Changing old round pin socket for modern one?

[angularbanjo]

Hi, we have for some reason I cannot fathom, just the one round pin socket in an upstairs bedroom which we've never used in the 20 years we've lived here (the socket, not the bedroom!).

All the other sockets in the house are modern ones, including the one in the attached picture below the round pin.

The house was built in 1973. I am decorating the room and was going to upgrade the 2 sockets and put a matching blanking plate where the old TV input was.

My question is, can I simply swap out the old round pin socket for a new one? The wiring behind it is simply 2 each of Live/Neutral/Earth going into each terminal. It did have a plug in it (maybe from an old lamp?) which states 5A/250V on it. I've attached some pictures which should be self-explanatory.

Thanks in advance
Steve

 

[terryplumb]

What circuit is the socket on ?

 

[angularbanjo]

Sorry, don't know

 

[martygturner]

I would test that to see if its on the lighting circuit, use the plug to wire up a lamp and plug it it ,then try the wall switch then turn the lights off at the consumer unit . These were installed so that you could switch on and off bedside lights from the main light wall switch.

 

[terryplumb]

You need to find out what circuit it's on. As above ,plug in a lamp and start turning off circuit breakers one at a time ,to establish the circuit it's connected to

 

[angularbanjo]

Thanks, make sense and I can do that. If the lamp does switch on and off with the ceiling light switch, what then? Can I swap it out for a modern socket?

 

[terryplumb]

Thanks, make sense and I can do that. If the lamp does switch on and off with the ceiling light switch, what then? Can I swap it out for a modern socket?

That would be indicative of the socket being on the lighting circuit ,and limited to the amount of current it could carry.

 

[martygturner]

Thanks, make sense and I can do that. If the lamp does switch on and off with the ceiling light switch, what then? Can I swap it out for a modern socket?

No.

 

[angularbanjo]

So, wired the old round pin plug to a lamp. The lamp turns on and off as you would expect it to from the socket but turning the ceiling lights on and off has no effect on it so it does not seem to be on the lighting circuit.

 

[terryplumb]

You need to find out what circuit it's on. As above ,plug in a lamp and start turning off circuit breakers one at a time ,to establish the circuit it's connected to

Do the above

 

[angularbanjo]

Removing the fuse that kills the upstairs lights switches the round pin socket off (the socket is in an upstairs bedroom). So I'm guessing it is wired to that circuit (5A fuse in the fusebox). I'm guessing that the advice will be that it cannot therefore be swapped out to a modern socket? If that is the case is there any problem replacing it with a more modern looking round pin socket and just running a table lamp wired to a round pin plug from it?

 

[terryplumb]

Nothing to stop you fitting a like for like ,new ,round pin socket and using it for a lamp.

 

[martygturner]

Removing the fuse that kills the upstairs lights switches the round pin socket off (the socket is in an upstairs bedroom). So I'm guessing it is wired to that circuit (5A fuse in the fusebox). I'm guessing that the advice will be that it cannot therefore be swapped out to a modern socket? If that is the case is there any problem replacing it with a more modern looking round pin socket and just running a table lamp wired to a round pin plug from it?

You found it, its for lights only as in on the lighting circuit. Of course you can swap it out for a nicer version.

 

[angularbanjo]

Great, that's what I'll do. The socket is in a wee alcove in the bedroom which is the perfect size for a desk, so a small lamp was what was going to go on it anyway. Thanks for taking the time to reply, much appreciated.

Steve

 

[thetman]

have a look in the light switch and see if there are any spare wires that have been linked out in the past that would once have controlled that socket