Wiring a plug from a light switch
Discussion
morning everyone, just need someone's help on this please. I have recently bought a new house and am going around sorting various bits out. One of the things i would like to do is have power running into the garage for spare fridge and tools etc. At the minute there is a light switch with standard bulb fixture in there running from the house. What i wanted to find out was if it was possible to use this existing wiring to add a plug socket or 2 to fill these needs ?
It might be a stupid question but am fairly new to electrics - thanks in advance for any help
It might be a stupid question but am fairly new to electrics - thanks in advance for any help
rsv gone! said:
No. Lighting circuits use smaller gauge cable than ring mains (sockets). 1-1.5mm rather than 2.5mm. The circuit would probably be rated at 5A whereas ring mains are normally rated at 30A.
OK thanks, but would it not be possible to find out which ring the garage light was running off and simply change the fuse from a 5 amp to a 30 amp ?Edited by rsv gone! on Sunday 14th November 12:31
tricky69 said:
rsv gone! said:
No. Lighting circuits use smaller gauge cable than ring mains (sockets). 1-1.5mm rather than 2.5mm. The circuit would probably be rated at 5A whereas ring mains are normally rated at 30A.
OK thanks, but would it not be possible to find out which ring the garage light was running off and simply change the fuse from a 5 amp to a 30 amp ?Edited by rsv gone! on Sunday 14th November 12:31
The 5 amp fuse is there to protect the wiring from burning up under high load.
If you change to a 30 amp fuse the wiring will do a good job of protecting the fuse.
Leave it alone!!!
tricky69 said:
rsv gone! said:
No. Lighting circuits use smaller gauge cable than ring mains (sockets). 1-1.5mm rather than 2.5mm. The circuit would probably be rated at 5A whereas ring mains are normally rated at 30A.
OK thanks, but would it not be possible to find out which ring the garage light was running off and simply change the fuse from a 5 amp to a 30 amp ?Edited by rsv gone! on Sunday 14th November 12:31
tricky69 said:
rsv gone! said:
No. Lighting circuits use smaller gauge cable than ring mains (sockets). 1-1.5mm rather than 2.5mm. The circuit would probably be rated at 5A whereas ring mains are normally rated at 30A.
OK thanks, but would it not be possible to find out which ring the garage light was running off and simply change the fuse from a 5 amp to a 30 amp ?Edited by rsv gone! on Sunday 14th November 12:31
Ignoring all the pious holier than thou brigade some of whom who I suspect are electricians looking for more overpriced work, here's some HELP rather than criticism.
Firstly what is the existing light in the garage connected to? Is it on the lighting circuit in the house or an extension off a wall socket? A lot of 70's/80's houses had the garage circuit off a socket in the kitchen and almost none of them have ever burnt down. To check where the garage light gets its power from, take the fuses out one by one to find which circuit it's on.
If it comes off a socket, or if you can wire a spur/extention off an existing socket, then its on the 15Amp ring main and fitting a separate consumer unit in the garage isn't hard. One of these would admirably do the job.
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/98668/Electrical-Sup...
However assuming worst case i.e the existing garage light comes off the house lighting circuit, then as long as you're only going to run a freezer which will typically use around 400W, or 2 amps and the occasional electric drill, it'll be fine to run it off the lighting circuit. Double check the fuse rating is correct.
All the "qualified" lekkies will hate this, it demistifies all the smoke and mirrors stories and horror stories they try to scare us with, so we'll pay their inflated prices."Oh it's not part P or 16th edition. You'll burn the house down or fry your kids and is it worth risking it for the sake of giving me the job etc etc" or some other cobblers.
Electrical wiring ain't rocket science. Get a book and take your time. Here's one I found on Google http://www.homewiringguide.com/
Oh and before you ask, I've got an HNC in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Firstly what is the existing light in the garage connected to? Is it on the lighting circuit in the house or an extension off a wall socket? A lot of 70's/80's houses had the garage circuit off a socket in the kitchen and almost none of them have ever burnt down. To check where the garage light gets its power from, take the fuses out one by one to find which circuit it's on.
If it comes off a socket, or if you can wire a spur/extention off an existing socket, then its on the 15Amp ring main and fitting a separate consumer unit in the garage isn't hard. One of these would admirably do the job.
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/98668/Electrical-Sup...
However assuming worst case i.e the existing garage light comes off the house lighting circuit, then as long as you're only going to run a freezer which will typically use around 400W, or 2 amps and the occasional electric drill, it'll be fine to run it off the lighting circuit. Double check the fuse rating is correct.
All the "qualified" lekkies will hate this, it demistifies all the smoke and mirrors stories and horror stories they try to scare us with, so we'll pay their inflated prices."Oh it's not part P or 16th edition. You'll burn the house down or fry your kids and is it worth risking it for the sake of giving me the job etc etc" or some other cobblers.
Electrical wiring ain't rocket science. Get a book and take your time. Here's one I found on Google http://www.homewiringguide.com/
Oh and before you ask, I've got an HNC in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
In general somebody who does not even understand what a fuse is used for is unlikely to be able to wire up a spur correctly.
OP, just carry on, we'll await the 'screwfix let me buy a socket and some cable and it caught fire, can I sue them' thread!
