any sparkys about?

[Yaka]

was shifting the furniture around, and the wifey mentioned somat about a big hole behind her dressing table, thinking it maybe hole that needs filling up i puled the table out and found this. looks un safe to me tho its been like that for years. is best to get a sparky out to fix it or is it safe for me to do it right now obviously id have to mak sure the leccy is off first and remove the adapter thing covered in red tape and fit the plugs back in the whole

 

[Embattle]

Once the leccy is off you should find it easy enough. The red tape is where the old cable connected to the old socket, basically the lump is a connecting block (normally has screws in the top that hold cable in place) between the original cable and the extension to reach the higher plug socket so once you remove this you should have roughly the right length for the original socket although looking at the photo it might be a tight fit.

 

[Trem]

Holy Christ

Its not safe, not at all.

Turn off the upstairs sockets and replace it asap, you aren't fitting a new circuit so you are within your legal rights (as far as building control is concerned) to do it yourself....unless they have decided to change that again.

Is there just one set of wires going into the hole? You know the (probably) red, black and green?

If so it speaks for itself on what to do. On the back of the faceplate it will say live in, neutral in, earth in.

 

[Tom]

Whoever did that is a moron.

Heres how to fix it.

1. Go to the DIY shop and buy a new double socket (the existing one has a hole in the bottom so chuck it away). Also buy a short length of yellow/green earth sheath. Also see if they'll give you a small offcut of bare copper conductor for earthing, you only need a few cm.

2. Make sure you have a small flat blade screwdriver, and make sure the new socket comes with 2 pattress box screws.

3. Turn the electricity off.

4. Ensure the socket has no power, plug something in to it to see if it comes on.

5. Take the fuse/rcd from the fusebox and keep it with you. Ensure nobody can reconnect it while you're working on the socket.

6. Remove the double socket from the wall.

7. Remove the insulation tape, and then the 13A flex.

8. Get your new double socket and connect it up. Red - live, Black - Neutral, the bare connector goes to Earth.

9. Make sure those wires are tightly screwed in place and that no copper can be seen on either the red or black connectors.

10. Also ensure the (metal) pattress box is connected to earth, it will have a screwhole on the back for this, use the bit of copper conductor you got. Make sure the yellow/green sheath covers any bare earth conductor, it doesn't have to cover all of it, just most of it.

11. Carefully push the socket into the pattress box, make sure the wires at the back do not get in the way of the 2 screw holes on the socket

12. Screw the socket in place - do it a couple of turns either side at a time, and be careful because the screw holes on the pattress box are soft metal and can cross-thread easily. If it feels tight, stop and try again. Keep an eye on the wires at the back to make sure they're not near the screws.

13. Reconnect the fuse/rcd, and test the socket.

 

[rynnor]

Is that the edge of your fuse box in the top LH of your picture?

 

[Tom]

Actually you won't need a new double socket, its a plastic box the hole is in, not the socket itself

 

[Trem]

When refitting the socket face where it should be make sure the wires behind are in a nice easy bend, no folding them over or forcing, just make sure they aren't in any mechanical strain at all.

It does begger belief that someone would do that instead of just putting a bloody extension from the original socket.

 

[Furr]

When refitting the socket face where it should be make sure the wires behind are in a nice easy bend, no folding them over or forcing, just make sure they aren't in any mechanical strain at all.

It does begger belief that someone would do that instead of just putting a bloody extension from the original socket.

I was just thinking that too? what type of person thinks of doing that instead of just getting an extension cord?

 

[Yaka]

thanks for the info lads, sleeping with the leccy of the mains tonite and shall do it tommorow morning

 

[Yaka]

right just about to start doing this,

but just want to make sure live in is red , neutral in is black , earth in is green.

ot have i got things the wrong way round?

 

[Ch3tan]

8. Get your new double socket and connect it up. Red - live, Black - Neutral, the bare connector goes to Earth.

^^^

 

[Yaka]

oh ta