Lesson learnt and general socket query

[Chris Pierce]

Hello All,

So before commenting please be aware that I have learnt my lesson and will check the power is off myself in the future.

I was hopping to change two single plug sockets in my house to two double sockets. The wiring is a bit old but on both single sockets I have two live (red) wires, two neutral (black) wires and a single earth cable that has two copper cables in one sheath. Anyway I took off the old single socket and connected the double socket and turned the power on and it worked fine. This is where it gets silly. I asked my wife to turn off the power and she said she had, (I wanted to put the single socket back on until I've decorated the room) I went to take off the double socket and there was a loud bang and a flash and the wires are now black/burnt and I had to change the fuse (old cartridge type) Either way I have two questions.

1. What caused that bang / flash? I think it came from the side where the two neutral cables were fed into the double socket. But for future reference should certain cables not touch either or was it one of the cables hitting a bit of metal on the back of the socket faceplate?

2. Is it ok to change a single to a double socket? The double socket has two earth terminals but I only have one earth cable with two coppers in the sheath. Do both coppers go into one of the earth terminals or should I split the coppers?

Thanks in advance, sorry for the long post and I do realise I am a **** for not checking the power myself.

Thanks

Chris

 

[Pete999]

1 You shorted some thing out when you didn't check the sockehad been correctly isolated.
2 Y es perfectly OK to swap a single for a double.
3 The earth terminals will be connected together in thssocket so any earth terminal will be OK

 

[peterhyper]

Chris, I am sorry to say the words often heard on here (here goes) but please get an electrician in to do your electrical jobs as the next time your wife might end up a widow.

 

[Octopus]

TOP TIP:

Never believe ANY labelling of fuseboards .....

and NEVER rely on anyone else to isolate the circuit

and ALWAYS check the socket is actually "dead" before doing anything.

and sockets in the same room CAN be on different circuits.

For a DIYer a table light is a reasonable way to confirm a circuit is dead (plug light in, switch light on, turn circuit off, check light goes out)

 

[Chris Pierce]

Thanks All for the reply and yes as I said lesson learnt I'll check it myself next time. I usually just turn all the power off rather than a single circuit. I think if I'd done that all would be ok. Just wondered if it blew because I was changing the socket but know I now I shorted the circuit somehow. Just wondered how you actually short a circuit

 

[Pete999]

L to E, L to N, if it was an RCD that tripped N to E

 

[Lagentium]

Daft question, did you also change the back box for the socket? Or are you using one of those crude adaptor things that utilise a single back box?

 

[littlespark]

First of all, well done for not killing yourself.
Now, if you've damaged the cable in any way then you're going to have to get a pro in.

 

[Andy78]

Check your wife's recent paperwork for any life insurance policies taken out in your name.

 

[Chris Pierce]

Changed the back box

 

[Chris Pierce]

First of all, well done for not killing yourself.
Now, if you've damaged the cable in any way then you're going to have to get a pro in.

The cables look fine that I can see. Would there likely be any damage in an area i can't see?

 

[littlespark]

bangs and flashes usually mean there's a chunk burned out the copper. Sometimes the insulation can melt, you mentioned it black and burnt? but that's from near the point of contact, not some hidden part of the cable.
I was thinking that if the exposed end of the cable got blasted, there might not be enough spare on the cable to terminate it again.
That's down to whether the cable is buried in plaster, or floating free inside a partition wall.

Hopefully this thread will be a warning to maybe less capable DIYers that accidents can happen.
I think its been hinted on earlier, but it would be advisable to think about *getting a professional electrician to* change your fuseboard to something with RCD protection.

Safety first,

 

[Chris Pierce]

bangs and flashes usually mean there's a chunk burned out the copper. Sometimes the insulation can melt, you mentioned it black and burnt? but that's from near the point of contact, not some hidden part of the cable.
I was thinking that if the exposed end of the cable got blasted, there might not be enough spare on the cable to terminate it again.
That's down to whether the cable is buried in plaster, or floating free inside a partition wall.

Hopefully this thread will be a warning to maybe less capable DIYers that accidents can happen.
I think its been hinted on earlier, but it would be advisable to think about *getting a professional electrician to* change your fuseboard to something with RCD protection.

Safety first,

Thanks for the info, the ends were black on the live cable but there was enough to cut it back and terminate it, the sockets all done now I'm just scared of leaving the house now in case it burns down.

 

[peterhyper]

Thanks for the info, the ends were black on the live cable but there was enough to cut it back and terminate it, the sockets all done now I'm just scared of leaving the house now in case it burns down.

I think the longer you stay away from your house the safer it will be for you.

 

[Chris Pierce]

I think the longer you stay away from your house the safer it will be for you.

Yeh thanks the sarcasm really helps when your worrying about something