And yes, electrical wiring is very simple, but some people cannot even wire up a plug correctly when there is a diagram attached.
And no, I'm not an electrician, but I have been an electronics engineer for over 30 years!
OP, just carry on, we'll await the 'screwfix let me buy a socket and some cable and it caught fire, can I sue them' thread!
And yes, electrical wiring is very simple, but some people cannot even wire up a plug correctly when there is a diagram attached.
And no, I'm not an electrician, but I have been an electronics engineer for over 30 years!
ColinM50 said:
Ignoring all the pious holier than thou brigade some of whom who I suspect are electricians looking for more overpriced work, here's some HELP rather than criticism.
Firstly what is the existing light in the garage connected to? Is it on the lighting circuit in the house or an extension off a wall socket? A lot of 70's/80's houses had the garage circuit off a socket in the kitchen and almost none of them have ever burnt down. To check where the garage light gets its power from, take the fuses out one by one to find which circuit it's on.
If it comes off a socket, or if you can wire a spur/extention off an existing socket, then its on the 15Amp ring main and fitting a separate consumer unit in the garage isn't hard. One of these would admirably do the job.
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/98668/Electrical-Sup...
However assuming worst case i.e the existing garage light comes off the house lighting circuit, then as long as you're only going to run a freezer which will typically use around 400W, or 2 amps and the occasional electric drill, it'll be fine to run it off the lighting circuit. Double check the fuse rating is correct.
All the "qualified" lekkies will hate this, it demistifies all the smoke and mirrors stories and horror stories they try to scare us with, so we'll pay their inflated prices."Oh it's not part P or 16th edition. You'll burn the house down or fry your kids and is it worth risking it for the sake of giving me the job etc etc" or some other cobblers.
Electrical wiring ain't rocket science. Get a book and take your time. Here's one I found on Google http://www.homewiringguide.com/
Oh and before you ask, I've got an HNC in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Pretty poor advice to be honest, especially from somebody that is meant to have a grasp of these things, although to be honest the HNC barely touches on such situations.Firstly what is the existing light in the garage connected to? Is it on the lighting circuit in the house or an extension off a wall socket? A lot of 70's/80's houses had the garage circuit off a socket in the kitchen and almost none of them have ever burnt down. To check where the garage light gets its power from, take the fuses out one by one to find which circuit it's on.
If it comes off a socket, or if you can wire a spur/extention off an existing socket, then its on the 15Amp ring main and fitting a separate consumer unit in the garage isn't hard. One of these would admirably do the job.
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/98668/Electrical-Sup...
However assuming worst case i.e the existing garage light comes off the house lighting circuit, then as long as you're only going to run a freezer which will typically use around 400W, or 2 amps and the occasional electric drill, it'll be fine to run it off the lighting circuit. Double check the fuse rating is correct.
All the "qualified" lekkies will hate this, it demistifies all the smoke and mirrors stories and horror stories they try to scare us with, so we'll pay their inflated prices."Oh it's not part P or 16th edition. You'll burn the house down or fry your kids and is it worth risking it for the sake of giving me the job etc etc" or some other cobblers.
Electrical wiring ain't rocket science. Get a book and take your time. Here's one I found on Google http://www.homewiringguide.com/
Oh and before you ask, I've got an HNC in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Even if the garage lighting did come from an existing socket and therefore a 15A fuse as in your example, that doesn't mean that the wiring from the socket to the garage is suitable for 15A, could still be lower rated as it was intended for lighting.
Powering a fridge from a light circuit may well not end up in burning the house down, but worse case scenerio it may, and your household insurance would certainly look into the reason why.
There's no smoke and mirror stories, electrics aren't difficult if you know what you doing, from the questions asked by the OP I think it's fairly safe to say he doesn't. Part P is down to the Government not the electricians, infact you'll probably find that the majority of them think it's a pain in the arse that was never implemented properly.
Now I could be wrong but slinging a fuse in just above the socket should reduce the risk of problems but still the issue is you would know it was off the lighting initially but may forget and plug a big ass welder in or something and fry the system.
For iffy electrics you just need to look inside our oldschool fuse wire fuse box, when my FIL wired in a new spur he found the shower is wired off the live side of the master power switch meaning you knock the power off and the shower is still live.
Ok to find out this way but I'd have hated to find out changing the shower over.
For iffy electrics you just need to look inside our oldschool fuse wire fuse box, when my FIL wired in a new spur he found the shower is wired off the live side of the master power switch meaning you knock the power off and the shower is still live.
Ok to find out this way but I'd have hated to find out changing the shower over.
spikeyhead said:
tricky69 said:
OK thanks, but would it not be possible to find out which ring the garage light was running off and simply change the fuse from a 5 amp to a 30 amp ?
For those wondering why Part P exists, this ^^^ is the reason.It's easier for me to qualify as a gas fitter than to get Part P.
As for the idea of swapping out a 5A fuse for a 30A fuse then yes - a good way to start a fire. What the OP should do is found out HOW the garage gets it's power. If (as is usual) it comes from a 2.5mm wire from the house then the best idea is to fit a mini RCD/MCB fusebox in the garage and do it properly. As you haven't got any knowledge I'd ask a professional for help, not necessarily to do the whole job but to tell you what you can do to reduce the price.
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