kitchen wiring

[outinthestix]

Hi folks, i'm in need of advise please.
I am hanging a few wall cupboards in my kitchen and need to extend the socket outlet down the wall to just above the worktop as the socket is currently quite high up and fed a tall fridge/freezer.
Also going to put a small strip light under the cabinets to illuminate the worktop.
The current outlet will then be unused as it will be behind the units.
Do i wire into the old outlet and take a spur down the wall ? We really want 2 double outlets at worktop so wondered if a spur can supply this much or do i need to extend some other way ? Not sure at the moment if its on a ring main or radial or what cable sizes are.
Also the strip light under the cabinets needs a supply. Does this have to be from a lighting circuit or can i fit an switched fcu by the side of my socket outlets and take a feed from them but protecting with a 5 amp fuse ?

 

[SparkyFromTheValley]

is there not another socket you can spur off for the 2nd double socket you want. u shouldnt spur of a spur.

yes wire old sockets as before and spur off.

as for cable size and protection, the current sockets should be on a ring and so a single spur off any socket should be fine, as will adding a fused switch spur for the lighting, with suitably low fuse rating (5A).

check at the board if the MCB for the kitchen is a 32A, if it is then u prob have a ring, as a radial can only take 20A max and regs say to use no bigger than 16A MCB.

 

[jaysta]

My fridge socket that I had put in is a radial circuit. The cable used for my fridge radial is only 2.5mm² and in the consumer unit there was a MCB installed for this intended purpose only.

If the same has been done for your fridge socket, I don't think that two double sockets and under cabinet strip lights are going to be possible as I'm pretty sure you can't spur off a spur.

You could really do with knowing if that socket is a radial or ring circuit.

My under cabinet strip lights are spurred from a switched FCU that's on the kitchen ring.

I'm no expert but I thought I'd share what I know... or what I think I know

 

[outinthestix]

Thanks fellas, have found that the mcb is 32 amp and there are 2 cables coming into the outlet both of 4mm square size so is probably a ring main (i know the chap who installed the wiring used to oversize cables in case extra capacity was needed in the future). It wouldn't be a heavy duty radial would it, either way can i still extend it for 2 double sockets instead of spuring off ?
No other sockets nearby so i presume i need to extend ring main/radial down the wall to new sockets and install a spur to feed the under cabinet lights with 5 amp fuse.
Can you please confirm this is right. Cheers, stix.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Thanks fellas, have found that the mcb is 32 amp and there are 2 cables coming into the outlet both of 4mm square size so is probably a ring main

Or 2 radials.

Take the conductors out of the MCB and check for continuity between them.

(i know the chap who installed the wiring used to oversize cables in case extra capacity was needed in the future).

That would only work if it were 2 radials.

It wouldn't be a heavy duty radial would it,

"Heavy duty"? It's 4mm², which is actually a bit borderline for a 32A radial. Fine if the cable is clipped to the surface or just plastered over, but anything else won't comply.

either way can i still extend it for 2 double sockets instead of spuring off ?

Yup. Keep with 4mm² cable though. But if it is 2 radials, then you can branch off wherever you like, for as many sockets as you like.

No other sockets nearby so i presume i need to extend ring main/radial down the wall to new sockets and install a spur to feed the under cabinet lights with 5 amp fuse.

• http://www.voltimum.co.uk/files/gb/attachments/niu/l/attachments/c5-43.pdf
• http://web.archive.org/web/20061110111450/http://www.niceic.org.uk/downloads/concealedcables.pdf
• IEE article
• IEE Article on 17th Edition requirements for concealed cables.

And don't forget this is all notifiable.