socket under sink - dangerous?

[Larry1990]

Hi guys,

I found some water in the cupboard under my kitchen sink. I can't quite pinpointthe leak at first glance. But the wire leading to the socket didn't look I clever to me.

Is this safe/allowed having socket there (for a dishwasher) its been out of right out of mind til now.

Cheers

Larry

 

[sparkwright]

There's no problem with a socket being under a sink in a kitchen - after all, you can get a leak ANYWHERE in a house.

(However, after seeing all the dodgy things in your house from your previous posts, there's bound to be something wrong with it...)

 

[Larry1990]

There's no problem with a socket being under a sink in a kitchen - after all, you can get a leak ANYWHERE in a house.

OK that's a fair shout thanks for the clarification.

 

[Larry1990]

Sorry i missed the second part of your post. Yes i don't have lots of confidence in the wiring after recent works. I changed another light switch and light fitting over xmas and at least they were earthed!

 

[EFLImpudence]

Yes, it is very dangerous. You will have to move the sink.


Only joking.

 

[ericmark]

My sink has a socket under it to power the waste disposal unit, one would hope if there is a leak, the RCD will isolate before it does any damage.

 

[conny]

I'd be tempted to make sure there was a continuous earth to that socket and not just take it for granted, given your historical events.

 

[Taylortwocities]

I’d like to see that big of loose T&E going in to the top of the socket secured in some way.
A couple of cable clips would do it.

 

[Larry1990]

I'd be tempted to make sure there was a continuous earth to that socket and not just take it for granted, given your historical events.

Hi Conny, thanks I had a look and the earth wire is terminated inside the backbox. Can I ask a daft question please, how would I tell what a continuous earth lopos like?

Cheers Larry

 

[Larry1990]

I’d like to see that big of loose T&E going in to the top of the socket secured in some way.
A couple of cable clips would do it.

Thanks Taylor, I got a screwfix voucher for Xmas so some cable clips sound like the first thing I need.

Cheers

Larry

 

[conny]

By continuous I meant verify that it is connected to the socket and not cut off in the back box. You can check it is connected correctly if you have a multimeter by setting it to AC volts 240 or above and placing the probes across the live and earth terminals. If the earth is not connected to the main earth you will not get a reading. If it is connected you will get a reading in the range of 230-240 or thereabouts depending on your supply.

 

[JohnW2]

By continuous I meant verify that it is connected to the socket and not cut off in the back box. You can check it is connected correctly if you have a multimeter by setting it to AC volts 240 or above and placing the probes across the live and earth terminals. If the earth is not connected to the main earth you will not get a reading. If it is connected you will get a reading in the range of 230-240 or thereabouts depending on your supply.

I would personally not trust that as a test, since (given the very high input resistance of most multimeters) it's not impossible that one would see an apparently 'OK' voltage reading despite the earth connection being very poor (very high impedance) or even absent.

Kind Regards, John