Housefires and how to avoid them

Honestly, just replace the socket, all looks fine to me, just get a half decent brand MK, Ashley/Hager, or even Click (reasonble budget choice) and avoid the unbranded or LAP stuff in screwfix. Ensure you take care about looking at terminal markings as different brands do use differnt layouts on the back, I'd normally put an unswitched one in that location (serves no purpose, and stops you finding you have left it off after you have put machine back) but doesn't matter if you use a switched one (as before) Switch off the spur above as well as the MCB, and then you won't trip the RCD off if you touch neutral and earth together while doing it.

The only thing I'd do that you wouldn't be able to is to take a quick earth loop reading and test your RCD afterwards
 
Adam_151 said:
Honestly, just replace the socket, all looks fine to me, just get a half decent brand MK, Ashley/Hager, or even Click (reasonble budget choice) and avoid the unbranded or LAP stuff in screwfix. Ensure you take care about looking at terminal markings as different brands do use differnt layouts on the back, I'd normally put an unswitched one in that location (serves no purpose, and stops you finding you have left it off after you have put machine back) but doesn't matter if you use a switched one (as before) Switch off the spur above as well as the MCB, and then you won't trip the RCD off if you touch neutral and earth together while doing it.

The only thing I'd do that you wouldn't be able to is to take a quick earth loop reading and test your RCD afterwards
Click to expand...

Will do, bits ordered, will sort them on Tuesday.
I bought a little socket tester thingy, just to test the rest of the house while I was at it, been round today, one socket in kitehcn which we never use appears to have a open neutral connection, and another has a wiggly earth connection, both issues appear to be within the sockets themselves, as all connections in seem tight and same result after unwiring and rewiring.
So i'll get two new double gang sockets, repalce them and retest at that point.
There's a trip switch thing on the tester which allows for rcd testing, so will do that when all is fixed.

Thanks everyone.
 
Destination said:
I bought a little socket tester thingy, just to test the rest of the house while I was at it, been round today, one socket in kitehcn which we never use appears to have a open neutral connection, and another has a wiggly earth connection, both issues appear to be within the sockets themselves, as all connections in seem tight and same result after unwiring and rewiring.
Click to expand...

While those socket testers are a good thing to have, just bear in mind that they are limited in what they can tell you and are best regarded as a test for badness, not a test for goodness. I.e. if they say theres an issue, then likely there is an issue (but might not be quite what it indicates, in some circumstances) but if it says all is good, then thats telling you it can't see any issues with what its able to do, rather than all is ok.

Its good you have one but its good to be aware of what its limitations are and what its good for:) They are a very good sanity check, that after changing a socket that you havn't reversed polaity (so do that after changing it), I'll always pop it in before doing the loop test, mine also has a buzzer which is good for confirmation that you have got the right circuit when some distance away (saves my knees on staircases!)

If you had open neutral, then any appliance plugged there would not work, normally its down to the switch failing where its double pole
Not sure what you mean by wiggly earth? Some of them are able to do a very basic loop test and tell you if its above a value that gives concern on a TN system. Or it could just be saying its completely open? The only way for that sort of thing to be down to the socket itself is if the string contacts for the earth pin has become bent or damaged (not that common). Its more likely that its a connection issue, first thing to check is that the earth sleeving is not caught under the terminal screw stopping the conductor making contact with the terminal (this happens more times than it should, although in most cases, the screw has pushed through the sleeving and made contact and tests out alright it, not good that its seen as often is it is on profesional work!)
 
Looks like the wrong type of socket was put in. If there's a switched fused spur above the worktop or a fused grid plate then the socket behind the washing machine should have been an appliance faceplate with the WM wired in directly. Looks like someone has shoved the WM back to presumably level it with the front of the worktop but the depth of the plug has then crushed the conventional socket.
 
Adam_151 said:
While those socket testers are a good thing to have, just bear in mind that they are limited in what they can tell you and are best regarded as a test for badness, not a test for goodness. I.e. if they say theres an issue, then likely there is an issue (but might not be quite what it indicates, in some circumstances) but if it says all is good, then thats telling you it can't see any issues with what its able to do, rather than all is ok.

Its good you have one but its good to be aware of what its limitations are and what its good for:) They are a very good sanity check, that after changing a socket that you havn't reversed polaity (so do that after changing it), I'll always pop it in before doing the loop test, mine also has a buzzer which is good for confirmation that you have got the right circuit when some distance away (saves my knees on staircases!)

If you had open neutral, then any appliance plugged there would not work, normally its down to the switch failing where its double pole
Not sure what you mean by wiggly earth? Some of them are able to do a very basic loop test and tell you if its above a value that gives concern on a TN system. Or it could just be saying its completely open? The only way for that sort of thing to be down to the socket itself is if the string contacts for the earth pin has become bent or damaged (not that common). Its more likely that its a connection issue, first thing to check is that the earth sleeving is not caught under the terminal screw stopping the conductor making contact with the terminal (this happens more times than it should, although in most cases, the screw has pushed through the sleeving and made contact and tests out alright it, not good that its seen as often is it is on profesional work!)
Click to expand...
by wiggly earth i mean, when the socket tester is in place, if it is moved or jiggled at all is fails with 'open earth' so i am simply replacing that double gang socket, test again after

from talking with previous owner, it seems that an iron once died in the socket that reports an open neutral, so i think it mgiht well have ****** up that double gang, so i'll repalce it as well and test again after

thanks for all the help and advice
 
Was the socket on the back or side wall with the washing machine potentially pressing against the plug?

If so, the machine's vibrations can cause the conductors to fret. Fretting with high current and worn conductors could have caused this.
 
EdButler said:
Was the socket on the back or side wall with the washing machine potentially pressing against the plug?

If so, the machine's vibrations can cause the conductors to fret. Fretting with high current and worn conductors could have caused this.
Click to expand...
This is possible, althought the machine never seemed to be pushed in that far, it was potentially against the socket.
I can't say for sure, and we are talking many years of positioning.
 
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