Spurs off spurs

[SJRSJR]

Hi. While I've got the floorboards up in the bedroom I've been following the cabling and wanted to check if this is correct.

There's obviously been some changes made because there's a lot of defunct cabling which I've pulled out but what is left is this:

The first double socket is a spur off the ring main. This runs to a another socket with a switched fused spur which then runs to another socket with another switched fused spur.

I don't know why there's no ring in that room but is it acceptable? Thanks.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

You really need to verify first that you actually have a ring final circuit, especially if there's evidence of alterations. Ring finals aren't compulsory but they are a neat way to maximise the investment in cable required to go round a room. Radials are completely acceptable and sometimes more efficient but that depends on the routes the cables take and what load you are planning on using on the circuit.

Assuming you are actually looking at a spur from a ring final circuit then no your current setup is not acceptable-electrically it is only moderately unsafe, operationally you've got fuses protecting fuses which will always be fun when fault finding.

If you sure that you have a ring final circuit to spur from (2 bits of T & E at a socket doesn't guarantee a ring) you need to insert a fused connection unit between the ring and the first spurred double socket (ideally the FCU would be in the ring rather than on the spur cable). You can then junk the subsequent FCUs (unless they're feeding something else as well as the socket) and hang as many sockets on the spur as you like since the cabling is all being protected by the first FCU.

 

[SJRSJR]

Thanks.

Assuming (and I take your point on not making assumptions) it is a spur off the ring final circuit, if the first socket had an FCU would it make it safer or legal? It's surface mounted and could be swapped for a single socket and FCU. Thanks.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Assuming it is a ring final on 2.5mm cable then 7.2.2 of the On Site Guide says you can have an unlimited number of socket outlets fed from a fused spur (max rating of fuse in the spur dependent on spur cable size and 13A in any case). Your plan will make your setup safer and compliant (ring-FCU-millions of sockets)

 

[SJRSJR]

Thanks, I understand it better now.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Just remembering that the total maximum load for all of the additional sockets will be 13A as that is the largest fuse that the FCU will allow.