Currently our washing machine and our dishwasher are on single sockets at different ends of the room. My wife now wants to put them side by side, where there is currently a single socket that itself is (non-fused) spur of the main ring. What is the best practice, just replace that single socket with a double? Or should I put in a FCU? Or spurring of the existing single to an additional new single?
Spur for washing machine and dishwasher?
- Thread starter chris1982
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That would be permissible in terms of regulations - but see below.
I'm not sure where you were thinking of putting it, but you could not run both of your appliance via one FCU, and nor would you be permitetd to feed an FCU from a socket which was itself an unfused spur.
As above, that is not permitted. You can have multiple sockets fed from a fused spur (i.e. via an FCU), but that limits the total load on all of the sockets to a maximum of 13A, which would not be enough for your two appliances simultaneously.
More generally, some people feel that it is not advisable to run two 'high power' appliances (such as a WM and DW) off the same double socket (because overheating fo the socket sometimes occurs ion some situations), but that would leave you with no easy option in your situation. At least WM+DW is nothing like as bad as the more common WM+dryer, so I'll be interested to hear what others say.
So, in essence, the first of your suggestions is the only one which would be both acceptable and regulation-compliant - but the issue mentioned in the previous paragraph needs to be considered.
Kind Regards, John
My suggestion would be regain the to ring final and forget about the spurs.
I too am one that, that will not install a DG socket outlet for the use of two appliances such as WM&DW.
I too am one that, that will not install a DG socket outlet for the use of two appliances such as WM&DW.
And also it is recommended not to concentrate high loads at one point on a ring final so I'm not convinced that two singles is any better.
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Thanks. I guess I should explore whether I will be able to move/extend the one single socket where the DW is now to where it will be.
Just to understand this though, if I was to replace the unfused single socket with an FCU and a double, would that be permitted?
a double and more, but the demand on that part of the circuit, would be restricted to 13Amps.
So in theory if you had a WM plus DW on load at the same time and depending what cycle they were on at the time, the 13A would/could be exceeded and the fuse could well break!
Thanks. That a load above 13A would not be sustainable was clear to me, but I hadn't thought that WM plus DW would draw that much.
Each would draw about 10amps each, total of 20amps.
No, no better in relation to that aspect, but probably less likely to overheat.
Of course, there's nothing explicit in the regs preventing one originating two spurs just a few cm apart, or even from the same point, provided that the designer does not feel that the cable of any part of the ring will be 'overloaded for a long period'. ... and, as we know, if (as if often the case) we're talking about cable with a CCC of 27A, it is impossible to overload the cable from a point more than about a 16% (or something like that) of the way around the ring (from an end), even if one draws the entire 32A at one point.
Kind Regards, John
I rest my case!
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A double should be fine for 20A continuous, so just swap the single for a double.
Also you can fit two fcus if you want, if the machines are hard wired there's no chance of an overload, so as long as your zs is low enough there no problem.
If it was two heaters I'd be more concerned than two intermittent loads.
Also you can fit two fcus if you want, if the machines are hard wired there's no chance of an overload, so as long as your zs is low enough there no problem.
If it was two heaters I'd be more concerned than two intermittent loads.
J
jg321
The inlaws have the WM and dryer plugged into the same double socket and it's been like that for 10+ years. No issues so far, and often used at the same time.
One more question: The reason I said I consider spurring off the single was that the one that is there is to the left of the WM, but the DW will go to the right of the WM. I doubt that the cable of the DW will be long enough to reach the socket. So when upgrading the socket to a double I will need to move to the right such that it is in between the WM and DW. Can I leave the original cable in place, put a terminal block and blanking plate into the single box, and run a new T&E earth cable from that box to the new double socket?
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