Replacing a Socket the 4 Homes way

[Phil]

No mention of any safe isolation, no mention of a volt meter never mind an approved voltage indicator if you want its full title anywhere in the tool list,
Socket back box and faceplate
Cold chisel
Plaster filler
Hammer
Hammer drill and masonry bit (12-18mm)
Electrical screwdriver
Pliers
Wire strippers or craft knife
Gloves
Goggles
Pencil
Spirit level

oh and on the tip list it says to get it signed off by an electrician when you have finished;
finished what? having a cardiac on the floor because you did not check it was safe to work on

 

[GLENNSPARK]

If someone's got an adaptor why would they plug it into the hallway and run cables through doorways when they could use the adaptor closer to where they need it?

I was under the impression they had been banned, or at least no longer conform to British Standards, but that won't remove them all from circulation.
When I was a kid the danger of overloading sockets was fairly widely publicised with pictures of multi-way adaptors plugged into a single socket, but here we have channel 4 telling people to change single sockets for doubles with no mention of considering the cable supplying them. Remember changing 2 single sockets for a double allows the same additional current to be drawn as an unfused 3 way adaptor, the difference is the 3 way adaptors have been widely discouraged.

Also as I mentioned this could include someone changing the single 2A lighting sockets for double 13A sockets, or changing that 2 way light switch which they rarely used and 'converted' to a socket into a double socket.

Whichever way you look at it a single 13A socket is limited to 13A, whereas a double one is, well, doubled, to 26A.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with double sockets, but the circuit has to have been designed for them, which the channel 4 website doesn't mention.

a situation i have come across at my mothers house....1.5mm T&E feeding a 2 gang outlet...no worries..its been done away with has that one..lol...

 

[DPG]

a situation i have come across at my mothers house....1.5mm T&E feeding a 2 gang outlet...no worries..its been done away with has that one..lol...

Unless it was fed from a 13A FCU though? Daz

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Unless it was fed from a 13A FCU though? Daz

nope....5A BS3036......and they were running a kettle off it....lol....

 

[grimysparks80]

Dear Christopher, Thank you for your email regarding Channel4.com.
I have escalated this issue to the site producer and await a response.
If you require further information, feel free to email me back or visit FAQ - Channel 4 - 4viewers


Ed Black

Channel 4 Customer Support


I got this response from them. Be interesting to see what else they say.

 

[rfears]

I've just been asked by a friend to replace 3 double sockets with the newfangled 3 socket thingies that fit in a 2 socket box. All in a kitchen ring wired back to a fusebox (I use the term advisedly). Is this safe?

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Does it have an innline, on board 13A fuse?

 

[Andy78]

I've just been asked by a friend to replace 3 double sockets with the newfangled 3 socket thingies that fit in a 2 socket box. All in a kitchen ring wired back to a fusebox (I use the term advisedly). Is this safe?

Usually these sockets have a very "fisher price" build quality. I fitted some in a kitchen once, to convert singles to doubles without disturbing tiles. Within a few months 2 of the doubles were down to only one outlet working on each, and insertin/removing plugs had become very stiff and difficult.
Load of crap basically IMHO.

 

[rfears]

Usually these sockets have a very "fisher price" build quality. I fitted some in a kitchen once, to convert singles to doubles without disturbing tiles. Within a few months 2 of the doubles were down to only one outlet working on each, and insertin/removing plugs had become very stiff and difficult.
Load of crap basically IMHO.

Funny that, my friend replaced one of his 2-sockets with one of the 3-sockets a while ago, and one of the switches is already not working...

 

[rfears]

Does it have an innline, on board 13A fuse?

I'm guessing the unit is one of these or similar:

http://www.******************/Produ...+gang+socket&gclid=CL-jus7phq8CFQ1lfAodgBwa-A

and looking at the picture there may indeed be a fuse port on the left hand side. I'm going round today to have a proper look (at the wires as well as the sockets, and the fusebox).

 

[Guitarist]

The 2-3 adaptors always have a fuse on-board. There are some good quality ones out there, just as there is rubbish (like everything else). Just make sure you don't need 2 or 3 heavy load items at that outlet point.

 

[DNS1]

The 2-3 adaptors always have a fuse on-board. There are some good quality ones out there, just as there is rubbish (like everything else). Just make sure you don't need 2 or 3 heavy load items at that outlet point.

True, I've got a fair few of these (admittedly donkeys years old and I don't tend to use them) but they're all fused to 13A. How come people complain about these, but not trailing 4-way blocks on a flex? They're both basically a fused spur, albeit, one without a run of cable...

 

[rfears]

The 3-gang adapters were purchased from B&Q a few years back. My mate bought 4, installed one himself at the time and then gave up. The installed one has a defective switch (doesn't connect the neutral consistently when switched on). One of the uninstalled one also has a defective switch. The units are Clipsal Converta.

Most of the installed sockets on the ring handle the usual kitchen appliances, My mate assures me the extra sockets are needed for things like phone chargers, not heavy load items.

Am I correct in assuming that the fuse only protects the extra socket?

Anyway, apologies to the original poster for hijacking his thread.

 

[Knobhead]

Looks like you’ve done some goody Grimy. It’s vanished off the site.
Well done, and any others that have given them earache.

 

[Guitarist]

Indeed, the fuse only protects those 3 sockets. The MK units are very good btw, tho the ones I have used need the surface box to space them.

 

[Andy78]

The units are Clipsal Converta.

Yeah these are the ones I had too. I would bin them and just add extra sockets in the conventional way.