45A switch for normal appliance - HELP

[wackpac]

Hi there, pls can someone help

I have a double socket switch in my hallway and would like to replace it with a cooker + socket double unit. I would ideally like to get a double unit with a socket and normal 13a switch but for the life of me I could not find one, which is why i purchased the cooker one.

I would like to use the 3 prong socket for everyday appliances like vacume cleaners etc and the switch will be used to power a basic aquarium ( pump and lights ).

I could have just left the double plug there but I wanted to neaten it up by running the cable for the tank under the carpet and not to have the plug appearing out of the floor and running up the wall. I have chased the cable into the drywall. ( 3 core , brown , blue and bare earth - flat cable /grey slightly thicker than your basic extension lead.
I just wanna know if this will be safe.
ps. I have painted the red button white to avoid any confusion

many thanks

 

[flameport]

Many problems with this:

Where is the fuse (which was in the plug for the aquarium) going to be fitted?

What size is cable 'slightly thicker than your basic extension lead' ?

Cables cannot be run under carpets.

Where is this chase in the wall? Is it vertically or horizontally in line with the switch?

Does this circuit have an RCD? What size of fuse / circuit breaker does it have?

I could have just left the double plug there but I wanted to neaten it up

You should have left it there. How exactly does hacking a chase in the wall and fitting an ugly cooker control covered in white paint make anything neater?

 

[Taylortwocities]

Are you for real or are you trolling??

That is very unsafe.

Scrape the paint off and take it back, you cant do what you are thinking of.

The feed to your fishtank is small size cable and must be protected by a fuse, either a fuse in a plug (which is what you had) or a fuse in a fused connection unit. They look like this: FCU

The best thing is to chop out the metal wall box and replace it with a dual one.box
In one half put a single socket. in the other half put the FCU with a 3amp fuse in it (not the 13A one that comes with it).

You'll obviously need to make sure that the ring circuit is correctly connected or all the sockets in your house may have problems.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I would ideally like to get a double unit with a socket and normal 13a switch but for the life of me I could not find one, which is why i purchased the cooker one.

Why on earth did you not buy a dual box and fit a single gang socket next to a switched FCU?

I could have just left the double plug there but I wanted to neaten it up by running the cable for the tank under the carpet

Not allowed - dangerous and illegal.

I just wanna know if this will be safe.

Tell us what you have done about fusing down after the switch, and we can tell you if you have, or have not, done something else dangerous and illegal.

ps. I have painted the red button white to avoid any confusion

This is a wind-up, right?


[EDIT]Damn - too slow[/EDIT]

 

[wackpac]

no wind up I am afraid.

I did not mention that at the end of the cable ( which goes under the carpet ) has a double lead socket which has a fuse built in.
But i think I am gonna go down the dual box with a single gang socket next to a switched FCU - seems like a good idea.

Thanks for the replies - may have gotten in some serious trouble otherwise!

what is the problem with the under carpet cable ? it runs parallel to the carpet joiner in a door well .

how will I connect the new double box, the existing 2 gang socket has 2 live 2 neural wires running into it and an earth.

 

[Taylortwocities]

what is the problem with the under carpet cable ? it runs parallel to the carpet joiner in a door well . .

There are a lot of problems - mostly there is nothing to protect the cable from damage. Its not designed to be there, its not designed to be walked over etc etc.

how will I connect the new double box, the existing 2 gang socket has 2 live 2 neural wires running into it and an earth

You connect the two items to form part of the ring.
Have a look at the WIKI, its all there, here's the link //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:extend_ring
or get a spark in.

 

[wackpac]

many thanks taylortwocities

bought the goods of screwfix now, will sort it this weekend hopefully

 

[wackpac]

could I make the FCU spur off the single socket rather than ring make part of ring.
Is one better / safer than the other???

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I always think it's better to put the FCU onto the ring if you can.

Have you thought about how you're going to get the cable from there to the fish tank?

 

[wackpac]

why do you think that?

I will be leaving the cable under the carpet, it is secure and non obtruding

 

[RF Lighting]

what is the problem with the under carpet cable ? it runs parallel to the carpet joiner in a door well . .

There are a lot of problems - mostly there is nothing to protect the cable from damage. Its not designed to be there, its not designed to be walked over etc etc.

 

[wackpac]

any suggestions then??
I need the cable to go 1.5m from one side of the hall to the other, there are no sockets on that side. nearest is in the living room, could run in skirting boards, but that'll be a 10m+ run.
or up and over , chase vertically , then into the ceiling then chase down to the fish tank point.

this is why I was thinking the 1.5m run under the carpet was the solution

 

[Steve]

Put the fish elsewhere?

Nobody will see them in the hall - not for any great pleasure anyway.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

why do you think that?

Because then the FCU is another point of utilisation on the ring just like all the sockets - it's more elegant, IMO.

I will be leaving the cable under the carpet, it is secure and non obtruding

No - you may not do that, as you've already been told.

any suggestions then??
I need the cable to go 1.5m from one side of the hall to the other, there are no sockets on that side. nearest is in the living room, could run in skirting boards, but that'll be a 10m+ run.

Nope - can't run them behind the skirting either, not unless you put them in steel conduit.

• http://www.voltimum.co.uk/files/gb/attachments/niu/l/attachments/c5-43.pdf
• http://web.archive.org/web/20061110111450/http://www.niceic.org.uk/downloads/concealedcables.pdf
• IEE article
• IEE Article on 17th Edition requirements for concealed cables.

or up and over , chase vertically , then into the ceiling then chase down to the fish tank point.

If, as I assume, you don't have a suspended floor then that's what you'll have to do.

this is why I was thinking the 1.5m run under the carpet was the solution

'Fraid not.