My wife and I have just bought a 1960s house. Currently there is only 1 Double Socket (DS) in our bedroom so I want to add three further DSs to the room – 1 new DS will be used for a hair dryer & hair straighteners, the existing and other 2 new DSs will be used for low demand items (i.e. LED bedside lights, alarm clocks, phone chargers, etc…). I need to check the existing DS is part of the ring main, but once I’ve confirmed it is, my plan was to extend the ring main from the existing socket (using a Wago box & 222 connectors and then joining back at the existing DC ). However, after doing some reading I’m concerned about the risks of extending the ring main as I don’t have the specialist kit needed to test things like volt drop and loop impedance. The only testing kit I have is a standard multimeter. To mitigate any risks, I’m now considering adding a spur from the existing DS to a 13amp FCU and then onto the 3 new DSs. My only concern here though is whether the current drawn by the hairdryer and straighteners would exceed the 13amp fuse in the FCU!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
- Would a 13amp FCU be sufficient to handle the current drawn by a hair dryer and straighteners if used at the same time?
- What’s the better of the 2 options for me (i.e. split the ring main or add a FCU)?
- Am I right to be concerned about extending the ring main or not?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.