Dishwasher - socket and isolator

OldKettle · 18 May 2019

Hi,
I need to install a dishwasher in a location next to a sink, where there is currently no power.

I had intended to spur off from the existing ring main and add an isolator somewhere above the kitchen worktop, but with no surface cabling above the worktop.

I had originally intended to put a standard control switch above the worktop, with a socket under the counter.

I notice that you can buy a switch designed for a dishwasher, such as this

It seems designed to have the dishwasher wired directly into it, which is not what I am after (because I
don't want cabling above the worktop)

Can I use this as a standard control switch and just have a chased cable running from it, to an unswitched socket under the counter?

donrkebab · 18 May 2019

OldKettle said:
Can I use this as a standard control switch and just have a chased cable running from it, to an unswitched socket under the counter?

Yes, you can.

EFLImpudence · 18 May 2019

OldKettle said:
I had intended to spur off from the existing ring main and add an isolator somewhere above the kitchen worktop, but with no surface cabling above the worktop.

Ok.

I had originally intended to put a standard control switch above the worktop, with a socket under the counter.

What do you mean by a standard control switch?

I notice that you can buy a switch designed for a dishwasher, such as this

It's not designed for a dishwasher; it just has 'dishwasher' written on it.
It is exactly the same as one with 'washing machine' written on it or nothing at all.

It seems designed to have the dishwasher wired directly into it, which is not what I am after

I don't know what you mean. The DW wouldn't work if not wired directly into it, would it?

(because I don't want cabling above the worktop)

You will have to have cabling above the worktop (visible or buried) if that is where the ring circuit is to be accessed.

Can I use this as a standard control switch

You can have a 20A switch without a fuse, if that is what you mean but you don't have to.

and just have a chased cable running from it, to an unswitched socket under the counter?

Of course but that has nothing to do with whether you have a switch, what kind it is or you don't have one at all.

Also, it is immaterial whether the socket is switched or not.

OldKettle · 18 May 2019

Thanks to both of you.

Just to clarify my original rambling question, I really just wanted to check that I could use that rather than something like this

sounds like I can and, as EFL points out, it simply has Dishwasher written on it

As the "Dishwasher" one seems designed to accommodate a flex direct to the appliance, I just wanted to check that there was no reason not to run 2.5mm T&E instead, down to a socket.

As EFL says, there will be cabling above the worktop, but I plan to chase that it the wall. I should have clarified that I didn't want a flex or visible cable (so that the worktop has no gaps or holes in it).

rsgaz · 18 May 2019

OldKettle said:
seems designed to accommodate a flex direct to the appliance

That's just an optional feature, this little bit of plastic needs breaking off to convert that into a 'flex outlet'...

So yes, without breaking that off, it can be used 'normally' for concealed cables down the wall.

winston1 · 18 May 2019

You don't need to have an isolator above the worktop at all. If you have one best not to have one with a neon glaring out at you all day. After a few years it will go black anyway.

Pulling the dishwasher plug is the best isolation possible. Yes you have to pull the machine out, but lets face it the only time you need to isolate it is when it goes faulty ahen you will want to pull it out anyway.

JohnD · 18 May 2019

winston1 said:
best not to have one with a neon

that's very much up to the user's opinion.

I see the neon in my boiler switch went dull about 25 years after the house was built.

new switches have LEDs with a longer anticipated life.

ban-all-sheds · 18 May 2019

If he wants one, he may have one.

If he wants one with a neon, he may have one.

If he thinks he has to have one, he has been misinformed.

RichA · 19 May 2019

Can you install a socket in one of the cupboards either side?

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Dishwasher - socket and isolator

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