:
D - Door
LC- Listening Chair
CU - Consumer Unit
OBT - Old BT Copper Supply
NBT - New BT FTTP Supply
EMB - Electricity Meter Box
GMB - Gas Meter Box
TVS - New TV Socket on Ring Main
DR - Dedicated Radial
DS - Dedicated Radial Twin Unswitched Socket
ES - Existing Ring Main Socket
R - Rack
My electrician will split the meter tails in the meter box on the outside of the front wall at the left, and run a supply line to a small CU on the inside at the left corner (see plan).
This should be as small a CU as possible - perhaps a Hagar or other good brand. But it needs to be able to take a 10mm² wire.
If you know a good very small CU that work well to take a feed direct from the meter tail and allow a 10mm square dedicated cable to come out to the HiFi sockets please let me know.
I will ask my electrician to buy this as it’s a standard item.
Another question I have is what exactly is meant by 10mm² wire?
Does this mean that the live, neutral and earth together have a combined cross-section of 10mm² surface area of copper (e.g. in this pic of a Prysmian Grey 10mm² T&E)?
I plan to run a dedicated hifi cable across to the other end of the room so that the racks will be away from the CU, the meter box, the BT supplies, and an unused aerial socket and the windows at the left.
Would it make sense to have this installed behind the skirting board?
But if the 10mm conductor is in a cable that might be say 15mm square on the outside, will it even fit behind a skirting board?
Glad you posted this. Will be interesting what comes back. The 10mm is the cross sectional area of each of the Live and Neutral conduits. Often in a normal cable the earth is smaller (e.g. on ring main 2.5 mm, the earth is 1.5 I think).
Any CU will fit tails and 10mm cable or conduit. I used 4-Way MK 100Amp Metal Consumer Unit (Y5704sMET) with C curve 32Amp 6kA 30mA RCBO.
Regarding the skirting board, as per our discussion, you will likely be replacing the whole length of board along that wall, and I was wondering if there may be some dedicated skirting board looking conduit that you can put up that contains a run for the 10mm cable and separate run for your Ethernet cable (I’m thinking ideally shielded but others may be able to suggest here). Something like this below, but probably needs a bigger slot for the 10mm. Or possibly bring a wooden skirting board forward by 2 inches with a top to effectively make a long box that cables can be lied in
Presumably you will want to run a cable from your TV to your Rack, which I don’t think you mentioned. Again the skirting board solution may work here.
BTW, how close to the wall do the SL2’s usually go - would a skirting board coming out by 2 inches effect them?
Thanks - these are really useful info and ideas.
My electrician will need to run a new cable from the existing ring main sockets at either the right or left (not shown) to create the new TV socket (marked TVS on the plan).
Do you think he might also run this through a plastic skirting board like the one you show?
Yes, I have a 2m Toslink cable that I run previously from TV STB to nDAC on the left hand brains rack, hanging in free space.
If this is not long enough, I will get a longer one and may run that through the skirting board too.
SL2s go as close to the front wall as possible, obviously avoiding skirting boards and any carpet gripper rods that are raised up under the edge of a carpet - although I am considering cutting away a patch of carpet under each SL2 so that the carpet doesn’t foul the leaf spring mechanism of the SL2 plinth.
The electrician does have to run a cable either horizontal or vertically, but can run down and along an edge. so again could go behind the skirting board. Obviously you wont be using nails to fit the board to the wall
Was also thinking about all those wall boxes in the left hand corner where the CU will go. Perhaps you can cover all that with a shallow cabinet, and if you can’t get a shallow cabinet, just cut one down
Cut one down?
Some thoughts - with the assumption that skirting is off(?) - perhaps not?
1- 10mm cable is very stiff, so while it may travel down a hollow skirting board (as pictured), getting it out could be a right bu**er, and could cause a protrusion.
2- can you run the 10mm underfloor and then come up the wall behind the racks/in to the new sockets? If you locate the sockets right above the skirting the redecoration impact should be minimal/none, the primary challenge is likely to be the depth of any chase in to the wall/the depth of the pattress (surface back box for the socket) so as to accommodate the cabling-up of the stiff 10mm.
Alternatively, if you have/are to use tall skirting you may be able to run a chase behind the skirting just above the flooring level – but be warned about fixings (obvious reasons) and re-carpeting, as the skirting isn’t so well braced - perhaps use instant adhesives when re-fixing.
Also, be mindful that if carpet with gripper is already down, it’s likely the gripper and carpet is trapping existing skirting in place. In removing a friend’s skirting recently, the gripper had to come up too.
3- If at all possible (perhaps it isn’t under regs?) have you thought about running the hi-fi tails from the EMB (externally it seems) to near the racks and hooking up to the CU there?
If you cannot do this, then perhaps run the 10mm externally (in conduit/trunking) and have it come in where the sockets are. This may be far easier in managing the stiffness of the cabling.
Hi Jim - just curious as to why you need to have the CU for the Hi-Fi in the lounge. Can it be tucked away next to the existing house CU or does that cause other problems with cable runs in your planned installation ?
I was thinking that or perhaps he could do what I have had done and have th Hifi CU in the meter box and then run the cable externally to the Hifi corner.
That would certainly be the conventional way to do it, and unless the lounge is very close to the meter there are limits to the length of meter tails you can run.
Obviously not answering for @JimDog but the pictures here appear to explain some of the challenges, noting where the BT data cabling etc is.
Connect FTTP to Ethernet Sockets? - Lounge - Naim Audio - Community
When I spoke with Jim at the Show he said the house CU was in the middle of the house, whereas the meter is just behind the lounge wall so would be an easier run.
The floor is solid, so can’t can’t go under it.
The fireplace has been removed and replastered hence will need new skirting board anyway. I presume decoration is yet to happen
Sorry Jim, meant that if the cabinet is too deep, and sticks out too far from the wall, possibly causing a reflection from your speakers, then you could possibly cut the cabinet down to a smaller depth. Enough to cover the sockets, with a little bit of storage for say remote controls. Probably easier to do with a flat-packed cabinet, but if you are unsure, I’m sure a carpenter would do that for you.
This is how my meter box is done.
The armoured cable just runs outside into the sitting room behind the rack.
That’s a neat approach. I have a similar arrangement where the final run of 10mm2 T&E from the loft runs externally in conduit to go straight into a socket behind the racks.
I like that solution as you never know in the age of hi-fi man when you might want to reorganise the listening space.
If there is space in the cabinet, then that looks like a good idea, SWA cable can then run outside and straight into the socket
