How to terminate plug socket

[meanwhileinhell]

Hi all,

I have a single socket in the kitchen that was used for the dish washer. The dish washer has since been removed and i want to just put a blank plate over the old socket. There is a single live, single neutral and two earth wires (one coming from the cable and one from the current plug socket to the plug casing). I know I need to use terminal blocks for this but am unsure as to what amp rating to use. Do I simply put each wire into a separate input on the strip? Do I need to worry about the additional earth wire if terminating it from the cable?

Thanks a lot!

 

[JohnW2]

I have a single socket in the kitchen that was used for the dish washer. The dish washer has since been removed and i want to just put a blank plate over the old socket. There is a single live, single neutral and two earth wires (one coming from the cable and one from the current plug socket to the plug casing). I know I need to use terminal blocks for this but am unsure as to what amp rating to use.

Essentially just one with terminal holes large enough to accommodate the wires (no current is going to be flowing) - I would imagine that a "15A" one would probably be adequate.

Do I simply put each wire into a separate input on the strip?

Yes.

Do I need to worry about the additional earth wire if terminating it from the cable?

If the back box is metal, you should connect that wire to the earth terminal on the box (There really should have been such a connection already there). If the back box is not metal, just get rid of that additional earth wire.

Kind Regards, John

 

[sparkwright]

Obvious question has to be is there any good reason to blank off an unused socket?

In some circumstances there would be, but usually it's a case of it being ok to leave, and it may come in handy one day, even if it is 20 years later.

 

[JohnW2]

Obvious question has to be is there any good reason to blank off an unused socket? In some circumstances there would be, but usually it's a case of it being ok to leave, and it may come in handy one day, even if it is 20 years later.

That's obviously a very valid question, but I presume that the OP has decided that he wants to do it for some reason. Re-instating the socket at some point in the future, should it ever be needed again, would obviously be a trivial task.

Kind Regards, John

 

[sparkwright]

Obvious question has to be is there any good reason to blank off an unused socket? In some circumstances there would be, but usually it's a case of it being ok to leave, and it may come in handy one day, even if it is 20 years later.

That's obviously a very valid question, but I presume that the OP has decided that he wants to do it for some reason. Re-instating the socket at some point in the future, should it ever be needed again, would obviously be a trivial task.

Kind Regards, John

Often, there can be absolutely no good reasoning in people's logic, so I thought I'd mention it.

 

[JohnW2]

Often, there can be absolutely no good reasoning in people's logic, so I thought I'd mention it.

Sure, as I said, it's a very valid question - and one which may not have occurred to the OP.

As for possible reasons, if (as seems quite likely) it's at the back of kitchen units and in the vicinity of plumbing (including, possibly, the unused valve/connection for the old DW), some people may feel that a terminated cable behind a blank plate would be less likely (than a socket) to suffer from the effects of any water which might find itself squirting around one day

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Do I simply put each wire into a separate input on the strip?

That's a pretty scary question.

Please spend some time doing a bit of learning.

• http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=electrical+circuits+101
  
  
• http://kevinboone.net/electricity.html
  
  
• http://web.archive.org/web/20080213151445/http://www.kevinboone.com/domesticinstallations.html
  
  
• //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:books
  
  
• //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics