Yet another badsaw question

[undergroundhunter]

Sorry for another bandsaw thread but I have looked and cant seen to find the answers.

I'm seriously considering buying a decent bandsaw, I'm torn between the Record Power BS400 and the Record Power BS350s, I have read all the specs and reviews I can find and am leaning towards spending the extra £ to get the BS400 but my workshop has no power so I have to run and extension lead from the house to the garage, all I use it for at the moment is 2 5ft strip lights and a radio. So my question is will a bandsaw the size of the BS 400 be ok running on this power source or shall I scrap the idea?

Before anyone asks there is no chance of putting permanent power out there as our consumer unit in smack bang in the middle of the house and still uses bakerlight fuses (so any alterations will requires the consumer unit to be upgraded) and the owner (my mother) will not let me drill holes in the walls to run cables through.

Thanks in advance.

Matt

 

[flh801978]

You would be ok with an extension cable running from the CU 4mm cable
But you need to connect to a 32amp supply in the CU
But if you are not allowed to connect you are screwed

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

My BS400 runs off regular 240V in my garage and that's from a 25m extension reel (circular wind in type). It's never once tripped the breaker and my garage ring main is bog standard. So unless your Mother's wiring is rated differently I see no reason why that wouldn't work. I guess the only technical issue is whether or not your Mothers wiring, due to it's age, is inferior. For that you need one of the electrical jockeys to talk through cable specs etc.

 

[undergroundhunter]

My BS400 runs off regular 240V in my garage and that's from a 25m extension reel (circular wind in type). It's never once tripped the breaker and my garage ring main is bog standard. So unless your Mother's wiring is rated differently I see no reason why that wouldn't work. I guess the only technical issue is whether or not your Mothers wiring, due to it's age, is inferior. For that you need one of the electrical jockeys to talk through cable specs etc.

Thanks Bob I was really hoping that is should work. I have has another thought though. My neighbours supply cable runs through the roof of my garage from the street (complicated old house) so I'm wondering how much it would cost to put another meter in just for the garage, from what I've read I would need to put in another earth rod and a meter. Might be an option.

Matt

 

[Alexam]

Hi Matt,.

I also ran my BS400 in my garage with a 13am supply and only tripped it a couple of times when heaters and other items were also being used. If you accept that on rare occassiuons, whilst running other things, you may get a power trip, then just remember when starting up, what else is running at the same time.

Eventually I had the garage re-wired and it has a 15 yard run from the house to the garage, but I wanted to add several other things, including heating. A new large cable was run into a new fusebox in the garage and several more points added. Cost me just over £200 which I thought was very reasonable. I also found out that the original wire was a spur from a socket in the house that was also running other things.

Go ahead, the machine is really a winner. Don't forget to buy when there is a sale or show running, I had £100 off the price and free delivery, so don't pay full price.

Malcolm

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

And on the subject of tapping off that main running through your workshop to the neighbour, you'll need an electrician to advise you but it's do-able too. For right now though I see no reason why you can't run an extension as you suggested

 

[bussy]

Hi Matt
To take a branch off your neighbours supply cable you will need to get your local distribution company in to do the work, not sure if they will take a branch off, they may insist on having a new cable brought in from the main in the street, either way they will charge you an arm and leg, you would then need to contact your supplier to get the meter fitted, they will also charge.

Marty

 

[n0legs]

If you use a nice chunky extension lead and you can plug it in at the house to one of the sockets that would be the first on the circuit (closest to the CU) you should get some good volts. I would think you'll be fine.
A supply in the workshop is the obvious solution, but if you can't then you can't.
Out of interest why won't mum allow some holes to be drilled? I for one, could do the job and mum would never know except for the lack of an extension lead running out the door.
Get us some pics and we'll see if we can advise in a manner that keeps mum happy.

 

[undergroundhunter]

Thanks guys, I will take some photos tomorrow to try and illustrate the issues. I did ask when we moved in as its a pain to mess around with extension leads all the time and all I got was a flat no. The issue I had was how to get the cable to the consumer unit which is in the cupboard under the stairs (no external walls unfortunately), short of digging up the dining room floor to run a trench I'm flummoxed.

Matt.

 

[sunnybob]

Just a quick note for people using extension cables. If you are using something that takes a fair bit of the available power, you should always unwind all of the reel. The reel (when not unwound) generates a big magnetic field which can lead to overheating on the cable, which is turn increases the load on it.

better to have it in a loose heap tucked out tripping hazard than have it tightly wound on the reel.

 

[undergroundhunter]

Just a quick note for people using extension cables. If you are using something that takes a fair bit of the available power, you should always unwind all of the reel. The reel (when not unwound) generates a big magnetic field which can lead to overheating on the cable, which is turn increases the load on it.

better to have it in a loose heap tucked out tripping hazard than have it tightly wound on the reel.

Oh boy am I aware of that one, someone at work decided to plug a decent sized heater into a half uncoiled 10m extension lead, well safe to say we knew there was a problem but much longer and there would have been a serious fire.

Matt

 

[sunnybob]

We had a very efficient safety officer when working on LPG 5000 litre tanks, drove the contractors nuts when he always insisted on uncoiling all their 30 metre leads when they only needed 10 metres. But we never had a fire.

