T+E and 13A plug

[phil_ballard]

My girlfriend is secretary of a local football club; when I was there on Saturday I noticed that the kitchen water heater (one of those wall mounted barrel-shaped things with a chrome pipe outlet over the sink) was powered by a length of twin and earth terminated in a 13A plug and plugged into the kitchen wall.

This surely isn't right? If not, how should it be? If I take a spur of the socket (if I can do so within the spurring rules) to a switched FCU and connect the T+E from the heater in there, will that be safer for now?

They're getting a spark in to do a report on the whole pavilion soon, but knowing them it'll take some weeks yet before anything's done. Sorry I didn't get any more details, there was a game on and the kitchen was in use

 

[securespark]

As long as you satisfy the basic requirements to enable you to work in an establishment open to the public.....

 

[phil_ballard]

I don't. But I don't want them to get hurt. And I have no authority to call in a spark, as I'm not even a club member, let alone committee. And they won't call one in, coz it's already on the cards for some (elastic) time in the future.

Maybe I'll just keep my head down. How unsafe is it as-is? At least the plug appears to be in the wall full-time, so the T+E isn't being flexed too much .....

 

[plugwash]

provided the plug isn't moved frequently there is no real danger

 

[Lectrician]

My concert would be that the water heater should have been fed by 3 core heat resistant flex.

 

[Millennium_Boy]

The heater should also be fed via a RCD with 30ma trip or below.

 

[phil_ballard]

Thanks guys. I don't know the RCD arrangements (if any) as I haven't seen the CU area. I think I can probably guess though, looking at everything else (multiple unfused spurs surface-clipped off one ring socket, 8 electric showers with no visible equi bonding anywhere, loose or broken switchplates etc etc etc).

I think the best I can do is to try to frighten them into getting their test & report done ASAP

 

[dingbat]

Sounds like your typical pub installation. How some of them manage to renew their insurance every year beats me!

 

[ZenStalinist]

Ah... good ole pub installations. Dodgy countersunk metallic 15 A sockets, which look like they have taken a good beating... Ancient MCBs, not to mention that Armoured cable that somehow has been connected to a regular junction box

 

[dingbat]

.. and all that outside lighting supplied by white flex emerging from air bricks and strung along pergolas and arches, snaked through the grass in the kiddies' play area, etc...

 

[phil_ballard]

Yep .... except this isn't really a pub-type-club, it's just a little 1-storey brick-built thing by the pitch, with changing rooms etc and a little kitchenette.

I know what you mean though, my local hostelry has spot lights screwed to ancient beams and conencted up with a mix of T+E, 2-core flex and what looks like bell wire connected with uncovered chocblocks and all painted brown to match the beams .... nice.

 

[dingbat]

I recently encountered a metal-housed light fitting wired using a piece of yellow and black single cable from a junction box on the live (singles) circuit and a piece of orange single cable from a JB cut into the neutral circuit. Both cables were single insulated, unclipped, with exposed conductors at each end and no earth. Nice.

 

[Lectrician]

Why fed via an rcd?? Dont think thats correct info.

 

[il78]

Circuits that are reasonably expected to power equipment outdoors require supplementary protection (ie, 30mA RCD), although the kitchen water heater will cause no harm being protected.

Using twin & earth to supply the heater via a plug-top is considered as poor practice and should be replaced with suitably rated flex (connected into a plug-top or FCU).

 

[securespark]

Hi il.....where've you been? Heard from Jim on your travels?