Unfused spur

[jcp]

Can I extend an unfused spur to a switched socket using a surface clipped short extension cable?

The situation is this. I have an unfused spur feeding a switched socket under the kitchen worktop - behind where the dishwasher was. I want to move the dishwasher along, and put a new kitchen unit in its place. If the lead was long enough (and the route fully accessible) I could probably still plug the dishwasher into the same socket. This would have the advantage that as the socket WOULD still be accessible through the new unit, the DW could be isolated from the mains without having to pull it out first. However, the route is not fully accessible. So could I put a short extension lead into the existing socket and trail/clip it to the wall behind the new DW site. The extension lead wouldn’t need to be more than 2 metres.

If this is not good, can I replace the socket with a fused switch unit and then extend the spur by the required amount? Normally I would expect the FSU would be on the ring itself, but in this case it would be on the spur between the ring and the socket.

I could of course just extend the spur cable, but that would leave me still having to pull the DW out before switching it off.

Can anyone advise?

 

[SparkyFromTheValley]

whilst finding your description a bit hard to undersatnd exactly what your planning on doing, ie what u mean by extension cable? it all sounds ok. personally id use a switch spur up top, blank the existing socket and put a new one near DW. Use 30A connectors to connect new cable to cable in existing socket.

 

[jcp]

Thank you Sparky...... My problem is that this DW spur already comes out of a switch fuse (on the ring) for the boiler, which is itself alongside the cooker switch (different radial). There is not much room for another switch fuse above the worktop - and it would also be confusing. So I hoped to use the existing switched plug under the worktop.

 

[hairyben]

Extension lead is a bit of a shabby way of doing the job but so long as the socket behind the new cupboard remains accessible ie by cutting out the back it'll pass.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It's notifiable, of course...

 

[jcp]

But is it notifiable if all I do is plug a 2m extension lead into the existing switched socket and feed it to the DW (maybe tacking it to the skirting board). I agree it is a bit shabby, but will I have done any "electrical work"?

Another alternative I've had suggested is to use a cable joiner or one of those three pin cable plugs used for lawnmowers to extend the DW lead. That gives me the accessible switch (on the existing socket), and allows easy disconnection/unplugging of the DW at the cable extender - and no fixed electrical work.

Part P regulations are "forcing" me towards a simpler, shabby solution.

If I do a better job, replacing the socket with a switch unit and bury the lead in the plaster - I assume that would be notifiable. I was concerned whether having the switch unit partway along the spur rather than directly on the ring was permitted. Also, is the current layout of an unswitched spur branching from the ring at a switch unit (for the spur to the boiler) allowed. That's 2 spurs at one point (1 switched, 1 unswitched).