Boiler wiring /spur

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Hi all,

My boiler is being replaced later this week. The old one was just plugged into a single switched socket which is obviously not ideal.
I would like to create a usable plug, can I leave the switched socket and just create a fused spur off of that socket for the boiler? Do I need to use 4mm or is 2.5 ok?
Will the gas engineer wire the new boiler or will they want an electrician to do it?

Thanks
 
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There is NOTHING wrong with a gas boiler using a 13A plug with a suitable fuse as its point of isolation,

Adding spurs can come with issues - so best get it looked at properly
Can I just replace the backbox and change for a double socket then so I have the extra plug I need?
 
Likely yes, but it is not that easy or straight forward. We have ring finals, radials, and spurs, and the supply can be from a 16 to 32 amp supply in the fuse board or consumer unit, also one can have lower amp supplies for special installations. In the main we use fuse connection units (FCU) to supply boilers, mainly so it can't be unplugged.

Personally I think using plug and socket it good, as one can then easy power central heating from a generator in an emergency, however many boilers state in their installation manual that they should be supplied from a FCU and many plumbers insist this is done. Also some even require that the supply is RCD protected with a type A RCD, why I have not a clue, my central heating is the only circuit in the house which is not RCD protected and as a result has to be a FCU.

This chart
Ring final.jpg
shows generally what is permitted. As to who can fit what, it depends where you live and what room the boiler is in. In Wales where I live wiring in a kitchen needs notifying so often the plumber will not touch it, England, Scotland and Ulster all have different rules. And the laws are not very well written so there is some debate as what can and can't be done.

I don't think many people take any notice of the law, but you ask what you can do. One would hope the person fitting the boiler would have looked at the installation first. Not only the electrics but also the plumbing, a lock shield valve on an old header tank system is unlikely to take the pressure of a modern sealed system. And you may not have TRV's on an old system, so changing things after he has surveyed what is required is likely to cause problems.

What @Murdochcat says is correct, but a lot depends on how jobs worth the installer is.
 
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And many will just spur from a spur because they don't understand the electrical regs
This is exactly what British Gas had done in the house that we bought. They even issued an EIC for it.

In practice it didn’t cause any issues of course, not least because the socket they spurred from was never used as it was directly under the boiler.
 
Personally I think using plug and socket it good, as one can then easy power central heating from a generator in an emergency, however many boilers state in their installation manual that they should be supplied from a FCU and many plumbers insist this is done.
Daft, of course, but if one has to deal with such a person,I very much doubt that they would look to determine, or care about,what was feeding the FCU - so if you present them with an FCU close to the boiler, the supply side of which is fed ('out of sight') through a bit of flex with a 13Aplug on the end of it, I would be very surprised if they would notice.

Indeed, Mr Jobsworth might be happy even if he did 'notice', since I think the MIs usually only say that the boiler should be hard-wired to an FCU, without saying anything about what feeds the FCU ... so Jobsworth's box may be 'ticked' ;)

Kind Regards, John
 
The GSE who installed my boiler did everything possible to avoid touching the fixed wiring.
He was happy to connect pump, valves, boiler and stats to the (existing) wiring centre but retained the existing connection from the FCU to the wiring centre and has absolutely no idea where that FCU takes its supply from.
It was the same with the immersion heater. Old flex between FCU and immersion heater connected to new immersion heater without removing the faceplate of the FCU.
No electrical certification provided as no fixed wiring was changed.
 

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