Hi, could someone tell me what armoured cable i would need to run from my house to a container 90 meter's away. The cable will be to run two light's and two double socket's. John

John, January 2011

When you operate electrical devices from a socket you may initially use a low power device such as a small wattage light bulb or soldering iron. But by the very nature of a socket at some point in the future you or someone else may unplug these devices and connect in higher powered devices such as a lawnmower or garden leaf sucker (this would then overload a cable of a low ratting).
So always use the cable which will handle the maximum loading possible. Protect the line with trip switch which protects the cable to the socket. When connecting in appliances use the lightest fuse in their plugs that will allow the appliance to work satisfactorily.
Either get advice from other answers here, or a leaflet from a Supermarket selling "add an outside socket" or an internet site.

best wishes Nyge C, March 2011

Really depends on what you intend to power from the sockets. If it is anything with any significant power consumption then I would think that 4mm would be a bit light, personally if I was running a cable that far then couldnt go wrong with a 6mm or 10mm to give room for future expansion in case usage changes, really all depends on use. An rcd is essential to protect the socket circuits, lighting less essential but as in a container may be worth doing. 6amp mcb for lights and only a 32amp mcb for sockets if you wire them in a ring circuit, otherwise a 16amp mcb for radial socket circuits. Bonding of the container is essential if it is a steel container. Some form of cable protection should be use in steel container e.g.conduit. Hope this helps

sparky 10, February 2011

you will need 2.5 twin and earth as per norm,
but if i were you,i would run 4 mm to account for voltage drop,make sure you fit a db with a rccd in it with a 5 and a 32amp circuit breaker,if the container is made of steel,earth bond it to the db,

mm, January 2011