Need to remove a domestic electrical mains socket. Happy to cover the socket back box with a blanking plate.
Is there a recommended method?
Is it part of a ring or a spur?
Query where is the socket thats no longer needed? We had new kitchen going in and while it was a doddle for me to put a new socket in the ring further along the run, I had to get a qualified electrician in to remove the socket that had to be removed to allow a new kitchen cabinet to be installed. He used spring loaded torsion connectors to splice the ring together. He said any of the older methods risked a fire years in the future and latest specs didnt allow such things as connector blocks....
Wagos or similar
They are regarded as "maintenance free" unlike anything with screws.
Toolstation sell a 3 pole version which is handy. https://www.toolstation.com/in-line-spring-lever-connectors/p78346
On a ring.
A qualified electrician will be doing it.
My curiosity makes me ask.
quote:
Originally posted by Prof_Cook
Query where is the socket thats no longer needed? We had new kitchen going in and while it was a doddle for me to put a new socket in the ring further along the run, I had to get a qualified electrician in to remove the socket that had to be removed to allow a new kitchen cabinet to be installed. He used spring loaded torsion connectors to splice the ring together. He said any of the older methods risked a fire years in the future and latest specs didnt allow such things as connector blocks....
quote:
Originally posted by nick205
Need to remove a domestic electrical mains socket. Happy to cover the socket back box with a blanking plate.
Is there a recommended method?
Another vote for Wago connectors to complete the ring but in order to be truly "maintenance free" the Wago box has to be closed with a tie
wrap or similar through the fastening lug. This is to satisfy the regulation that it must only be accessible with a tool, in this case something to
cut off the tie wrap. It's a pedantic point I know.
The other "maintenance free" option is good old crimps but only if properly made off with a proper ratcheting or hydraulic tool, not just a
quick squeeze with a pair of pliers.
quote:
Originally posted by cliftyhanger
Wagos or similar
They are regarded as "maintenance free" unlike anything with screws.
Toolstation sell a 3 pole version which is handy. https://www.toolstation.com/in-line-spring-lever-connectors/p78346
@James, yes a very good point to avoid unbranded or knock-off Wago style connectors. Even if they look like Wagos (eg grey with orange lever) they can
often be knock-offs too. So buy from good sources such as TLC, CEF, Screwfix etc rather than eBay and other less regulated sources.
There is a good video by one of my favourite YouTube electricians here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9JTBTrcDSE
John Ward is a bit of a legend in the electrician online community and has a dead-pan but razor-sharp wit that I really enjoy, not to mention decades
of experience. As he says in the above video, "...these are direct from China and made from solid Chinesium..."
Interestingly, the knock-offs he tests in the video perform pretty well but the wider point he makes is still valid - that you don't know from
one batch to the next what quality level you might get unless you buy via a reputable supply chain with appropriate ISO and other QA methodologies in
place.
In other videos by John, he tests various connector types to destruction using current from a welder and these show just how much overload these
things can take (not just Wagos) when used correctly.