Let’s hope the boiler don’t leak then....

[Baddegg]

Been kind with the pipework though

 

[static zap]

Thats the colour of our Kitchen ,
(Was unaware my wife had wet pants in to put new boiler there )

 

[Deuce]

If it was ever effected by a leak, anyone touching that socket with one hand will quite possibly have their other hand on the earthed copper pipes for support - making their arms, and the beating heart between them a bridge between live and earth

On the other hand, if it's on an RCD it's a pretty neat leak detection system

 

[Baddegg]

Nope no such luxuries as rcds, old wylex rewireable fuse board,only 3 circuits on it...

 

[Deuce]

Nope no such luxuries as rcds, old wylex rewireable fuse board,only 3 circuits on it...

The earlier bakelite ones? Not sure if you know, but they actually did design MCBs that would plug into the original fuse bridge for those. Maybe do some research and go back and upgrade the old beast and slap an inline RCD between the main breaker and the circuits, you might just save a life one day!

Or at very least go back and install an RCD at high level above those aquatic sockets they have

 

[TJ Anderson]

Go back round and throw a bucket of water at the socket to expedite the process!!

 

[Deuce]

All joking aside, the biggest danger is actually fire. The thing is, most leaks are typically tiny, and almost impossible to see dribbling down a wall in a dimly lit space. If such a dribble runs behind the face plate and over the contacts it erodes the contacts at an accelerated rate - within days a clean contact can oxidise to the point of being a blunt lump of rust, which will generate huge localised heat without breaking the fused connection.

And that's when water and electricity causes a fire. Conversely whilst the presence of water does greatly increase the chance of you getting a shock, it hardly ever leads to serious injury or fatality as water is actually a really, really appalling conductor. It also has the habit of running downwards and is already finding better paths to earth than you could likely offer by sticking your finger in its path. The truth about water and electricity is that it's dangerous not because it conducts, but because it can go anywhere. I've made a career and living out of containing water safely in the most awkward of spaces, and I hate the bloody stuff!!

 

[Baddegg]

Thanks deuce, yes seen the plug-in mcbs, I have advised the Home owner on a couple of options, that boiler was only installed 7 months ago!

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Don't think I'd be losing any sleep over it, there's thousands of sockets in close proximity to plumbing with never a problem. That's not to say it couldn't be improved though.