[b]extended ring[/b]

[paul1972]

Got a quick question for you all.
Having a conservatory installed and the electrician has done the 1st fixing.
the socket he is connecting to is on a ring, he is installing 2 sockets for me and run both legs of the new extended ring into the into the back of the existing socket. This would be illegal as it would be 2 rings, however is it legal to put 1 new and 1 old leg into connectors in the back of the socket thus breaking the ring.

 

[fattony]

Ok think of it like this you will have 4 wires at the socket (2 old and 2 new) in the back of the socket he will through crimp one of the old wires with one of the new wires and connect the other 2 wires back into the socket.

All he is doing is extending the ring, this is not illegal or dangerous.

 

[pcboffinuk]

Paul,

I'm a little lost, but I think I understand what you mean.

The socket he is connecting to is on the ring right?

If he was looking to take a 'ring' from that socket and return to the socket connectors then its certainly incorrect.

However, if you mean he will 'break the ring' by removing the outgoing leg from the socket, and then connecting it to the return (new) leg from the new sockets, that is fine. Crimps are normally the best way to do this, although technically connector blocks would not be against regs I don't think (others may advise on that).

The normal way of extending a ring is to break the existing ring at one socket, take a cable from it through the two sockets, then return to the next socket on the ring.

So if the sockets on the ring are 1------2

then the cable would run 1------3-------4-----2 (where 3 and 4 are the new sockets)

but if yours goes 1---3---4----connected to leg to socket 2 then thats fine, as long as those connections are made separately from the socket..

ok, I think that makes sense, or maybe I've confused you/myself even more

Having said that, are you sure that extending the ring is the best option? It may be better to consider a fused spur in the conservatory, or even a new cable run from the consumer unit, depending on what you are planning to run in there. How is he wiring the lighting?

Gavin

 

[paul1972]

Okay and thanks for the 1st answers

just to clarify so far. 2 new sockets 1st fixed in the form of a ring, both ends currently in the back of 1 socket and taped up ready for 2nd fixing.

I will never meet the electrician due to my work schedule so am checking his work is okay.

lighting now.....
he has made no other alteration to existing supplys but by the back door approx 1 1/2 mtrs high is a surface mouted 1 gang back box.
In this back box is 1 x 1.5mm twin and also and 2 x 2.5 mm.
the 1.5mm appears to go through conservatory structure to the roof where we will have one of those lights with fan things.
Guessing that it looks as though the "light switch" may possibly be a fused spur to isolate and switch the fan/lights.
Q. does the regs allow lights to be installed in this fashion. I thought lighting should run from the lighting circuit.
Thanks again.

 

[RF Lighting]

Again, absoloutly nothing wrong with feeding a light off a ring circuit providing it is fused apropriatly. (this is what the FCU will be for).

 

[pcboffinuk]

Paul,

As RF says, nothing wrong with it, as long as the switch you mention is a Fused switch unit. It will most likely have a 3 A or 5 A fuse in it, in which case everything downstream of it is protected by that and therefore perfectly safe.

Gavin

 

[paul1972]

Thanks for all your help.