Household wiring puzzle

Had our heating system replaced a while ago and the old boiler switch on the kitchen wall is still there (single fused switch) redundant, so I put a single to twin socket converter on it. First thing to hand to test it was the kettle, switched on, started to boil …. then the lights went out! lighting circuit fuse had tripped! Best to blank it forget it or is it ok to use with less demanding items (ie, phone charging)?

We will get the whole lot sorted when we replace the kitchen, at the moment the fuse board is in the back of a kitchen cupboard, the cooker isolator switch is behind a set of drawers and there are various other bodges around the place! The previous owners were a pastor of a baptist church and his wife, I think some of his over entusiastic flock were trying to help with their diy ‘skills’.

Mind you, I think when someone wants to sell something they will say what they need to say. Looking around the place we got to the top of the stairs and the conversation went:

Pastors wife: “that’s the loft up there”
Me: “has it got flooring?”
Pastors wife: “oh yes, would you like to look”
Me: Oh no, that’s fine.

Months later we move in unpack etc and then decide to put some stuff up in the loft, get up there to find yellow insulation everywhere ……. and a single pack of loft flooring boards still in wrapping in the middle!

She did not lie! 😀

We bought our house from some stalwarts of a local church.

They lied through their teeth, repeatedly.

Me: “Is there a chain”

Them: “No, we’re buying off an old lady friend of ours who’s going into a home”.

Our agent subsequently found out the person they were buying from was buying a sheltered housing flat that hadn’t been built yet and wasn’t moving out until it had been completed.

“Well she’s not using an estate agent so it’s not really a chain” was their answer.

Horse,stable door I know. Did you get it surveyed?? 😕

Was it just the lighting circuit that tripped? If so I would not put a socket on and either, blank it off completely, or trace the wires and create a spur to the nearest ring socket (as long as there are no other spurs already).

don’t use it for a socket the cable may only be rated for 6 amps if it is part of the lighting circuit. Don’t be tempted to only use “less demanding devices” others may not know that and plug in something like a kettle that will overload the cables and start a fire.

You could fit a usb socket, rather than a mains socket.

If the switch was a switch for the controller of the boiler this could well have been taken from the 6A lighting circuit as the controller is low power device.

If only the lighting circuit tripped, this would reinforce that theory.

If that is the case i would advise against replacing the switch with a socket cover as you could find you easily overload the circuit as it would appear you have in your test.

Thank you, I think you’re right, I shall blank it off.

You could put a 5A lighting socket on it – that would signal clearly it was a lighting circuit without taking it out of use.

Otherwise the USB idea’s pretty good. This was the first that came up but there are others
http://www.bay-cityelectrical.co.uk/single-usb-wall-socket-in-white/%5B/url%5D

Ever need to shave in the kitchen?

Yup sounds like the boiler was spurred off the lighting circuit, a very common bodge! best to blank it off to be safe, otherwise someone will inevitably overload it thinking it’s a normal socket outlet. Socket circuits have 2.5mm wiring whereas lighting is generally 1mm and obviously cannot stand the same loads.

Is there an RCD on the lightning circuit? Or even the ring mains?

I have an RCD in the garage, fitted by an electrician just after we moved in (8 years ago), so wouldn’t think it’s on the lighting circuit.

Pastors wife: “that’s the loft up there”
Me: “has it got flooring?”
Pastors wife: “oh yes, would you like to look”
Me: Oh no, that’s fine.

Months later we move in unpack etc and then decide to put some stuff up in the loft, get up there to find yellow insulation everywhere ……. and a single pack of loft flooring boards still in wrapping in the middle!

Sorry to rub it in but that gave me a good laugh in a “what a dick move” kinda way. Hope she get bed bugs in her pubes for that one…