What size power cable do i need for an 8.2kw/9.1kw Split Air-Con?

[dude]

Hi,
I'm having a house built through a builder and i missed the Sparkies
when they were on site (i was told they were going to turn up on a
different day) and i was going to ask them to run a cable to the rear
family room for a 8.2kw cooling/9.1 kw heating spit-system air-con and
pay them separately, not go through the builder.

The Supervisor won't give me their phone number now and say the cost
would be $350 plus the cable cost via the builder. Since the ceilings
aren't up yet, i thought it would be easy for me to run a cable and clip
it to the joists/hangers myself over the easter break, allowing 3m-4m
slack at the end of the family room and also at the meter-box.
It's a total length of 31m.

Does anyone know what rating 3-core power cable do i need?
Is 20 amps okay and do i need to use the solid core cable or will the
stranded stuff be okay?

thanks,

 

[[email protected]]

Hi,
I'm having a house built through a builder and i missed the Sparkies
when they were on site (i was told they were going to turn up on a
different day) and i was going to ask them to run a cable to the rear
family room for a 8.2kw cooling/9.1 kw heating spit-system air-con and
pay them separately, not go through the builder.

The Supervisor won't give me their phone number now and say the cost
would be $350 plus the cable cost via the builder. Since the ceilings
aren't up yet, i thought it would be easy for me to run a cable and clip
it to the joists/hangers myself over the easter break, allowing 3m-4m
slack at the end of the family room and also at the meter-box.
It's a total length of 31m.

Does anyone know what rating 3-core power cable do i need?
Is 20 amps okay and do i need to use the solid core cable or will the
stranded stuff be okay?

thanks,

G'day,

Be careful about going on to a building site - you could get yourself
into a contractual nighmare. If anything at all goes wrong they will
blame you because you were on site even if you didn't cause it.

$350 probably is reasonable anyway - you can do it cheaper but I doubt
you could get many other contractors to do if for that price.

Other stuff aside 9kW aircon sounds like a 3.5 HP unit (kW refers to
the cooling capacity not motor size usually but you need to check....)
For this you will need a 32 amp circuit which will need at least a 6mm
cable. It usually says on the aircon name plate what the circuit
breaker size should be - from this you work out your cable size. 6mm
PVC insulated cable is always stranded - be really hard to bend
otherwise.

Make sure the incoming supply to the house is big enough too.

 

[dude]

G'day,

Be careful about going on to a building site - you could get yourself
into a contractual nighmare. If anything at all goes wrong they will
blame you because you were on site even if you didn't cause it.

$350 probably is reasonable anyway - you can do it cheaper but I doubt
you could get many other contractors to do if for that price.

Other stuff aside 9kW aircon sounds like a 3.5 HP unit (kW refers to
the cooling capacity not motor size usually but you need to check....)
For this you will need a 32 amp circuit which will need at least a 6mm
cable. It usually says on the aircon name plate what the circuit
breaker size should be - from this you work out your cable size. 6mm
PVC insulated cable is always stranded - be really hard to bend
otherwise.

Make sure the incoming supply to the house is big enough too.

Thanks for reply j.l,
The $350 estimate by the Supervisor was just to run the cable for now.
It doesn't include cable cost, clips, circuit breaker in the meter box
or connection to the air-con.

I reckon i can easily run the cable myself within 2 hours because there
are no ceilings up yet and the sparkies won't come back now until the
ceilings, white set plaster, all cabinets, bathroom/laundry/floor tiles
are in.

There is 3-phase power being put in because of some equipment i want to
run in a rear workshop. Does that imply there will be plenty of supply
to the house?

thanks.

 

[Brian g]

Since the ceilings
aren't up yet, i thought it would be easy for me to run a cable and clip
it to the joists/hangers myself over the easter break, allowing 3m-4m
slack at the end of the family room and also at the meter-box.
It's a total length of 31m.

Does anyone know what rating 3-core power cable do i need?
Is 20 amps okay and do i need to use the solid core cable or will the
stranded stuff be okay?

thanks,


***** Two things you should note:-
1) You obviously haven't got a clue about electrical wiring or appliance
current ratings,hence your silly question about cable size and 2) in any
state or territory in Australia it is totally illegal to carry out 240 Volt
electrical wiring without the appropriate licence.To do so would
automatically make your insurance policy null and void.Should you not have
insurance and you are relying on the builders or bank loan insurance,in the
event that you even so much as touched a tool on site,they would drop you
like a hot sloppy turd.

