Plug Socket Replacement

[thePhilster]

Hi there

Please excuse any naivity/ignorance on my part, but I'm redecorating a room, and 2 of the 3 plug sockets are of the "fused" variety:

The wiring inside 'em looks like this (yes, the wires are dusty, aren't they!? ):

We've been here for over 2 years now, and they've never been in use, and I've tried turning them on and off to see if they affect the lights/sockets in the room and they seem to have no effect whatsoever.

Am I right in thinking I can simply replace these old sockets with normal plug sockets? I would leave them as they are, except that the new room layout will only work if we can put appliances where these 2 sockets are!

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Briansmad]

I would think this would supply other points in the house. Maybe outside lights or a water heater/boiler. As for putting sockets in its place, what ever this supplies would then be permanently powered ON and what appliances are you using? If these are connected to a small fuse in the consumer unit the unit will trip. I would leave these powered ON, Power OFF everything else in your house for a few mins and see if your electric meter still spins or counts, If it does then something is drawn power if you turn these fuses off the meter will then stop.

 

[JohnD]

See if they are connected to the socket ring. As they have neons, you can do this by switching them on, then turning off the Socket Ring MCB (or removing the fuse) and seeing if the neon goes out.

The previous occupants might have had electric heaters on them, they are often used for that. You might find the marks of screw fixings on the wall if this is the case.

They are not the right things to use for night storage heaters.

If you take the FCU off, you will see it has some terminals marked "load" - although I see nothing in your pic, is anything connected here?

p.s. I do not think Briansmad is right, as I see no sign of a Switched Load connected to the FCU, only a Ring or Radial in and out on the same terminals, and the wires for the neon.

 

[thePhilster]

Cheers guys. I think you're right JohnD. I've had a closer look at the sockets, and both have a hole underneath them for a wire to go into the load inputs, and neither socket has any wires going into the load.

Does this mean that they were, more than likely, used for electric heaters (or something similar) and can now be simply replaced with normal sockets?

Thanks again guys, much appreciated!!

 

[JohnD]

Quite likely. But check if they are on the socket circuit like I said. They are quite likely part of a ring. Have you got a multimeter or a continuity tester for a simple check?