What is this and can it be converted into a double socket?

[labrajaws]

I live in a c2005 Taylor Wimpey home and it has 2 of these blanked off things - 1 in the dining room and 1 in the lounge. Both are near live sockets (approx 3-4 feet away) and at the same height so I would assume they are connected to the mains circuit.

My question is what are they and can they be converted into sockets?

Untitled

• labrajaws
• 27 Aug 2012
• 1

Untitled

• labrajaws
• 27 Aug 2012
• 1

 

[mfarrow]

It looks like it extends the ring circuit (maybe in SWA) to somewhere - do you have electrics in a detached garage/outhouse/shed?

Otherwise, do you have any fused switched going outside to ponds/garden lighting etc?

Mounting sockets vertically is a bit of a no. If you can skew the whole lot 90 degrees then it may be possible.

 

[dhutch]

If one of the cables went down I might say underfloor heating (thats what we have behind the same thing in our house).

But the short answer is that without knowing where they go its hard to say. Its going to be 240v no one can physically stop you fitting a socket, but it would say its highly unlikely to be a safe, sensable or even legal thing to do!


Daniel

 

[Lectrician]

Looks like 6mm T+E jointed to 4mm SWA to me - I would suspect an outhouse, garage, large shed etc.

 

[rjm2k]

Have your neighbours got anything in the same place?

 

[labrajaws]

We have a detached garage the other side of the wall this plate is on, so I guess that's the obvious answer.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[OwainDIYer]

how is the back box and the SWA armour earthed?

 

[RF Lighting]

 

[333rocky333]

Early harmonised wiring, note the grey used as earth, worth checking its same other end and maybe linked to the armour there via the earth bar and metal casing of say a Consumer Unit

 

[mfarrow]

We have a detached garage the other side of the wall this plate is on

Is the garage fed from the ring main feeding the sockets in that room? If so than again there's your answer.

You also need to make sure the armour is properly earthed as others have suggested - you should see two brass glands screwed into the back boxes and again in the garage.

 

[johno12345]

i bet that the armour is cut back well behind the back box and just the centre is brought through, the backbox isnt earthed either, but its probably glanded off at the garage end

with it being 4mm, its probably on its own breaker and its at the height of the other sockets just to keep it looking neat, you cant change it into a socket.

have you got a breaker labelled up as garage in your main consumer unit?

the other one of these is probably for something similar, garden lights, electric gates?