Conactor Board Installation

[Guest]

Hi I’m going to get a contactor board and was wondering if anyone could tell me how to install it? 
 

every one I can find online just says ‘must be installed by a fully qualified electrician’  

 

thanks 

[KC]

This doesn't sound like a 1 or 2 light setup? I can't help with electrics mate but give the people some ideas what sort of board you are looking at.

 

If it is a normal contactor then it's like plugging in an extension..... that I can manage

[Guest]

It’s for a loft, about 6-8 315cmh lights off up there so equivalent of 3/4 600’s, not a massive commy job  

 

contactor boards are cheaper than the plug in contactors and it means I can get the electrics on it’s own circuit and have all electrics nice and tidy not loads of extension leads 

Edited June 20, 2020 by Herbi

[argosthewizard]

Show us the kind of thing you're looking at. You wanting to run a new circuit from your consumer unit?

[splifi]

Are you after making one from scratch our buying a ready built one?

If you buy a ready made one you just run it off a fused spare preferably or a 13amp 3 pin plug going directly to the mains in.

 If you wish to make one from scratch then you will need some mdf board an adequate contactor(240v coil or 24v if you use a transformer) a timer and some 2.5mm single cable (blue/brown/greeen and yellow) and 8 sockets.

[argosthewizard]

If I was building one from scratch, I'd get a junction box, cut the plugs off your lights and wire them together, with 1 4mm cable coming out and through a 20A contactor and down to the breaker. Timer can be connected to a normal plug socket and wired into the control contacts. Assuming you want them all coming on at the same time that is. Plugs are bulky

 

Ideally it would be on its own 16A breaker, theres going to be a pretty hefty inrush current.

[Guest]

I’m looking at buying one of these ready made 

 

There’s no electrics up there at all

 

am I right in thinking it would just be some type of cable from that thing next to the timer, down to the consumer unit on one of those switches(MCB?)

 

thanks 

[argosthewizard]

@Herbi Yes, its "some type of cable from that thing" - I wouldn't advise you to go messing about in a live consumer unit if you don't know what you're doing though.

[KC]

Asking someone to install that in aloft is ok if you know someone with a pigfarm

[Grassisgreener]

If you have a ring main 32a powering upstairs sockets, then take a cable from a socket nearest your loft into a fused spur (using 2.5mm twin and earth) then out fused spur take another cable of 2.5mm twin and earth into your contactor. This way if your board trips or overloads it won’t affect any of the sockets in your house it will just blow the fuse in the spur.

 

so (socket)—-(fused spur)—-(contactor board)

Edited December 6, 2020 by Grassisgreener