Can I re-use this choc block to add a power socket in my loft?

[Valiante]

I'm boarding my loft, raising the floor. As the floor is going over an old disused aerial booster, I disconnected it first. I had assumed it was somehow spliced into the lighting circuit, but through trial & error at the breaker box I found it was actually using the "downstairs sockets" circuit.

I already planned to add a socket above the floor for convenience, and had intended to tackle this at a later date, but I'm now wondering if I can re-use this somehow and connect a socket before I board over it. I'm not sure why it's a 4-core wire though (I'm no electrician).

Your thoughts/advice would be appreciated.

 

[Taylortwocities]

That would seem to be the wiring for interlinked smoke alarms. normally they are powered from a lighting circuit.

If the power goes off when you switch off a sockets circuit, then the old alarm circuit may bE powered via an FCU.
The FCU May have too low a fuse to power anything other than a very low-powered device.

 

[Valiante]

That makes sense, as the house used to have interlinked smoke alarms, but they were replaced with battery-powered a few years back. I also remember the old fuse board had a circuit labelled "lights & smokes" but it was replaced last year when we had an extension built with a more modern consumer unit, and the sparky labelled everything afresh. I'm now wondering how accurate the labels are!

So, in short, I don't want to be spurring a socket off this 3&E cable?

 

[Taylortwocities]

The cables there seem to be only 1.5mm² so it’s the wiring for the smokes.

probsbly it will only have a low amp fuse somewhere. Unless you can determine exactly where the power comes from then you shouldn’t use this circuit for anything but it’s original purpose.

what’s your plan B?

 

[Valiante]

For now, if I can't take advantage of this newly discovered and convenient connector, I'll just carry on boarding the rest of the loft and tackle the addition of a socket later.

The eventual plan, I guess, would be to either spur off the upstairs ring main, or run a new feed from the CU. For either of which I'll most likely employ the services of a qualified electrician.

 

[Jackrae]

Strange that no-one's yet mentioned about having to replace that botch-up with a maintenance-free JB.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Ok @Jackrae
Why don’t you advise the OP what he needs to do before boarding over it?

 

[Valiante]

Something like this? Forgive my ignorance, but how's that different to what's already there, besides the casing? Or is a maintenance free junction box something else? I'd appreciate any recommendations. Thanks!

 

[EFLImpudence]

Maintenance free boxes do not have screw terminals and can be left in inaccessible places.

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/ASJ804.html

 

[Valiante]

Excellent, thank you. A bit of amateur Googling turned up this just before you replied, which I think is the same thing. It seems J804 is the key bit for 3&E, am I right?

 

[EFLImpudence]

Yes it is the same.

They have 4 blocks each with 4 terminals (2 each end).

There is a J803 which has only 3 blocks.

 

[Valiante]

Perfect. Ordered. Thanks again all!