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Electrical Supply to the Pond
Most pond equipment requires an electrical connection to the mains. Most people will have their pond either near the house or near a garage or shed where there is already power. If you don’t have power nearby then you will have to consider running a cable to the pond under the lawn or a path. There are kits that give you all of the equipment you need to do this but you should take into consideration the Part P legislation that covers electrical installations in the garden. You should think about all of the things that will need power and build this into your plans. A typical pond set-up might have a filter pump, UV filter, lights, air pump and a heater for a total of 5 electrical connections. You might be fine without the last two but if you plan for more equipment it will be easier and cheaper than trying to add extras later. The best way to connect the equipment up is with a junction box near the side of the pond. These are weather-proof and can be mounted on a post or a wall. One cable comes into the box and then a number of outlets allow you to connect up all your gadgets. Each of these outlets would usually have its own switch so you can turn things on and off independently. There is a maximum wattage that these boxes can support and a maximum for each of the outlets so it is worth comparing the wattage of your equipment with that stated for the junction box (or switch box as they are sometimes called). You shouldn’t have a problem unless you have a very large pump or choose a powerful heater but it is still worth checking. The boxes usually have a fuse inside, sometimes one for the whole box and sometimes one for each outlet. If there is a fuse for the whole box then one faulty item will blow the fuse and the supply to the whole pond will be off. This can be a problem if you are away from home when your pump goes off because of some dodgy lights! For this reason the independently fused versions can be a better option. Fitting a circuit breaker (or RCD, Residual Current Device) to your pond is essential for safety. Plug-in versions are cheap and take seconds to install but can save a life if something goes wrong with your pond equipment. Click here to see our range of electrical products to help you connect everything up. Now that you
know more about supplying your pond with electrics, why not take a
look at one of our other guides: |
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