Double socket in loft wiring...

[CandT]

I've wired up a double socket in the loft by taking a spur from the nearest ceiling rose. I've done this for 3 reasons - first - it's on the same circuit as all the upstairs lighting, so it makes it easy to isolate the circuit via the main fuse box, (I don't want to blow the trip for my upstairs ring main if the whatever is plugged into the socket somehow overloads). Secondly, it's much easier!!, and Thirdly, I only plan on running 2 things from there - a lamp for lighting (this will probably change into a stip light when I find the time), and a wireless access point for my wifi house ;-)

Is that all OK? Will the lighting circuit handle them? If I wanted to run 2 5ft strips, and the access point - would that be OK? How do I work out for myself the max load I can run?

Cheers all, and please take a look at my question on getting the CAT5 cable into the loft - I need some advice on that in a different thread!!

CandT

[Grunff]

The load is fine, but having a double socket spurred off the lighting ring is bad. If I *had* to do that, I'd put a 3A fuse on the spur. While you know what you want to use it for, you don't know that someone won't decide to plug in a 13A heater.

The 5' tubes and access point will be fine.

[CandT]

Thats great - so all I need is a 3A 'inline' fuse between the spur and the socket? What are they called, so I can have a search on the web?

I could put something like this on couldn't I?

which case - I could isolate the double socket without turning off the whole circuit - but still have it fused?

How about the 'calculation' - what do you add up to get the total of all the equipment?

Thanks again,

CandT

[Lurch]

Unlikely, but why would this be more inconvenient than plunging the house into darkness? Also, if it was spurred off the ring main you would have more capacity load wise at your disposal in the loft.

And technically a bodge.

Not really.

Depends what else is on the circuit, have you been playing with any other wires on the circuit?

If you understood how to do it properly you would also know how to work out the max load you could have. Although load wise it's all o.k. it's not really the done thing. You could get away with it in theory. Better option would be to run a radial circuit into the loft from the CU to the socket, rated at 16A, wired in 2.5mm t&e. The lighting in the loft could be taken from the upstairs lighting circuit and run through a switch in the loft.

Hmmm.

SJW A.C.S. Ltd.

[Parish]

Yep, I put an FCU fused at 3A when I added a socket in the loft to power a TV splitter/amp.

[Grunff]

Yes, that would work fine. It's still far from an ideal arrangement, but it would make the setup much safer. Make sure you earth the case if you use a metal clad switch as per the link.

Total number of Watts/240 gives you the current. Find out what MCB your lighting circuit runs off (probably 5A). That's the maximum current you can draw on that circuit.

[Harry Bloomfield]

CandT wrote on Thursday (29/01/2004) :

It would work, but it is an absolute bodge. What would happen if someone else followed you into the house and plugged something in?

Usually there is access from a loft into an airing cupboard and a socket not two far away from that. Drop a 2.5mm twin and earth cable down to a first floor socket and do it properly.

[CandT]

the sockets is on the other side of the landing unfortunately! But no matter - my loft/CAT5 question has been solved, so I won't need a socket in the loft any more - just lighting, so I'm safe to use the ceiling rose spur... I'll even use a 3A fused switch to be super safe ;-)

Thanks though

CandT

[Harry Bloomfield]

On 29/01/2004 CandT opined:-

In that case no need for the spur, just wire it up as an extra section of lighting circuit...... From an existing ceiling rose, to your new ceiling rose in the loft, then down to your new switch.

[Christian McArdle]

Someone came up with a similar enquiry recently. If you can't install the

13A sockets properly, then the final solution, if you can call it that, was to install a couple of lighting sockets. One powers the lights, the other the access point.

If the access point has a wall wart type mains adaptor (so can't have its plug changed), then you wire a lighting plug to a short length of flex and a socket outlet. You then Araldite the wall wart to the socket, to prevent your adaptor being used for fan heaters. The load will be negligible in power terms.

Christian

[CandT]

Just to conclude, and let everyone know I heven't killed myself - I swapped out the socket for a 3A fused switch splitting to 2 x 5ft fluoro's... Absolutely lovely job, now I can get rid of the unshaded bedside lamp I had to carry around with me up there!! I've almost got to put on sunglasses now ;-)

Thanks all for your input, most helpful..

CandT

[R W]

I thought about doing this, but it really makes no sense. If you take a

13A socket off the lighting ring, what's to stop someone (not necessarily you) from plugging something in which will be greater than the capacity of the circuit?

You should at least protect it with a 3Amp fused connection unit, with a DP Switch if you like.

Also, if you want to work on the upstairs lighting circuit, how will you light your loft while you do it?

In the end I set up the following arrangement:-

Spur from upstairs socket ring to switched FCU with 13A fuse

Then From that to a suitably meaty junction box.

From the junction box I go to 3 more switched FCUs.

The first has a 3A fuse and then feeds a humidistat fan in the bathroom (very neat way to do things, no need to mess with the lighting wiring, and no need to turn on the light to turn on the fan).

The second has a 3A fuse and neon indicator and is located on the landing near the loft hatch. It is used to turn on and off two batten-lampholders fixed in the loft. The neon means that even if the loft hatch is closed anyone upstairs can see that the loft lights have been left on.

The third has a 13A fuse and is located in my study (3rd bedroom). It feeds 2 double and one single sockets located in the loft. This means that I can turn off all the loft sockets at the same time I want to (for example when going on holiday) without having to go up into the loft to do it.

I'm so glad I didn't spur off the lighting circuit, it would have been much less flexible and would have been a pain to work on the upstairs lights with no light in the loft!