Spurring from load side of FCU

[jbl11]

Hoping someone can advise please.
I have a 13A switched FCU that is supplying our kitchen extractor fan, which itself is spurred from a socket in the kitchen. The FCU is loose on top of the kitchen cabinets.
I need to supply power to an external light, which has a cable that runs into the kitchen, pretty much exactly where this FCU is.
Could I just connect the lighting cable to the load side of the FCU, perhaps via its own RCD FCU with a 5A fuse installed?
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[winston1]

The FCU should not be loose on top of the kitchen cabinets, but that aside there is no problem feeding a light off it as well as the fan. You don't need a second FCU and if there is RCD protection on the socket circuit you don't need or want a second one.

13 amp seems a rather large fuse just to supply a fan. Is the fan cable suitable for 13 amps?

 

[securespark]

So you are proposing running two independent things off one FCU?

 

[deadshort]

Hi, yes spurring from the load side is fine,if you have an rcd at the supply source, you can isolate the outside light if a fault develops, but also the cooker hood ! If you have water into the outside light on Christmas day, your goose is cooked, and you can smell it !!

DS

 

[securespark]

I concur with DS, having them independently switched is best.

 

[JohnW2]

So you are proposing running two independent things off one FCU?

That, in itself, is obviously not a problem (after all, one can have an unlimited number of 13A sockets supplied by a fused spur from a ring {or even radial} final circuit). As you and DS have both said, the point that deserves consideration is the arguable desirability having separate switching for the loads, particularly if one is 'outside' (in which case, not just switching but DP switching would be desirable}).

Kind Regards, John

 

[jbl11]

Thanks for all the replies.

Winston1, the fan cable is 1mm twin core.

There is RCD protection at the CU. I had read somewhere about when using internal sockets for external applications a dedicated plug-in rcd might be required, but this was referring to internal sockets, so perhaps not the same thing.

Point taken about the lack of independent switching. At this stage I just wanted to make sure it is safe to do it like this.
I have connected it now and all is working fine.
Fingers crossed for Christmas dinner!

Thanks again.. appreciate it

 

[deadshort]

Does the cooker hood only switch on when you're being burgled ?

DS

 

[JohnW2]

There is RCD protection at the CU. I had read somewhere about when using internal sockets for external applications a dedicated plug-in rcd might be required, but this was referring to internal sockets, so perhaps not the same thing.

There is never a requirement to have two (or more) RCDs protecting anything - if the circuit is RCD protected at the CU, then nothing connected to that circuit requires (regulation wise) any further RCD protection.

The only conceivable reason for having a second RCD arises if one is concerned that the first one won't always work when it should.

If something 'outdoors' is connected to an internal circuit which does not have RCD protection, then RCD protection should be provided for that 'outdoor feed'. That's probably what you were thinking of.

Kind Regards, John

 

[jbl11]

I assume I can just add one of these to each of the appliance wires to provide independent switching?
http://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/products/319208
So one FCU, with 2 wires coming out of the load side, each of which with the above in-line switch. So if one of them does cause a problem, I can just switch it off and continue to use the other.
It's not the most elegant of solutions, but it is all out of sight above kitchen cupboards.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Yes.

 

[sparkwright]

Personally, without trying to undermine anyone, I would just go with your original idea and not worry about the independent switches.

Seems a bit over the top to me.

 

[sparkwright]

Assuming the extractor fan is wired in flex, and the new light can be wired in flex, you could get rid of the of the FCU and fit a double socket and use two plugs.

 

[JohnW2]

Personally, without trying to undermine anyone, I would just go with your original idea and not worry about the independent switches. Seems a bit over the top to me.

Notwithstanding the argument for separate switches, I have to say that so would I. After all, should the outside light fill with water, it would only take me a couple of minutes to disconnect it - and, even if I didn't want to do that, I would only have to 'sacrifice' the kitchen extractor for a while in order for the rest of the installation to be usable.

What I probably would not do is leave an FCU "loose on top of a kitchen cabinet" - even though, in reality, even that is almost certainly never going to result in any problems!

Kind Regards, John