new boiler powered via plug in socket ok?

[nigelad]

Finally had my new boiler fitted - vaillant ecotec plus 831 - and very nice it is too
Installer put a plug on mains lead and plugged it into a double switched socket underneath, same as the old boiler had.
Reading the installation instructions, Vaillant say it should be plugged into a "switchless shuttered 13amp socket" or a fused spur.
Anyone know what the regs say?
Wold it be ok if the socket was one without a switch?
And what is the problem with having a switch on the socket?
Thanks for any info.

 

[BGEngineer]

Its fine to have it as it is. Just make sure the plug has a 3A fuse in it not a 13A fuse. I have never heard of a reg saying it cant got in a socket with a switch in it.

 

[powell30]

I have never heard of a reg saying it cant got in a socket with a switch in it.

Hmmm.....i thought manufacturers instructions superceeded Regs....ie Vaillant state 'switchless shuttered 13amp socket' according to OP therefore the installation is NCS 'not to current standards'. Get him back and get him to change it to correct socket.

 

[WDIK]

BS 1363 type electrical socket. Note the closed shutters (Red) blocking entry of foreign objects.

The requirement for sockets to be child safe and include a shutter mechanism dates back to a remarkable and far-sighted wartime committee which resulted in the publication of ‘Post War Building Study No. 11 – Electrical Installations’ in January 1944. BS 1363, introduced in 1947, is the result of this initiative.

 

[Kes]

i thought manufacturers instructions superceeded Regs....

On what authority do manufacturers' instructions - often from a foreign state and quite often badly translated - supersede the UK regs, and therefore absolve the installer?

I'm with BGE. The worst that can happen is that someone will switch the boiler off. The best that can happen is that it's easier and quicker to switch off in times of need than to pull a plug out of a socket.

 

[nigelad]

Thanks for answers - I think i'll leave it as it is

 

[namsag]

When a boiler is fitted on a plug it must be fitted into a socket that does not have a switch on it so that when it is disconnected to work on it the plug must be removed as the switch will prob not be double pole as it should be with a fused spur.

If its switched on the neutral someone could get killed if they work on it

 

[JPC]

i'm no sparky ..but if hard wired, what do we do...remove the fuse. that still leaves the neutral connected...so plug poss safer as gives the option to unplug it

 

[namsag]

Proper fused spur should have a switch that would be double pole which would isolate live and neutral,

 

[Agile]

I always teach trainees to pull the plug and I consider thats the safest solution.

I have encountered fused spurs which have been wrongly wired and DONT isolate supplies. I always teach trainees to measure voltage at input to boiler and then confirm that it goes off when the spur is switched off and then measure on neutral to ensure thats not live either.

Some boilers are fitted to fused but unswitched spurs. Again these need checks before working on the appliance in case they are wrongly wired and removing the fuse does not remove the voltage.

Tony

 

[oilman]

If its switched on the neutral someone could get killed if they work on it

This would be highlighted when you do your safe isolation checks using an approved test device (and GS38 terminated leads of course). I know we do this test so often, we do it almost with noticing.

 

[Deleted member 105431]

the boiler may be recieving it's pernament live from the plug but its switched live from another source (external programmer, motorised valve etc). In this case remove the plug and you remove the earth but still have a live 240v to boiler. NOT GOOD.

 

[diverdee]

if it is a fixed appliance i thought it had to be on a fused double pole isolater.not on a plug!!

 

[spacethegas]

if it is a fixed appliance i thought it had to be on a fused double pole isolater.not on a plug!!

'All electrical work shall be carried out by a competent
person and shall comply with BS 7671 (IEE Regulations).
In the Republic of Ireland, reference should be made to
the current edition of the ETCI (Electro-Technical Council
for Ireland) rules. The boiler is supplied for connection
to 230 V, ~ 50 Hz supply fused at 3 A rating. Connection
to the mains supply shall be made via a fused 3 pin plug
to an unswitched shuttered socket, both complying with
the requirements of BS 1363.
(Alternatively, connection may be made via a 3 A fused
double pole isolator having a contact separation of at
least 3 mm in all poles and supplying the boiler and controls
only). The point of connection to the mains supply
must allow complete electrical isolation of the boiler and
its ancillary controls. It should be readily accessible and
adjacent to the boiler. A 3 core flexible cord according to
BS 6500 tables 6, 8 or 16 (3 x 0.75 to 3 x 1.5 mm2)
should be used.'

from the mi.

 

[petit_pablo]

Its fine to have it as it is. Just make sure the plug has a 3A fuse in it not a 13A fuse. I have never heard of a reg saying it cant got in a socket with a switch in it.

Interesting, its BG policy to NCS any plug on a switched socket. Ive been picked up for not noting it down by QA