Switched fuse spur question

[RobTi]

Hi at the moment my boiler is connected to the mains by a plug and 3amp fuse,had a survey by a heating company for a replacement boiler through my energy company grant scheme, now the plug was picked up and he said that it would need to be changed to a fused spur, so to save getting hit with this I am going to change the socket face plate to a fused spur, now the last time I fitted these they were the white plastic ones and you knocked out the access for the cable on the bottom, now to match the rest of the kitchen I have to fit a brushed metal one, would this be okay https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-13a-...el/33572#product_additional_details_container , and if so do I leave a tail of T&e at the boiler ?
Thanks

 

[bernardgreen]

A plug and socket enables full electrical isolation of the boiler which may be necessary when fault finding. A double pole switched fused spur will do the same.

The only reason for insisting on a fused spur is to ensure there is an "Earth" connected to the boiler even when it is switched Off at the spur.

 

[winston1]

Hi at the moment my boiler is connected to the mains by a plug and 3amp fuse,had a survey by a heating company for a replacement boiler through my energy company grant scheme, now the plug was picked up and he said that it would need to be changed to a fused spur.

Did he say why? A plug and socket is an excellent means to isolate, can't see any reason what so ever to change it to a fused spur where you can only isolate the line by removing the fuse. Maybe he assumed a switched fused spur, but even so a switch is less reliable than pulling a plug.

and if so do I leave a tail of T&e at the boiler ?

I wouldn't. The correct cable from fused spur to boiler is 3 core flex not t & e. Let them supply 1/2 a metre of cable as part of the installation.

 

[RobTi]

Thanks when I asked I was told that they like to standardise everything and wouldn’t accept the plug, even when I pointed out that it’s manufacturer recommended, but will ask when I get the estimate for the extras over a standard boiler swap

 

[rsgaz]

would this be okay

No, because, as you already mentioned, the cable can't exit. You want a flex outlet...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182578899084

 

[RobTi]

No, because, as you already mentioned, the cable can't exit. You want a flex outlet...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182578899084

Thanks for this, I will bookmark this and wait till I get the exact boiler model and check if it comes with a flying lead or hard wired

 

[winston1]

Thanks when I asked I was told that they like to standardise everything and wouldn’t accept the plug, even when I pointed out that it’s manufacturer recommended, but will ask when I get the estimate for the extras over a standard boiler swap

Well in case I would did my heels in and say you insist on what the manufacturer recommends.

What do they mean by "standardise everything"?

 

[Mottie]

I had the same with a BG quote the other week. Currently I have an unswitched fused spur. They wanted £69 to change it to a switched fused spur. No thanks, I can change it for one of those myself for less than a fiver.

 

[RobTi]

Well in case I would did my heels in and say you insist on what the manufacturer recommends.

What do they mean by "standardise everything"?

Sorry I didn’t press for an answer for this, I assume it’s another chance to earn a bit extra on top of the energy companies grant

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Thanks when I asked I was told that they like to standardise everything and wouldn’t accept the plug, even when I pointed out that it’s manufacturer recommended,

It's also explicitly approved as a means of isolation in the Wiring Regulations.

 

[Mottie]

I had the same with a BG quote the other week. Currently I have an unswitched fused spur. They wanted £69 to change it to a switched fused spur. No thanks, I can change it for one of those myself for less than a fiver.

Just done it. Took less than 10 minutes and cost me just £3.50 so a saving £65.50. Doing that myself, as well as fitting the Fernox TF1 magnetic filter has saved me a total of £144.50 for an hours work max.

 

[John D v2.0]

saved me a total of £144.50 for an hours work max.

Which by coincidence is exactly the hourly rate of a bg engineer

 

[SimonH2]

Just remember that many of these people know nothing about electrics other than the "checklist" the've been taught to work through. They'll have been trained that there must be a fused spur, and so they insist on a fused spur - they weren't trained that a plug and socket is OK, therefore as far as they are concerned it isn't. If they continue to insist that a fused spur is the only option allowed, then you could (if you feel like it) start asking them for justification - ask them where it's specified other than in their internal manual which has precisely zero legal standing for this.
As above, a plug is actually "better" in that you can pull the plug and completely isolate the boiler/heating system - it "not being earthed" is a red herring because it doesn't need to be earthed if it has no connection to the mains, and it's quite likely to be earthed via the pipework anyway. I've recently changed the FCU for a socket and put a plug on our boiler - partly so that if we have a power cut I can plug the boiler into a UPS (or inverter off the car battery, or generator if it looks like it'll be a while) and keep the heating and hot water going.

 

[securespark]

Some boilers don't work off gennys.

 

[SimonH2]

Given that I've enough battery power to run it for a good few hours, probably won't need to try it. And of course, some gennys are better than others ... Mine's only a cheap one, but (other than load/startup load issues) I've not found anything that won't run off it so far - including various computers and a laser printer.