Can you use a wall dimmer switch & pattress wired to a p

[Michelin]

I have no idea, but would love some help on how to hide these cables.

Can you use a wall dimmer switch (usually meant to replace a standard double light switch) fitted with flex and a 3 pin plug?

I would fit it to a pattress fixed to the wall and with lamps wired into it. They are separate lamps, designed to be plugged in to the wall.

I currently have 3 lamps, each with inline dimmers, hanging around the floor and then on an extension; so this would really tidy things up.

I think that wall dimmers only have a few connections - is there the possibility for the blue and brown wires from the lamps to go in and the Blue, brown and yellow/green power flex wires to come out?

Sorry if it sounds daft

Thanks in advance

 

[breezer]

you can but it wont look nice

 

[Michelin]

I'm considering a dry-wall lining box to hide more of the flexes behind the plasterboard. I also have an electric heater cable to tuck in. If I put the Dimmer switch in one dry-wall box and wire a flex from it to another dry-box next to it, and in that one joined the lights and the electric fire using a block, could I put a blanking plate on the second one with a hole in the front for the flex with the 3 pin plug to come out of?

 

[plugwash]

if you are going to cut into the wall anyway you may as well do this job properly.

what power is the heater? what power are the lamps?

 

[Michelin]

I don't know how to do it properly, but I'm up for a challenge.

There are two wall lamps each with 2 x G9 230V 25W frosted hologens (so 100w halogen in total), one uplighter with 2 x 40w candle bulbs, and 2Kw electric fire. All close to each other and all about 2 meters around a corner from a socket.

I have already installed the wall lights' flex beind the plasterboard - and it is poking out of the wall at the bottom (waiting for the skirting to go on). It is temporarily installed with inline dimmers but they are really ugly.

I'd love some advice and really appreciate the replies so far!

 

[plugwash]

ok so less than 3KW total load that makes life much easier.

take a spur from the socket to an unswitched FCU using 2.5mm T&E, fit this first FCU with a 13A fuse

from the output side of the first FCU take another run of 2.5mm T&E to a socket for your fire and then on to another unswitched FCU, fit this second FCU with a 3A fuse.

from the output side of the second FCU take some 1mm T&E (you could keep using 2.5mm but it will be a pain to terminate in the dimmer) to your 3 gang dimmer, the live from the FCU goes to one end of each dimmer unit the lives from the lights go to the other end of the dimmers and all the neutrals go together.

 

[Michelin]

This sounds like great advice, but please bear with me, I'm only a girlie and have already had to look up FCU.

It seems like 4 separate boxes would need to be cut out. Is that overkill? Could the fire be directly connected to the first FCU (perhaps through a hole at the front and maybe making it a switched FCU) without the need for an extra plug socket?

Also, I have some T&E from a previous endevour. I can't find the label that came with it so I don't know how to tell if it is 2.5mm or 1mm etc, but it does have some feint markings on it which are:
BASEC BS 6004 6242 Y 2x1+1 SQ MM ALTIN 2003
Will that do?

Another thing is that the only power socket nearby is a double which is right next to another double. Does that raise issues that it may be a spur already or something?

Finally, can I wire up two wall lights to one dimmer so that they dim equally and the other light to the other dimmer in a double wall dimmer attached to this?

Thanks!!

 

[Michelin]

anyone?

 

[plugwash]

can you remove the fronts from the existing sockets and check how many cables there are, if both of them have two cables each then its pretty certain that both of them are on the ring.

btw is this heater wall mounted or freestanding and does it have its own on/off swich in an accessible place?

 

[Michelin]

Hi Plugwash!
The heater is wall mounted and has an accessible on/off switch.

I will check the wires in the sockets a little later as I suppose I should switch the power off (even if I am just looking). Maybe I can post a digital photo if I am unsure - is that possible?

Someone told me I couldn't wire a dimmer switched intended for the wall to the power. Do you know which colour wire goes where as the are labelled L1/L2 etc?

Thanks for your ongoing support

 

[plugwash]

first you need to identify the seperate dimmers, usually they are visiblly seperate modules on the back of the plate.

neutrals do not go to the switch just to each other that leaves you with two wires one live bringing in power and one taking it out again (if you are using multiple switches from one supply just link it accross from swtich to switch).

within each dimmer module one wire goes to com (sometimes marked with a wavy line symbol) and the other to L1.

assuming the sockets are on the ring take a spur from one of them to a unswitched FCU (with a 13A fuse), from the output of that FCU feed the heater and the input of a second unswitched FCU (with a 3A fuse) and from the output of the second FCU feed your dimmers.

i'd suggest mounting both FCUs at low level next to each other, they make special boxes for mounting two single sized units next to each other (e.g. http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/MTMDLB3.html) and i'd suggest using one neatness.

the dimmers should be mounted higher up the wall as they will be operated on a regular basis.

 

[Michelin]

If the first FCU has a switch then does that mean I could switch the whole lot off in one go? It would be useful at night-time to switch 3 lights and a fire off at once - or would it look dodgy?

I was considering remote control dimmers so they wouldn't look odd at low level and would be easier to use.

Did you have any luck identifying the cable I already have from its markings?
BASEC BS 6004 6242 Y 2x1+1 SQ MM ALTIN 2003

The special double plasterboard box looks like a great idea - thanks!

I will open the sockets tomorrow when it definately isn't Friday the 13th anymore and let you know how many wires are there.

Thanks for your continuing help

 

[plugwash]

If the first FCU has a switch then does that mean I could switch the whole lot off in one go? It would be useful at night-time to switch 3 lights and a fire off at once - or would it look dodgy?

sure feel free to use a switched one if you wan't to switch it all on and off in one go.

Did you have any luck identifying the cable I already have from its markings?
BASEC BS 6004 6242 Y 2x1+1 SQ MM ALTIN 2003

sounds like 1mm T&E, suitable for use after the second FCU but you should get some 2.5mm for the bits before it.

 

[Michelin]

Hi, here's a link to the photo of the two double sockets which I referred to:

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/1453/p1010443plugsru4.jpg

They both have 2 cables going into each one, the left one has cables coming from above and the right one has cables emerging from beneath it.

I want to add the spur to the left of these, around an inward corner and in total about 2 meters away.

Are these OK to add some 2.5mm T&E to please?

 

[plugwash]

shouldn't be a problem to spur off one of them.