Just forget anything about DYI,bite the bullet and pay the builder,not only
for running the cable but for connecting the appropriate bits at ech end.

Brian Goldsmith.

 

[atec77]

Since the ceilings
aren't up yet, i thought it would be easy for me to run a cable and clip
it to the joists/hangers myself over the easter break, allowing 3m-4m
slack at the end of the family room and also at the meter-box.
It's a total length of 31m.

Does anyone know what rating 3-core power cable do i need?
Is 20 amps okay and do i need to use the solid core cable or will the
stranded stuff be okay?

thanks,


***** Two things you should note:-
1) You obviously haven't got a clue about electrical wiring or appliance
current ratings,hence your silly question about cable size and 2) in any
state or territory in Australia it is totally illegal to carry out 240 Volt
electrical wiring without the appropriate licence.To do so would
automatically make your insurance policy null and void.Should you not have
insurance and you are relying on the builders or bank loan insurance,in the
event that you even so much as touched a tool on site,they would drop you
like a hot sloppy turd.

Just forget anything about DYI,bite the bullet and pay the builder,not only
for running the cable but for connecting the appropriate bits at ech end.

Brian Goldsmith.

Not strictly corr4ect , some others apart from a sparky can pull the
cable BUT it needs a sparky to connect it.
Either way this bloke shouldn't be contemplating it .

 

[Poxy]

Hi,
I'm having a house built through a builder and i missed the Sparkies
when they were on site (i was told they were going to turn up on a
different day) and i was going to ask them to run a cable to the rear
family room for a 8.2kw cooling/9.1 kw heating spit-system air-con and
pay them separately, not go through the builder.

The Supervisor won't give me their phone number now and say the cost
would be $350 plus the cable cost via the builder. Since the ceilings
aren't up yet, i thought it would be easy for me to run a cable and clip
it to the joists/hangers myself over the easter break, allowing 3m-4m
slack at the end of the family room and also at the meter-box.
It's a total length of 31m.

Does anyone know what rating 3-core power cable do i need?
Is 20 amps okay and do i need to use the solid core cable or will the
stranded stuff be okay?

One suggestion is to ask around and try and find a cooperative electrician -
they do exist - they can tell you what cable needs to be used and how it
should be run. Once the building work is complete, they can come and check
the installation and do the connections at each end.

That said, most electricians will still charge a couple of hundred bucks to
come out, install a breaker for the A/C and do the connections.

 

[atec77]

One suggestion is to ask around and try and find a cooperative electrician -
they do exist - they can tell you what cable needs to be used and how it
should be run. Once the building work is complete, they can come and check
the installation and do the connections at each end.

That said, most electricians will still charge a couple of hundred bucks to
come out, install a breaker for the A/C and do the connections.

The bloke installing the split system will charge around $800.00 or so
to do it all including electrical , BUT adding the cable from the board
to the unit will save quite a bit .
I could mention OHMS law but maybe I shouldn't

 

[Zodiac]

6mm stranded (doesn't come in solid). Clip every 600 mm in ceiling (above
insulation if possible)and make sure it can't be stood on or damaged.

 

[jasen]

Hi,
I'm having a house built through a builder and i missed the Sparkies
when they were on site (i was told they were going to turn up on a
different day) and i was going to ask them to run a cable to the rear
family room for a 8.2kw cooling/9.1 kw heating spit-system air-con and
pay them separately, not go through the builder.

The Supervisor won't give me their phone number now and say the cost
would be $350 plus the cable cost via the builder.

Hopefully that $350 includes running the wire and making the connections
at both ends.

Since the ceilings aren't up yet, i thought it would be easy for me to
run a cable and clip it to the joists/hangers myself over the easter
break, allowing 3m-4m slack at the end of the family room and also at
the meter-box. It's a total length of 31m.

The supervisor may object to that, he has the responsibility for safety
on the building site, and that includes keeping you out.

Bye.
Jasen

 

[kreed]

Hi,
I'm having a house built through a builder and i missed the Sparkies
when they were on site (i was told they were going to turn up on a
different day) and i was going to ask them to run a cable to the rear
family room for a 8.2kw cooling/9.1 kw heating spit-system air-con and
pay them separately, not go through the builder.

The Supervisor won't give me their phone number now and say the cost
would be $350 plus the cable cost via the builder. Since the ceilings
aren't up yet, i thought it would be easy for me to run a cable and clip
it to the joists/hangers myself over the easter break, allowing 3m-4m
slack at the end of the family room and also at the meter-box.
It's a total length of 31m.

