What dia/type cable to run 100mtr from meter

[jonnyscot]

Hi, wife's just got sorted with the pea to run approx 350 mtr cable and poles from the nearest power lines to her land, cost 100k with govt paying 50k on top, we'll still have approx 100 Mtrs to run from 15/45 meter to where the house will eventually be, will use 3 x 8 mtr poles for this, but looking for advice on which cable to use, I see from other info on here 25mm alumin to which I questioned the contractor between 25mm alumi and copper, but the contractor is suggesting 35 mm saying no need for expense of copper,,,, to be honest I've no idea about domestic electrics myself so hoping for some advice,, is this 35mm overkill??

Any advice appreciated

Thanks

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[Crossy]

Even 25mm² copper (35mm² Aluminium) is going to be marginal on volt drop, particularly after it's come 350m already.

I would suggest a minimum of 35mm² copper (50mm² Aluminium) to avoid problems with aircon, water pumps and other equipment with motors.

[jonnyscot]

Hi crossy, sorry I think I didn't give the full info,, the PEA is running 50 x 2 cable the 350 Mtrs up to the end of the road that goes to wife's land, there we have to install the meter, it's the final 100 Mtrs along our track that we will decide which type cable to run, the guy at the pea said 25 x2 alumin should be sufficient, but contractor who will install those 3 remaining poles and cable suggested 35x2,

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[Crossy]

25mm² Al (equivalent to 16mm² copper) is the smallest PEA will install a 15/45 meter on.

16mm² copper equivalent will be too small on volt drop, I concur with your contractor to use a minimum of 35mm² Al (equivalent to 25mm² copper).

50mm² Al would be better and only slightly more expensive.

[jonnyscot]

hi crossy, as you mention if not a big difference in cost of 50x2 as opposed to 35x2 then I'll get them to use the 50

Thanks again for your advice

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[Crossy]

Aluminium is dirt cheap compared to copper, and less of a magnet for thieves (they only nick it once).

Do make sure your contractor knows how to terminate it, ok he won't, but ask anyway.

Run copper tails into the house and join to the Al outside, that way any issues with bad joints can fizz away outside your home. You'll probably need to do the same at the meter as the 50mm won't fit the terminals, don't just trim cores to fit.

You can use 16mm copper for the tails as volt drop won't be an issue over a few metres.

[jonnyscot]

Cheers for that additional piece of info crossy, I'll try that one on him.

Just an additional question

We built a small house on the land already, it's used for storage at the minute, but we have toilet, small kitchen and an 8mtr by 4 mtr room, this we've used for washing up and storing stuff etc, this we plan to run the power to with the intention of staying on site some nights to keep an eye on the building work on the house, the wife has plans to use it later for storing materials for her bamboo plants

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[jonnyscot]

Blooming touchscreen,, ok I'll carry on,, plan is to run the cable to this small house until the building is complete, then disconnect from small house( as I'm planning on trialling a small solar system there) and reconnect the cable to the new house,, to be sure togive me enough cable to eventually run to the new house I'll need additional 6 Mtrs,,, would it be safe and no issues with regs to have this additional cable coiled in the roof space of the small house without causing a hazard,, only running a couple lights and fan in small house,

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[Crossy]

At the low powers that you are considering, no issue whatever.

With a house and working toilet you may be able to get a blue book and consequently a permanent supply (cheaper power).

[jonnyscot]

Yes, wife's already got the small house registered, and an address for it, so hopefully on inspection of the in house electrics the pea should connect the meter to the house power supply.

Incidentally i wasn't aware of the 50k entitlement from the govt to help get newly registered houses hooked up to the power lines, I'm not sure the exact ins and outs of it but I think if the new property is over a certain distance from the pea cables then that is a factor in qualifying

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[IMHO]

Check with your PEA - most will not hook up a 15/45 meter to anything bigger than 25mm2 (alu or copper doesn't matter). The max. for a 30/100 meter is 35mm2.

I think you'll find there's also just no way you'd be able to get 50mm2 into the terminals on a 15/45 meter.

[Crossy]

Check with your PEA - most will not hook up a 15/45 meter to anything bigger than 25mm2 (alu or copper doesn't matter). The max. for a 30/100 meter is 35mm2.

I think you'll find there's also just no way you'd be able to get 50mm2 into the terminals on a 15/45 meter.

I understand that the sizes quoted by PEA are minimum sizes, 10mm² for 5/15, 16mm² for a 15/45 and 35mm² for a 30/100.

No reason for them not to connect to larger cables except for the fact that you need to use smaller gauge pigtails grafted on to the end of your large cable as the large cable won't fit in the meter terminals.

But to be sure do talk to your local office (and get the response in writing) before installing anything, TiT as we all know and different offices have their own interpretation of the rules.

The chaps at our PEA office are quite knowledgeable and know all about volt drop issues.

[IMHO]

Check with your PEA - most will not hook up a 15/45 meter to anything bigger than 25mm2 (alu or copper doesn't matter). The max. for a 30/100 meter is 35mm2.

I think you'll find there's also just no way you'd be able to get 50mm2 into the terminals on a 15/45 meter.

I understand that the sizes quoted by PEA are minimum sizes, 10mm² for 5/15, 16mm² for a 15/45 and 35mm² for a 30/100.

No reason for them not to connect to larger cables except for the fact that you need to use smaller gauge pigtails grafted on to the end of your large cable as the large cable won't fit in the meter terminals.

But to be sure do talk to your local office (and get the response in writing) before installing anything, TiT as we all know and different offices have their own interpretation of the rules.

The chaps at our PEA office are quite knowledgeable and know all about volt drop issues.

Most PEA's we've dealt with have both min & max, quite often the exact same

I know for a fact that at least two of the PEA's we deal with will not allow 35mm2 on 15/45, nor 50mm2 on 30/100, even when it makes complete sense to do so. We've been forced to put in 30/100 meters in a few houses just because of long runs requiring 35mm2, even when 15/45 would have done just fine.

As always, the OP needs to check with their PEA/MEA.....

[bankruatsteve]

Where's a good place to find terminator and connectors for 10mm2 and larger cables? Unless I just can't see them, I don't find in Home Pro, Global, and the like.

[Crossy]

Where's a good place to find terminator and connectors for 10mm2 and larger cables? Unless I just can't see them, I don't find in Home Pro, Global, and the like.

We get ours from our local electrical retailer, nothing that big in HomePro, I brought a 50mm² crimp tool from India.

You could try asking your local PEA chaps, they will have the correct tools (not a cheap item if you only do a few joints) and will likely stick a few terminators on for you for a nominal fee.

One thing they don't seem to have is the special bi-metal barrel crimps that you're supposed to use when joining Al to Cu cable