Multiple spurs off double socket

[nyb]

Hi

I recently purchased a house (built and wired in the 80s).
I removed one of the sockets to do some wallpapering and I noticed that it has 4 hot+neutral (+earth) wires connected to the double socket (and I'm assuming it's all solid core 2.5mm wiring??).

I'm not sure if it's connected in a radial or ring circuit (I'll check soon using the socket next to this one that has the expected two wires to it), but either way, why should there ever be 4 wires connected to a single double socket unless there are 2 spurs off there? The wires are just twisted together; not fused (at least on this end).

Is there any legitimate reason this could have been done? If not, is there anything I should be doing to make this safe? I wanted to clean up the '4 wires shoved tenuously into the socket hole' anyway using wago connectors to connect the wires together and then have a single 2.5mm from the wago feeding the socket. Is this a bad idea (presumambly for a single spur it would be fine?

Any advice here would be great.

Thanks!

 

[westward10]

Assuming the socket is part of the ring final circuit you can spur from it to one point or several points providing it is protected by a fuse connection unit. Having four 2.5s into the socķet is not the best thing to do, me personally I would not connect more than three.

 

[Pete999]

This may help explain
file:///C:/Users/Pete/AppData/Local/Temp/17th%20Corrigenda%20July%202008.pdf

 

[Octopus]

This would have been done through ignorance - and depending on the socket make the connection may be very tight!

 

[HandySparks]

This may help explain
file:///C:/Users/Pete/AppData/Local/Temp/17th%20Corrigenda%20July%202008.pdf

... or it may not!

 

[Richard Burns]

Presumably Pete999 was meaning this document.

As said above the installation of two unfused spurs (to a maximum of one double socket or fused spur each) from one socket on a ring is allowable and so is taking three branches off a radial circuit from one socket, so the arrangement could be OK but only identifying what is connected to these cable could ensure that.

 

[Pete999]

Presumably Pete999 was meaning this document.

As said above the installation of two unfused spurs (to a maximum of one double socket or fused spur each) from one socket on a ring is allowable and so is taking three branches off a radial circuit from one socket, so the arrangement could be OK but only identifying what is connected to these cable could ensure that.

 

[Pete999]

Richard, thanks for this I wondered why my post wouldn't open, cheers.

 

[telectrix]

basically, if you can sort it out and modify it to comply with BS7671, then get on with it. If not, then call a man who can.