I cannot speak too much about my set-up, as while my qualified sparks was happy with it (just about!), I’m not sure how it plays to regs now. FYI, back about 20 years ago, there were some parties on the Forum who had experimented with differing wiring options, and their guidance was shared – I have to stop here.
I have a dedicated MEM CU (sadly single bus bar), with 6 x 10mm radials (with high-rated RCBOs) – fortunately, the CU is on the other side of the wall, in the garage i.e. very easy wiring dropped through a cavity wall. Henley block is split with hi-fi CU ‘first’, with dedicated earthing.
I use Powerlines x 6. Having vinyl and CD sources, I very nearly needed a 7th feed some time back but managed to compromise.
I’ve often wondered about going the block route, which may come about but…it’s hassle and cost, and not an easy experiment to conduct IMV.
The thing is some of the practices that actually improve our hifi sound don’t comply with regs. One example would be fitting a dedicated earth (via spikes) for the hifi supply to a utility PME system which has earth bonded to neutral. Although not likely to cause an issue in real world situations they just might. With spikes installed our home could become the source of earthing for everyone on the same grid should certain faults occur somewhere along it. Likely? No. Impossible? No. I prefer 15amp fuseless mains plugs and sockets but again they don’t comply with regs.
So even if they aren’t likely to be dangerous per se our insurers would not be sympathetic if in the unlikely event these “alterations” were revealed during a relevant claim. A fundamental grasp of AC is very helpful then apply common sense.
Agree – noting (AFAIK) one isn’t allowed to alter internal wiring nowadays unless under the gaze of a qualified sparks. The PME aspect has been raised several times.
And one can find things out when not expecting them sometimes. Having bought a pre-loved MF Dr. Thomas & Pre-Amp many years back, I surprised at what was occupying the fuse slot in the plugs…and there was a lot of solder in sight too. Yikes.
You can elect to have just your own earth for all your house requirements (called TT I think), but think then you have to ensure those spike locations are well watered to ensure the connection to earth doesn’t dry out. I must add I have no experience of this, but understand that some Radio Hams use this method.
Don’t think you can safely mix a TT system with PME
That’s just what I wrote. We can’t mix the two . TT systems are seldom found now as they have been phased out. Usually only found in certain houses in rural areas
Naim advised me years ago that a single 100mm cable and then a hydra or block will give a more together sound than multiple radials. Having six SWA cables, which are massive, seems like a slightly potty idea and will look awful.
OK - I didn’t realise Naim had been advising that.
I have been on the fence between the one radial and the 6 radial options for weeks as I have been trying to understand how these circuits work and what they can be made from.
Those responses nudge me quite strongly towards the single radial option.
That would look a lot better and would mean I would spend less on labour and quantities of parts, so could stretch to quite a good cable and a posh socket (and matching plug) too.
I’m not convinced by any of this posh wire and socket stuff, seeing it as a lure for the gullible, though that may be wrong. I’d just get a bog standard 10mm SWA with an MK unswitched socket, and put the savings towards a damn good block. You can overthink these things and if you are not careful you’ll vastly overcomplicate things. Keep it simple.
As it’s going to be just one cable now, should I take the feed:
From the meter tails in the meter cabinet to a dedicated CU in the inside front left corner, and across to the front right corner inside behind the SL2s?
From the meter tails in the meter cabinet to a dedicated CU on the outside of the same wall near the meter cabinet and across the outside wall to the same front right corner?
From the extended meter tails near the house mains ring CU under the stairs (behind the rear wall right corner) and along the right side wall into the front right corner?
These Qs are in reference to the plan diagram in Post 1 above.
Hi Jim, I had a useful conversation with Steve Hopkins when he was at Naim, and he mentioned that they had tried various options when wiring up their demo room, his suggestions being partly based on that experience.
The two issues that he stressed were most important were:
Use a single 10mm T&E from a breaker on a dedicated consumer unit, not multiple cables each run from a separate breaker.
(The practical problem here becomes how to connect 10mm cable to multiple sockets. It’s a very tight fit, but not impossible. A Hydra is a neat alternative, or a mains block, with only one socket then reqired.)
The dedicated consumer unit should be run from split meter tails, and not fed from a spare slot on your main consumer unit, which should be bypassed completely by the earth cable as well as the live and neutral.
Having tried both ways myself, I found that connecting the dedicated CU via the main house CU made the whole exercise a waste of time. So I would suggest that if you do it at all, you should split your meter tails, and if you can’t manage that, just whack a few extra sockets on a ring main and save yourself the hassle.
The cabinets are designed for this. After all, your external Main cabinet doesn’t have issues, or does it?
You would struggle to weather 10mm SWA, thought its outer plastic sheath and then the steel layer under neath
Again, that’s what SWA is designed for. Bear in mind you could also run this underground if you like. E.g. from the cabinet, run cable down external wall to just under ground level and pop up by the socket entry point, then it’s hardly showing even.
External installations can be weatherproof. A suitable IP rated cabinet should take care of it, although I don’t know what the regs say about putting a CU outside rather than just a meter.
If in doubt you will need a suitable internal location. I’m sure your sparky can sort out a suitable arrangement.
I tried a single 10mm and multiple 10mm from a dedicated memera consumer unit and found multiple 10mm radials to be considerably better sounding than a single one.
Well i was waiting for the plumber to move a radiator and other things, but he is not playing ball at the mo. So i have ordered some mcru 10mm mains cables and a couple of their sockets and will now wait for our electrician. Wether it is any better than std sockets and cables i do nit know, but is a minimal outlay compared to the rest of system.