MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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There's a socket under our TV that was designed for an electric fire in the middle of the wall, so the switch for it is over on the right in the corner and the single socket is in the middle of the wall. I'd like to replace the socket with a double or triple, but I don't really want the remote switch any more. Is it ok if I just connect the wires in the switch with connector blocks and fit a blank plate, or should I do something else?
Should be fine, just make sure you use correctly rated connectors.
Should be no problem, you can dangle 20A on 2.5mm cable (theoretically).
Would strongly recommend Wago-style connectors as opposed to connector blocks.
If the back-box or faceplate is metal you'll still need to ground them so you'll need at least one three-way connector for this.
Yes, you can change the fire outlet to a double socket.
Rather than joining wires and putting on a blanking plate, just put another single gang socket in place of the switch.
Simplest, and probably more convenient to have another socket available.
Sepending on how its wired could it not be completely redundant?
Like a light switch can be wired?
Could you switch it on and then ignore it?
single gang socket in place of the switch.
If you do that the existing socket would be a spur off a spur. I imagine the switch may actually be an FCU.
Have you removed the face plates to check what the wiring is?
It's most likely a radial circuit directly from the consumer unit or a spur of the ring main.
Change the single socket to whatever you like and leave the switch as it is, there might be 3 x 2.5mm T&E cables in it.
Total nightmare trying to get them into a single socket.
Thanks folks. The house is only 10 years old, modern Wimpey job so nothing fancy or archaic.
I wanted to blank it off because I don't want a random mess of odd switches and things. Neatness.
Having said that - at least with the switch it's a bit more obvious what's going on, a mystery blanking plate would confuse future owners.
If you blank it off, put a tiny wee lego skeleton in the box for someone to find!
if its only ten years old then either it should be a fused connection unit or a two pole two throw switch with its own circuit breaker in the consumer unit and nothing else on the circuit
^^ this
Though my experience with a Taylor Wimpey build is that an additional radial and MCB in the consumer unit was an unnecessary expense, so it's almost certainly a spur off a ring main.
Have you looked in the consumer unit to see if there's a separate breaker for the fire? If not, check to see if the socket goes off if you kill the power to the other sockets.
It's just a socket with its associated switch in another place. It's not on a special circuit. It's not labelled as being for a fire, that's just what we assumed it was for.