Home  5  Books  5  GBEzine  5  News  5  HelpDesk  5  Register  5  GreenBuilding.co.uk
Not signed in (Sign In)

Categories



Green Building Bible, Fourth Edition
Green Building Bible, fourth edition (both books)
These two books are the perfect starting place to help you get to grips with one of the most vitally important aspects of our society - our homes and living environment.

PLEASE NOTE: A download link for Volume 1 will be sent to you by email and Volume 2 will be sent to you by post as a book.
Buy individually or both books together. Delivery is free!


powered by Surfing Waves




Vanilla 1.0.3 is a product of Lussumo. More Information: Documentation, Community Support.

Welcome to new Forum Visitors
 Join the forum now and benefit from discussions with thousands of other green building fans and discounts on Green Building Press publications: Apply now.

The AECB accepts no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this site. Views given in posts are not necessarily the views of the AECB.



General: Waterproof plug / socket

Bottom of Page

1 to 5 of 5

  1.  
    • CommentAuthorRex
    • CommentTimeJul 27th 2025
     
    What ho one and all,

    For the background, I have a 6000 liter rainwater tank with submersible pump to feed a gravity loft tank for toilet flushing. We also use it for car washing and garden. In the past, I have had to remove the pump for maintenance and one year ago, after 15 years of use, had to replace it. (bearings totally gone!!!)

    The electrical connection is via a 13A plug inside the house with the cable running in some underground plastic piping; at the time of installation, the fitted cable was not sufficiently long so added a waterproof joiner (https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/BRH65Z.html) pretty much like this but in black

    A few days ago, following one month of non-use due to no rain, the tank was full and when turned on, the RCD flicked off. Few checks later and still flicking off.

    Have opened the back of the pump and everything is totally dry, all the connectors are tight; cannot see anything wrong.

    Did a continuity check on the length of the cable on the assumption that perhaps the joiner in the conduit was wet but that passed. However, decided to replace the entire underground cable with a single length, from the interior 13
    A to the inspection chamber /access point. Will leave about 3 m of the original cable on the pump itself as the fittings are better than whatever I would create in replacing.

    The plan for ease of future removal, have a connection inside the inspection chamber turret so that I can easily disconnect the pump without having the take the back off or pull the entire wiring through the conduit.

    Which brings me to my question. It should be waterproof but will hopefully, never get wet. Easiest would be something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Masterplug-Rewireable-Waterproof-Outdoor-Inline-Orange/dp/B006X09WDW?th=1

    Alternative is use the existing connector, or a new replacement, but it does not 'unplug' and needs to be dismantled to separate the two parts. (see the first tlc link above) However, the existing was slight 'dirty' and the interior screws and cable ends are blackened, only from oxidation / dirt, not electrical shorting.

    Or a similar in-line waterproof plug/socket such as the Wago version: https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/WKCJWB.html which again, does not 'unplug.'

    Or finally, this which does seem to tick my 'plug-in' requirement. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Knightsbridge-Socket-Cable-Connector-3-Pole/dp/B076QH9VF4/ref=sr_1_16?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.lz4rODU_wJ_wnbDpJ_h4X1sfSKhG8Ly5y8tNXru7fFyoxHtTjF9E31bNMz4x93W5jh7r2-WnnFEIodhwfpbi9P2dFOg2W1NpJRPfNs45iosebjZUv7LPgGnVHXc70jnIVKO7Xrzcfd2GkieAIM5jif3_Mayflc4uzxa2JVogfI0WeoG5xO7yPK-yMxaSV3ShTbUwofwVh9XzABB3ozjp2m8wwzqVUapFOjALMP2dpwqmqCsaqDA1q3UO_NowQmbv6CYL53nJrRlo8Ne6kJr0oKTjC1qe5IC8v_oVPlr0XmA.ARQ0yeTu0PyTKoDVSoHD-pb9ZxLr3nXRzeenbp0pMGE&dib_tag=se&keywords=waterproof+connectors&qid=1753618364&sr=8-16

    I'm sure any will do the job but would be grateful for your thoughts. Many thanks

    Rex
  2.  
    Has the new length of cable stopped your RCD from tripping? Appreciate you may not yet have connected it to the pump, bearing in mind your question about what connector to use. But all this may be a bit in vain, if there something in the pump tripping it.

    The RCD part of a RCBO (combined RCS and MCB) detects fault current to earth. This could come from moisture or, in the case of a motor, could be due to a copper winding broken down and touching the metal motor frame. No moisture needed. So, given that its presently not working, and you are thinking about a new cable joint anyway, what I would suggest you try first is powering it up in the following sequence. This assuming you do not have an insulation resistance tester to test conductors to earth - A continuity test will not show up an insulation failure;

    1. Existing cable connected to pump - Well, you have tried this already and it trips
    2. Existing cable disconnected from pump. You would need a safe but temporary means of terminating the cable before energising it. Terminal strip would do for a temporary test, providing it cannot fall into any water. If it doesn't trip, then the issue is in the pump and not in the cable
    3. New cable disconnected from the pump as in 2 above. This assuming that in 2 it still tripped, leading you to suspect the cable. However, you also say you have replaced the cable, so going back to step 2 may not be possible now.
    4. New cable connected to pump, even temporarily with terminal strip to check that the fault has been removed before you go to the trouble of fitting waterproof plugs and sockets.

    Some of those waterproof options could be quite fiddly to fit, so may save yourself some grief by making sure the pump is not faulty before proceeding.

    Cheers
  3.  
    Rex
    If you are going for a pluggable option then I would go for your first option as this gives you a standard 13A plug that means the pump could be removed for 'off line' testing in the future just by plugging it into a normal socket or connecting to an extension lead for an in-situ test

    If you go for the above then you can fit the plug to the existing pump and test in a normal socket (that has RCD protection).
    • CommentAuthorRex
    • CommentTimeJul 28th 2025
     
    Gentlemen,

    Thanks for your thoughts. I did connect everything yesterday, using the original joiner, but also replaced the entire length of cable so the joiner is no longer hidden in the conduit,

    And yes, it all started as it should. So back to not using potable water to flush the toilets.

    Think I will look at the first option and get rid of the joiner, which is now just under the inspection chamber top. Most unlikely to get wet.

    When I was pulling the joiner and cable through the conduit, I did get some water at the lowest point. No idea how it got in, but perhaps there is a join in the conduit somewhere. And if the joiner was getting wet, even though it is waterproof, most likely, years of seepage caused a short.

    Again, many thanks.
    •  
      CommentAuthorfostertom
    • CommentTimeJul 28th 2025 edited
     
    Did rats eat it?

1 to 5 of 5

  1.  
Add your comments

    Username Password
  • Format comments as
 
Back to Discussions Top of Page
   
The Ecobuilding Buzz
Site Map    |   Home    |   View Cart    |   Pressroom   |   Business   |   Links   
Logout    

© Green Building Press