Replacing Economy 7 spur with a 13A socket

[st07]

Hi there,

My mother lives in a flat with Economy 7. One of the storage heaters was removed before she moved in, and so we're left with an Economy 7 spur. She has asked me if it's possible to convert the unused spur to a plug socket, so she can have a lamp there.

I'm thinking of replacing the spur with a single 13A switched socket and swapping over the spur cable from the E7 CU to the standard CU. My only concern is the spur cable.

The cable looks like 1.5mm and it's running to a 16A breaker so I'm assuming it'll be okay for use with the single socket, but looking in the standard CU I see that I'll be connecting the spur to a 32A breaker (plug socket ring main), so would this be allowed, seeing as cable must be rated at least to the rating of the breaker (as far as I'm aware)? I'll never run a spur from the spur, if that makes sense, so the total load would never exceed 13A, but meh, I know there are proper ways of doing these things...

The load on the socket will be less than an amp, but of course diversity etc means that the socket should be safe for up to 13A, correct?

Thanks in advance

 

[wingcoax]

To start with, are you sure it is 1.5 ? with the load some of those Storage heaters can take. Second ,the cb is rated to the cable not the other way round.

 

[st07]

I'm not sure, I'll make a proper measurement later. And yes, I know the CB is rated to the cable, but I'll be tapping in to the existing 32A socket circuit so I won't be changing the breaker to accommodate the spur, which is where the issue lies.

 

[DCC]

If you add this new spur at the CU it would be notifiable work I think.

Is there no way you can this as a normal spur from another nearby socket?

 

[BS3036]

If you add this new spur at the CU it would be notifiable work I think.

I'm not sure I believe that. Unless it involves a new RCD.

 

[sparkwright]

If there is room at the consumer unit fit a 16 amp mcb and make it a separate circuit.

If there isn't room then;
Provide an unswitched 13 amp fused spur unit near the consumer unit fed from the 32 amp ring circuit. Use 2.5 mm cable. It can be spurred from the cu if a spur hasn't already been taken from here. Alternatively extend the ring.

From the new fused spur unit connect the 1.5 mm cable into the 'load' side.

 

[DCC]

If you add this new spur at the CU it would be notifiable work I think.

I'm not sure I believe that. Unless it involves a new RCD.

Well its probably interpretable one way of the other, but this:

(c) consists of -
(i) adding light fittings and switches to an
existing circuit or
(ii) adding socket outlets and fused spurs to an
existing ring or radial circuit.

...would probably be the covering bit, if you were to connect at the CU it could be interpreted as adding a new radial not adding a socket to an existing circuit?

*shrug*

 

[ban-all-sheds]

No, it would be a spur from an existing final circuit.

 

[DCC]

If you remove the ring the 'spur' still exists. Hence it is a seperate distinct circuit (two circuits sharing one protective device).

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Search this forum, and every other UK electrical one you can find.

This topic has been discussed over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

 

[DCC]

Hmmm I see you are right. Doesn't mean I have to agree with it though!

 

[BS3036]

In the spirit of quoting the whole of BS7671 in sections:

Circuit. An assembly of electrical equipment supplied from the same origin and protected against overcurrent by the same protective device(s).

 

[ColJack]

simple solution for the OP..
put a fused spur into the ring at / next to the CU, then run the 1.5 spur from that.. it's then fused to 13A.. ( actually double fused... )

irrespective of the "it's not a spur if it's from the breaker" argument, you can't have an unfused spur off a ring in 1.5 anyway..

 

[st07]

simple solution for the OP..
put a fused spur into the ring at / next to the CU, then run the 1.5 spur from that.. it's then fused to 13A.. ( actually double fused... )

irrespective of the "it's not a spur if it's from the breaker" argument, you can't have an unfused spur off a ring in 1.5 anyway..

Cheers

 

[st07]

Hi guys

I've just found that the wire is actually 2.5mm, not 1.5mm as I said before. Would I still need a 13A spur? I don't understand why I would...

Thanks!