 

[undergroundhunter]

OK, so my mind is now made up that I can have the BS400 regardless. I have also decided that I would like to put permanent power into the garage so photos are attached as requested to try and help me figure out how the hell to do it.

The current fuse box inside the house, I'm not even sure what most of them are for.

This is the set up of the house, the area between the garage and the main house 9outlined in black) has not been lived in for 50 odd years and is just used for storage, there is no link from the main house to this area or any adjoining walls.

The fuse box above is located in the dining room in the cupboard under the stairs, this has no external walls.

Thanks Matt
And finally the fuse box is in the cupboard in the corner.

 

[n0legs]

Solid floors downstairs?
Floorboards upstairs, would you know which way the joists run?
Second photo, the window in the wall perpendicular to the satellite dish. This room is it accessed from the house, does it share the same floor level with the house upstairs floor and is it the same level in the unused part?
I'm thinking. It's a good one isn't it.

 

[Alexam]

If timber floors downstairs, it may be possible to take a cable down and under the void to the outside, then along the wall, or fit an external socket to connect your cable reel to? Cheaper than running a main lead into the garage.

 

[sunnybob]

Bit of lateral thinking here.....
Move your workshop to the house that hasnt been lived in for 50 years.

easy.

NEXT?!

 

[n0legs]

Bit of lateral thinking here.....
Move your workshop to the house that hasnt been lived in for 50 years.

easy.

NEXT?!

Considering Matt's mum's aversion to holes in walls, I'm not confident she'd embrace that idea with open arms and a willing heart either :lol:

Though I'm not sure if it's even possible without one or two holes :-s, well they won't necessarily be going to the outside :-"

 

[undergroundhunter]

Thanks for all your input so far.

Ok so the window next to the satellite dish is next doors landing and nothing to do with my house (strange old house), the window below is mine however which leads is a small corridor. The part that has not been lived in for 50 years also has no power to it so the supply would have to either come straight from the house or from a separate supply from the road. All the downstairs floors are solid concrete. the joists also run the wrong way for me to run a cable like that. My father has just popped round and he thinks the easiest way would be to cut a trench in the hall floor downstairs (only aprox 1m long) and go in under the stairs to the fuse box.. Looking at the fuse boxes there are plenty of slots available as 5 or 6 of them are no longer used. My concern is getting someone to sign it off as the old fuse boards have got to be from the 80's at the latest.

Matt

 

[n0legs]

Thanks for all your input so far.

Ok so the window next to the satellite dish is next doors landing and nothing to do with my house (strange old house), the window below is mine however which leads is a small corridor. The part that has not been lived in for 50 years also has no power to it so the supply would have to either come straight from the house or from a separate supply from the road. All the downstairs floors are solid concrete. the joists also run the wrong way for me to run a cable like that. My father has just popped round and he thinks the easiest way would be to cut a trench in the hall floor downstairs (only aprox 1m long) and go in under the stairs to the fuse box.. Looking at the fuse boxes there are plenty of slots available as 5 or 6 of them are no longer used. My concern is getting someone to sign it off as the old fuse boards have got to be from the 80's at the latest.

Matt

Oh!!! That is a strange old setup :shock:
Go for a new 1 way consumer unit, the tails to it can be fed from the service block (top right hand side of the fuse box photo next to the white one way fuse box, above the supply main fuse/cutout).
Doing it this way will mean that all that is new will conform to current regs, what is already there is pre-existing and not in the scale of the new works. I cannot see any problem signing it off, sure the spark will try and tell you it all needs replacing but he's not there to share his opinion.
A little trench won't take long and can be put back easily, when the carpets back down who'll know :lol:. Neatly clip the cable around the house at DPC level in the black painted area and mum will never be able to tell.
So we've moved from not drilling holes to cutting up the hallway floor, my my you will be popular :lol:

 

[undergroundhunter]

Thanks for all your input so far.

Ok so the window next to the satellite dish is next doors landing and nothing to do with my house (strange old house), the window below is mine however which leads is a small corridor. The part that has not been lived in for 50 years also has no power to it so the supply would have to either come straight from the house or from a separate supply from the road. All the downstairs floors are solid concrete. the joists also run the wrong way for me to run a cable like that. My father has just popped round and he thinks the easiest way would be to cut a trench in the hall floor downstairs (only aprox 1m long) and go in under the stairs to the fuse box.. Looking at the fuse boxes there are plenty of slots available as 5 or 6 of them are no longer used. My concern is getting someone to sign it off as the old fuse boards have got to be from the 80's at the latest.

Matt

Oh!!! That is a strange old setup :shock:
Go for a new 1 way consumer unit, the tails to it can be fed from the service block (top right hand side of the fuse box photo next to the white one way fuse box, above the supply main fuse/cutout).
Doing it this way will mean that all that is new will conform to current regs, what is already there is pre-existing and not in the scale of the new works. I cannot see any problem signing it off, sure the spark will try and tell you it all needs replacing but he's not there to share his opinion.
A little trench won't take long and can be put back easily, when the carpets back down who'll know :lol:. Neatly clip the cable around the house at DPC level in the black painted area and mum will never be able to tell.
So we've moved from not drilling holes to cutting up the hallway floor, my my you will be popular :lol:

This seem to escalate quickly round here :lol: . There is a gravel trench that runs round the outside of the house that is at least 6" deep so my father suggested burying the cable in there.

Thanks N0legs.