- Joined
- Oct 8, 2017
- Messages
- 6,997
- Reaction score
- 5,130
- Location
- Birmingham, AL USA
- Hardiness Zone
- 8a
- Country
Or warmer, the bird baths are frozen and I have some fescue grass seed to put out.
What did you do in your garden today?
- Thread starter JBtheExplorer
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2015
- Messages
- 5,297
- Reaction score
- 4,474
- Location
- Southern Chester County, PA, USA
- Hardiness Zone
- 4 to 5 best for success.
- Country
started snowing, there goes my raking idea. did not see that in the forecast. oh, well, inside stuff.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2018
- Messages
- 3,596
- Reaction score
- 3,913
- Location
- "The Tropic of Trafford"
- Hardiness Zone
- Keir Hardy
- Country
I've a problem with one of the three light switches that control different lights in the garden.
So I had a look at it today.
The switches are behind the curtains in the lounge next to the French windows.
The power comes from the garage circuit.
There's three sockets in the garage into which the different lighting feeds are plugged.
There's an armoured four core cable plus earth under the patio between the house and the garage.
One core from the garage curcuit supplies the feed to all three switches. Each switch has one of the three other wires as a return, connected to the other side of the sockets.
The suspect socket is live on the mains side but not on the other when the switch is turned on.
The switch is working as it is live on the return side when turned on.
I just have to work out where there is a break.
It could be either where the wires from the switches join the four core cable under the floor boards. (I'll need to get down the trap door in the cupboard under the stairs to get to that)
Where the armoured cable joins individual wires to the sockets, (on the garage wall behind my big work bench which will have to be moved),
Or somewhere behind the panel on which the sockets are mounted.
I'm a bit vague as to how many connections there are, as I put all this in thirty four years ago and everything has worked perfectly until now.
I could just plug everything in to the two sets of sockets thatt are working and not bother, But I like things to be right. So I'll have another look tomorrow.
Spoke to our greenkeeper on the golf course this morning, as he was putting "stuff" on the greens. I try to mirror his treatments with my lawn. He was apparently, putting on a "light feed." As grass grows all year round, I might do the same.
So I had a look at it today.
The switches are behind the curtains in the lounge next to the French windows.
The power comes from the garage circuit.
There's three sockets in the garage into which the different lighting feeds are plugged.
There's an armoured four core cable plus earth under the patio between the house and the garage.
One core from the garage curcuit supplies the feed to all three switches. Each switch has one of the three other wires as a return, connected to the other side of the sockets.
The suspect socket is live on the mains side but not on the other when the switch is turned on.
The switch is working as it is live on the return side when turned on.
I just have to work out where there is a break.
It could be either where the wires from the switches join the four core cable under the floor boards. (I'll need to get down the trap door in the cupboard under the stairs to get to that)
Where the armoured cable joins individual wires to the sockets, (on the garage wall behind my big work bench which will have to be moved),
Or somewhere behind the panel on which the sockets are mounted.
I'm a bit vague as to how many connections there are, as I put all this in thirty four years ago and everything has worked perfectly until now.
I could just plug everything in to the two sets of sockets thatt are working and not bother, But I like things to be right. So I'll have another look tomorrow.
Spoke to our greenkeeper on the golf course this morning, as he was putting "stuff" on the greens. I try to mirror his treatments with my lawn. He was apparently, putting on a "light feed." As grass grows all year round, I might do the same.
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2017
- Messages
- 6,997
- Reaction score
- 5,130
- Location
- Birmingham, AL USA
- Hardiness Zone
- 8a
- Country
Watch for signs of heat in those wires. I am about to put some "blue stuff" on my lawn. I wonder what comment my wife will have about the dye.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2018
- Messages
- 3,596
- Reaction score
- 3,913
- Location
- "The Tropic of Trafford"
- Hardiness Zone
- Keir Hardy
- Country
Thanks for that, but all the wiring is in "old fashioned" 7029 cable which is good for more than 2kw. At any one time there's never more than about 500w on the mains lighting and the rest is all low voltage stuff.
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2015
- Messages
- 5,297
- Reaction score
- 4,474
- Location
- Southern Chester County, PA, USA
- Hardiness Zone
- 4 to 5 best for success.
- Country
still raining, no raking on Saturday.
