Spuring a socket

LeeUK · 25 Jul 2014 at 18:24

I have a double 13A socket in my kitchen which is recessed in the wall as you'd usually expect.

I want to spur off another double 13A socket from this and run it 40cm to behind the fridge and washing machine. I don't want to recess the new socket and will just screw the back box to the wall (won't be seen). I will use some of that white square cable trucking all the leckys use to run the cable across.

What I want to know is, what is the best way to get the spur cable from the existing recessed socket out onto the surface of the wall?

JohnnyG · 25 Jul 2014 at 19:23

If you're going to run the trunking up to the supply socket then just channel an inch or 2 out of the wall (no wider than the trunking) and cut a slot out of the back of the trunking to allow it to enter.

LeeUK · 25 Jul 2014 at 21:38

I was thinking of using a large drill bit to drill a hole at the side of the socket and thread the cable through one of the round cut outs on the metal recessed box. Would this be doable?

Thanks.

JohnnyG · 25 Jul 2014 at 21:54

Yep, nothing wrong with that at all.
Make sure you stick a grommet in the hole you use though.

Adam_151 · 26 Jul 2014 at 13:01

Drilling large hole next to the knockout box is not the best idea, the drill bit might well catch the edge and deform it or try and pull it out crumbling all the plaster. Far easier just to knock some of the plaster and render out rather than drill. Sparkies would use a scutch and lump hammer for this, but there is no reason you could not do it with a old flat screwdriver and hammer unless your walls are hard as granite.

But then do as you propose and as the above posts recommends, take the 20mm knockout out, and use a grommet

LeeUK · 26 Jul 2014 at 13:58

I've taken your advice on board, the walls are plaster on brick and not plasterboard stud walls. Will take a fair few knocks with hammer and screwdriver to make a hole.

Nedved11 · 26 Jul 2014 at 15:43

Make sure the socket you are spurring off from is part of the ring main if it is a ring circuit. You shouldn't spur off a spur. The fact the socket has two pairs of cables going into it doesn't always Mean it's part of a ring. You could run it into an FCU and run a single socket off that if your not sure.

LeeUK · 27 Jul 2014 at 11:21

It has 2 sets of wires in it but of course I can't be 100% sure it's not a spur but I don't have any reason to believe it is.

C.R.A.Z.Y · 27 Jul 2014 at 12:59

LeeUK said:
It has 2 sets of wires in it but of course I can't be 100% sure it's not a spur but I don't have any reason to believe it is.

Easy to determine, dis-connect the ring final (ring main is part of the national grid ;-)

) at the CCU, then connect the phase and neutral together on one of the 2.5mm2 cables (Leave them separated on the other cable at the CCU).

Now if it is indeed the ring final then you should get continuity between phase & Neutral on ONLY one of the 2.5mm2 cables, if you either have continuity or open circuit on both 2.5mm2 cables then some cowboy has for some reason wired a spur with 2 parallel sets of cables!!

Very unlikely but have seen it before when someone who doesn't understand how a ring final works has decided to have a go :rolleyes:

Be VERY careful though, messing with ring finals and getting it wrong WILL have serious safety and fire risks if the ring is broken!!

LeeUK · 27 Jul 2014 at 14:03

There is no main switch between the meter and the fuse box. Just the switch to switch fuses off but power is still live going into the fuse box.

House was rewired 30 years ago I believe and no electrical work has been done since so I'm confident that it is a bonafide socket. Other than that I'm not going to mess about testing electrics as I'm not an electrician and would rather get a pro in for something like that. I just thought spuring a socket would be easy DIY job as it's just like wiring a plug.