Does anyone know what rating 3-core power cable do i need?
Is 20 amps okay and do i need to use the solid core cable or will the
stranded stuff be okay?

thanks,

6 mm sq. cable (they stock this at bunnings, or you can go to the
trade counter at Haymans etc) Unfortunately this isn't cheap, and
typically will cost over $400 for a 100m roll.

The price charged by the builder sounds a bit steep to me. Actually a
blatant rip-off if they arent supplying the cable too. I would at
least get other quotes

You could consider running it yourself when no one is there, then
inform them that you arranged a licensed electrician yourself to do
the job. Im sure you can bullshit your way out of it, specially since
they are taking you for a fool with that outrageous quote.
Or maybe play it safe and just arrange your own electrician to do the
job if its any cheaper.

If the builders are that much of a rip-off merchant, and you decide do
the cabling, they might even try to remove it, in which case you might
have a problem on your hands

The other option is to do it yourself after construction, while not a
fun job, it can be done, or get the air-con installer to do it when he
puts in the actual unit


If you have 3 phase coming to the place, running this air-con shouldnt
be a problem, unless you are building some massive mansion that is
full of massive power loads already.

 

[dude]

6 mm sq. cable (they stock this at bunnings, or you can go to the
trade counter at Haymans etc) Unfortunately this isn't cheap, and
typically will cost over $400 for a 100m roll.

The price charged by the builder sounds a bit steep to me. Actually a
blatant rip-off if they arent supplying the cable too. I would at
least get other quotes

You could consider running it yourself when no one is there, then
inform them that you arranged a licensed electrician yourself to do
the job. Im sure you can bullshit your way out of it, specially since
they are taking you for a fool with that outrageous quote.
Or maybe play it safe and just arrange your own electrician to do the
job if its any cheaper.

If the builders are that much of a rip-off merchant, and you decide do
the cabling, they might even try to remove it, in which case you might
have a problem on your hands

The other option is to do it yourself after construction, while not a
fun job, it can be done, or get the air-con installer to do it when he
puts in the actual unit


If you have 3 phase coming to the place, running this air-con shouldnt
be a problem, unless you are building some massive mansion that is
full of massive power loads already.

Thanks for all that kreed and to all the other posters.

Yes, this builder knows how to charge for extras and i bet the tradesmen
get only a small fraction of what they charge.

For example, at the sign up stage the builder charged us $810 ($270 x 3)
for increasing the width of three doors from 720mm to 820mm. We had no
choice but to pay.

When i was at Bunnings I worked out the price difference myself between
a 720mm door frame versus an 820mm one and also the extra for the 100mm
wider door panels and it came to less than $50 each.

I know for a fact that the bricklayers won't get extra, nor will the
fixing carpenter. When i queried this cost, he said it was mostly an
administrative charge. It seemed like a bit much to me.
That was just one instance.

 

[atec77]

Thanks for all that kreed and to all the other posters.

Yes, this builder knows how to charge for extras and i bet the tradesmen
get only a small fraction of what they charge.

For example, at the sign up stage the builder charged us $810 ($270 x 3)
for increasing the width of three doors from 720mm to 820mm. We had no
choice but to pay.

When i was at Bunnings I worked out the price difference myself between
a 720mm door frame versus an 820mm one and also the extra for the 100mm
wider door panels and it came to less than $50 each.

I know for a fact that the bricklayers won't get extra, nor will the
fixing carpenter. When i queried this cost, he said it was mostly an
administrative charge. It seemed like a bit much to me.
That was just one instance.

He would be claiming it as a planning varience , but if the plans were
not in it should have cost about $80.00 , he pocketed quite a tidy
profit on this .

 

[blutt]

He would be claiming it as a planning varience , but if the plans were not
in it should have cost about $80.00 , he pocketed quite a tidy profit on
this .

Not that I have any time for builders and their rip off tactics, but if you
are talking about a spec home don't forget that the frames have to be
adjusted to suit during manufacture.
One other thing, shouldn't you be putting in a 3 phase ducted air
conditioner in a large new house, assuming you live in a hot area?

 

[Poxy]

news:46149572$0$4610$61c65585@un-2park-reader-01.sydney.pipenetworks.com.au...
Not that I have any time for builders and their rip off tactics, but if you
are talking about a spec home don't forget that the frames have to be
adjusted to suit during manufacture.
One other thing, shouldn't you be putting in a 3 phase ducted air
conditioner in a large new house, assuming you live in a hot area?

Correction: 3-phase ducted aircon AND compact fluorescent bulbs - need to be
energy conscious.