| Low-voltage garden electric circuits | | | | should have its cable buried in the ground deep |
| Much of the electric wiring you will have in or | | | | enough to avoid being severed by digging with a |
| around your pond is likely to be low-voltage. Thai | | | | spade, i.e. at least two spits deep. It is possible to |
| is, run at a safe 12 or 24 volts from a | | | | use normal house wiring cable for this, but it must |
| transformer. Only the transformer needs be | | | | be protected by a rigid PVC conduit; the |
| connected to mains electricity; the low-voltage | | | | alternative is proper armoured cable, available |
| cable, which runs to the pond lights or to a | | | | through DIY stores and electrical retailers, which |
| low-voltage pond pump, can then be run along the | | | | requires special fittings for the termination at |
| surface of the ground without posing any danger. | | | | either end. External sockets (also available through |
| Legislation, and therefore manufacturers, err on | | | | electrical wholesalers) have their own special plugs |
| the side of safety, and in many countries now | | | | - each socket comes with a plug and extra plugs |
| electrical items such as pond lights have to be | | | | are available. |
| low-voltage: mains-voltage versions are no longer | | | | The alternative to a plug and socket, for |
| permitted. Some transformers are designed to be | | | | permanent wiring, is a junction box with up to six |
| used if outside and, if waterproof, even in the | | | | outlets. These are widely available from water |
| pond itself; if not, they must be used either inside | | | | garden suppliers and can either be switched or |
| the house or in a garden shed or other outbuilding | | | | unswitched (a separate switch serves each |
| with the low-voltage cable run outside. The | | | | outlet). |
| problem that arises with a low-voltage circuit is | | | | Joining cable |
| how to run the cable from the house or other | | | | If for any reason you need to join mains electric |
| outbuilding and into the pond. The simplest way to | | | | cable in the garden, you must make sure that |
| get it out of the house, is to drill a hole in a | | | | you have the right type of connector, i.e. |
| convenient window frame, pass the cable through | | | | weatherproof or waterproof. The |
| and then seal the hole with a matching silicone | | | | non-weatherproof kind is only suitable for use |
| sealant or building mastic. To get it into the pond, | | | | indoors and should not be considered for anything |
| you can simply pass it in behind some of the | | | | to do with the garden. You pay more for the |
| surrounding stones, or buy the special watertight | | | | weatherproof kind which can be used outside and |
| cable lead-outs which some manufacturers make | | | | even more for the watertight versions, some of |
| specifically for passing cable through walls. | | | | which are suitable for immersion in a pond. Check |
| Mains-voltage garden circuits | | | | the packaging and instructions carefully to make |
| Serious pond owners will want to have a | | | | sure you get the type you require: all water |
| permanent outside electric circuit. Unless you are | | | | garden centres should have suitable connectors as |
| extremely competent, this should always be | | | | all the major suppliers have connectors in their |
| installed by a professional electrician. Such a circuit | | | | range. |