Removing a socket from a ring main

[EFLImpudence]

No, it doesn't have to because it does say 'appropriate' compression tool.

 

[JohnW2]

I don't think the Wagos are yet classed as maintenance free.

Selected Wagos, if (and only if) in a Wagobox, are maintenance free, and have been for some time. Wagoboxes now bear the 'MF' symbol, but the instructions make it clear that they are only 'MF' if used with the specified Wagos, with specified maximum circuit loadings, and in exactly the manner described.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Greenie9657]

I'd use wagos and put a blank plate on where the socket was. Job done.

Thanks for the reply john. I might have to purchase some wago boxes too then.

 

[JohnW2]

I'd use wagos and put a blank plate on where the socket was. Job done.

Indeed. That's fine. If you just use a blanking plate, the connections remain 'accessible', so any Wagos (provided they have adequate current rating and are appropriate for size of cable) are fine - they don't need to be 'maintenance-free'

Thanks for the reply john. I might have to purchase some wago boxes too then.

Have a look at them first - they're pretty bulky - and would not, for example, fit in a socket's backbox.

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I am just slightly concerned that no-one has mentioned the possibility that removal of a socket also removes any associated safe zone.

No, but the reason why the OP wants to remove the socket, and therefore what he intends to leave behind, is germane.

May not be a big deal but needs thinking about.

It is a big deal.

 

[Scotsandy]

Thanks for all the input folks. The stove installers have given instructions that "any electrical sockets/TV sockets in the vicinity of the installation must be removed prior to our arrival." We certainly wouldn't be able to access the socket and I'm guessing there may be a concern about heat affecting the socket.

 

[bernardgreen]

How hot will the wall get when the stove is burning ? Is the cable rated for that temperature and if so what is the current derating at that temperature ?

Temperature cycling is one of the main causes of terminal screws becoming loose. Some "maintainance free" connectors have a limited range of temperatures.

Is there no way the cable can be re-routed away from the area of the stove ?

You say it is a partition wall. Partition between what, If it is two rooms in your house ( rather than between you and the house next door) could the cables be joined in a socket on the other side of the wall ?. Or a junction box behind a blank front plate.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Thanks for all the input folks. The stove installers have given instructions that "any electrical sockets/TV sockets in the vicinity of the installation must be removed prior to our arrival."

You need to ask them why - physical clearances are one thing, but heat is quite another.

We certainly wouldn't be able to access the socket

Which means it has to go anyway, as it has screwed connections.

and I'm guessing there may be a concern about heat affecting the socket.

There may be, but if so then there are wider implications.

 

[Scotsandy]

How hot will the wall get when the stove is burning ? Is the cable rated for that temperature and if so what is the current derating at that temperature ?

Temperature cycling is one of the main causes of terminal screws becoming loose. Some "maintainance free" connectors have a limited range of temperatures.

Is there no way the cable can be re-routed away from the area of the stove ?

You say it is a partition wall. Partition between what, If it is two rooms in your house ( rather than between you and the house next door) could the cables be joined in a socket on the other side of the wall ?. Or a junction box behind a blank front plate.

I don't think it will get too hot. The existing socket would be behind the stove and the stove spec. requires a 40mm gap between the back of the stove and any combustible material. The wall is stud partition then breeze block behind that as it separates the kitchen from the garage. The house is a modern (built in 2000) timber framed construction.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

If that is the case, then why should the stove makers care if there's a socket there?

Where do the cables to the socket run? Up from under the floor, down from the ceiling, or horizontally to/from other sockets?

 

[bernardgreen]

the stove spec. requires a 40mm gap between the back of the stove and any combustible material. The wall is stud partition then breeze block behind that as it separates the kitchen from the garage. The house is a modern (built in 2000) timber framed construction.

Stud wall. faced with what a fire barrier thickness of fheat resistant plaster board or a normal sheet of cheap plaster board., That 40 mm ( less than 2 inches ) seems very small for separating a wood fired stove from combustable material. Probably fine as long the fuel is burnt in a controlled way but if the fire went out of control ( damper jammed open ) a layer of plaster board 2 inches from the heat source could become extremely hot and crumble exposing the timber behind.

 

[Scotsandy]

I looked under the floor for wiring and found nothing, so it looks like the house wiring runs in the ceiling space between ground floor and upstairs, hence more involved to access.

The wall will be normal paster board, though I will be covering this with ceramic tiles, to make it easy clean as much as anything else. As it's a range cooker , it doesn't give out as much radiant heat as a stove designed for space heating.

The idea that the installers wanted sockets removed because of heat was my assumption, at that point I wasn't aware of the need to have access to anything with screw terminals. The installers are (hopefully!) better genned up than I am, so that could be why they required removal. They're closed today so I can't check.

 

[stillp]

You should not crimp solid cores

From the relevant standard (BS EN 60352-2) "This part of IEC 60352 is applicable to solderless crimped connections made w ith stranded wires of 0,05 mm2 to 10 mm2 cross-section or solid wires of 0,25 mm to 3,6 mm diameter and appropriately designed uninsulated or pre-insulated crimp barrels for use in telecommunication equipment and in electronic devices employing similar techniques."

 

[JohnW2]

From the relevant standard (BS EN 60352-2) "This part of IEC 60352 is applicable to solderless crimped connections made w ith stranded wires of 0,05 mm2 to 10 mm2 cross-section or solid wires of 0,25 mm to 3,6 mm diameter and appropriately designed uninsulated or pre-insulated crimp barrels for use in telecommunication equipment and in electronic devices employing similar techniques."

Does this Standard also apply to use in electrical installations?

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I looked under the floor for wiring and found nothing, so it looks like the house wiring runs in the ceiling space between ground floor and upstairs, hence more involved to access.

I would argue that given the reason why accessories create safe zones for concealed cables to run in, if you obscure an accessory behind something permanently fixed, like a stove, you no longer have a safe zone.

Remove the cables from the wall.