untrained question

[terrytibbsuk]

hi im planning on taking a spur from a double plug socket in my house, this plug socket powers both tumble dryer and washing machine and is close to 13a when both appliances are on (or so i gathered)..
As this socket has 2 wires going in/out of it from my understanding i can spur straight from this, to a new socket which may be using quite a bit of power in the winter when appliances are on (1200w heater in winter ect)

i tryed running an extention cable of the double socket last winter, and when the tumble dryer, washing machine and heater was on at the same time, it would trip...

so really hoping to here that a spur can handle 13a even if the socket its spured from is at its limit

im not a trained electrician but can be good with my hands with the right guidance.

as far as i know the best thing to do would be extend the ring main ?
but its something i just cant do..

thanks in advanced for reading/replying many thanks
terry

 

[riveralt]

hi im planning on taking a spur from a double plug socket in my house, this plug socket powers both tumble dryer and washing machine and is close to 13a when both appliances are on (or so i gathered)..
As this socket has 2 wires going in/out of it from my understanding i can spur straight from this, to a new socket which may be using quite a bit of power in the winter when appliances are on (1200w heater in winter ect)

If it is part of the ring final circuit then you can run a spur from it.
But......

i tryed running an extention cable of the double socket last winter, and when the tumble dryer, washing machine and heater was on at the same time, it would trip...

Was this the MCB that tripped or the reset button on the extension cable. If you had all three running at once on the extension cable then it is likely to have been the extension cable which may only be rated for 10Amps. So there shouldn't be an issue with the spur.

If it was the MCB that tripped then there is either a fault the appliances, the extension cable, the circuit itself or the total load on the circuit was too much or too unbalanced for the MCB to handle.

 

[terrytibbsuk]

Thanks for the quick reply..
to be completely honest with you, i have no idea if its the "ring final circuit" ill have to do a bit of research to find out..

most sockets round my house have 2 wires going in and out.. no sockets are spured, and im also guessing i have 2 ring mains round my house as on the board, there are 2 separate switches for plug sockets and 2 for lighting both of which are rcd pretected (only read this on the board)

As for the extention cable, it had a rcd plug, and it was this which was tripping.

but will i still be able to get 13a from the original socket, and 13a from the spured socket and have full useage of the 26a ? or will the spur share 13a giving them both 6a? sorry im useless at this and its so confusing, really dont want to cause a fire.

sorry i cant explain myself a with a bit more detail, and im unsure as for the correct name of things, such as the tripboard.. guessing this is the MCB?..

any way thanks again for the reply riveralt

p.s i could never be an electrician.. too complicated






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[riveralt]

The only issue with ring final circuits and spurs is that you cannot run a spur from a spur. So if the ring is as you described then you are okay to run a spur from that socket.

With regards to the load on the circuit - ring final circuits are normally (but not always) protected by a 32Amp MCB.
The purpose of the MCB is to protect the cable from overloading - hence reduce the risk of fire. RCD's add additional protection to the circuit with the aim of protecting you from electricution.

Adding a spur in the way you have described should not be an issue.

There is some debate on this but most double sockets are rated at around 20Amps - some higher.

Also remember that plugs have a fuse that protects the cable to the appliance provided that the plug you use has the correctly rated fuse as required by the manufacturers. For most tumble dryers and washing machines that will be 13Amp and probably the same for the heater.

I would caution that you should only add this spur if you feel confident that you know what you are doing - the alternate is to get an electriician in to to do the job for you.

 

[securespark]

Good circuit design would be to have single sockets for your appliances, not two sharing a double.

Also, there may be issues with too much current flowing through that part of the ring final circuit.

Lastly, the regs advise appliances like this to have their own circuit.

This would solve the preceding issues.