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2017
- Messages
- 6,997
- Reaction score
- 5,130
- Location
- Birmingham, AL USA
- Hardiness Zone
- 8a
- Country
Me too. I bet we are pushing 3 inches of rain between yesterday and today.
Chuck
Moderator
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2014
- Messages
- 11,646
- Reaction score
- 5,725
- Location
- La Porte Texas
- Hardiness Zone
- 8b
- Country
Planted pepper seeds. It's a little early but they were old seeds and if they sprout I won't have to buy any this year. And if they don't I will still have plenty of time to order some. If they do sprout I haven't figured out where to grow them indoors yet.
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2017
- Messages
- 6,997
- Reaction score
- 5,130
- Location
- Birmingham, AL USA
- Hardiness Zone
- 8a
- Country
Your post reminded me that I had dug out and sorted some gifted seeds after reading that epic and extensive pepper thread you and ? created last year. Its time to plant them too.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2018
- Messages
- 3,596
- Reaction score
- 3,913
- Location
- "The Tropic of Trafford"
- Hardiness Zone
- Keir Hardy
- Country
Pruned all the other wisterias
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2015
- Messages
- 5,297
- Reaction score
- 4,474
- Location
- Southern Chester County, PA, USA
- Hardiness Zone
- 4 to 5 best for success.
- Country
that sounds good, I should get out and prune also. Just dragged 3 huge piles of leaves to the woods, wet some, so heavier. and the woodland soil spongy from the rain. back in for hot coffee.
JBtheExplorer
Native Gardener
Seeded a few species into my new garden section the other day, and then put another 10 species in wet paper towel in the fridge for the next two months.
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2017
- Messages
- 6,997
- Reaction score
- 5,130
- Location
- Birmingham, AL USA
- Hardiness Zone
- 8a
- Country
Leaves from the lawn last year will make the shade garden that I plant this fall. Patheways will come as we shuffle about and find what is a nice walkway.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2018
- Messages
- 3,596
- Reaction score
- 3,913
- Location
- "The Tropic of Trafford"
- Hardiness Zone
- Keir Hardy
- Country
Didn't do anything in the garden, but did a bit in the garage.
I'm going to put a new consumer unit in it.
It's for the garage and what was the room in which I had my koi pool filters, so a lot of electrical stuff, 2 pumps, UV, air pump, quarantine tank pump, air pumps, heaters.
This one.
I'll remove some of the sockets which were all in use when we had the pool, but are no longer required.
There'll now be be four breakers, for the power, lighting, water heater and garden lighting.
The shed and the tea-house are on a separate supply from the RCCB connected to the main fuse box.
I've mounted the consumer unit on a piece of Contiplas and drilled all the necessary holes for cables. I've to mount this on the garage wall tomorrow on spacers so the wires can come in from the back. On the same board will be the sockets for the garden lighting and the two transformers for the fountain and it's low voltage spotlight. I like the garden lighting on sockets, it's mostly low voltage, on 4 transformers, only three mains coach lamps, so I can ring any changes I want without any "hard wiring."
I'll rig up a temporary power supply to the two freezers and my Budweiser fridge from an extension plugged into a shed socket, the cable can pass through the window between the two rooms. Should be all done over the week-end.
I'm going to put a new consumer unit in it.
It's for the garage and what was the room in which I had my koi pool filters, so a lot of electrical stuff, 2 pumps, UV, air pump, quarantine tank pump, air pumps, heaters.
This one.
I'll remove some of the sockets which were all in use when we had the pool, but are no longer required.
There'll now be be four breakers, for the power, lighting, water heater and garden lighting.
The shed and the tea-house are on a separate supply from the RCCB connected to the main fuse box.
I've mounted the consumer unit on a piece of Contiplas and drilled all the necessary holes for cables. I've to mount this on the garage wall tomorrow on spacers so the wires can come in from the back. On the same board will be the sockets for the garden lighting and the two transformers for the fountain and it's low voltage spotlight. I like the garden lighting on sockets, it's mostly low voltage, on 4 transformers, only three mains coach lamps, so I can ring any changes I want without any "hard wiring."
I'll rig up a temporary power supply to the two freezers and my Budweiser fridge from an extension plugged into a shed socket, the cable can pass through the window between the two rooms. Should be all done over the week-end.
Last edited: