Adding Electrics in Outside Gazebo Advice Needed Ask questions and find answers to many subjects relating to electrics and electrical work

[astechsolutions1]

Ive built an outside gazebo measuring 4.2m x 4.2m, Permanent roof, fully ruberised and waterproof. I have enclosed 3 sides with double skin. Pallet/oak board internally and Barrel board tongue and groove externally. [ceiling also T&G Loglap]

I want to put in CU with RCD protection in gazebo wired back to house CU via armoured cable.Tick.

I want to install mains ring and 3 lighting circuits routed through cavity. All's good so far. Now the issue. Being told need IP rated switches and sockets with lids and shower ip rated light fittings. The installation of the sockets are between 3m and 4.1 m from gazebo open face and lights are a bit more spread. For one light this is 2.5m. The other lights I can make ip rated but this one is formed from steelpunk and is special. The open face of the gazebo itself only measures 1.2m high by 4m long as the first 1.1m in height is sunken and the last 200mm is behind the a 3x12" cross member roof joist. There is a door like entrance in the corner at the open face that steps into the gazebo. Question is do I really need this level of protection.

[ericmark]

IP rating of IP54 is often OK outside, and inside a gazebo likely it could be a lot lower.

I think the first step is to understand the IP rating system, all items can be IP rated, The two numbers say what dust and what water can get in, IP68 is I think the best but unless you expect to get flooded you will not need that.

Google IP rating and you will see that it could be IP44 which includes nearly every electrical item made.

[astechsolutions1]

Apparently it is about condensation due to ambient temperatures. IP rated equipment is supposed to keep out dampness. Ive just spent the last 20 minutes reading so many posts on putting in drain holes in ip rated switch boxes as they fill up with water.

Any comments

[ericmark]

You have missed the point see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code and it says what IP22 and IP56 means.

Every item has an IP rating even if IP11, in the main I would expect IP44 is good enough. But saying IP rating is like saying the car is speed restricted without saying what speed it is restricted to.

To get a diesel car to do 350 MPH will likely mean it needs engines giving out 1500 BHP (JCB MAX) so any car with less you could say is speed restricted. Well he only used 1300 BHP so the JCB would go faster than that. But if I said the JCB was speed restricted you would not normally consider that speed to be 350 MPH.

Same with IP rating you need to say what IP rating.

[astechsolutions1]

Sorry. Being told ip67 for switches, ip65 for light fittings. OTT? All about condensation on surface plate.i have steel steampunk light fitting earth bonded and rcd protected. whats your thoughts. Can you get ip 44 rated lamp holder to be fitted to steampunk to protect condenstion creating circuit from bakelight fitting to eventually steel chassis