I need to install a separate ring in one room for washing machine/tumble/fridge/iron etc, but this room already has a couple of sockets on an existing ring and it would be helpful to keep these.
Are two separate rings in the same room (same phase, obviously) "allowed" and are there any labelling requirements (apart from in the CU) to distinguish them?
It would be somewhat impractical to rewire the existing ring... :)
Lee
Can't see why you could not spur of the existing sockets, then you could still isolate all the power in the room with a single switch/fuse.
Pete
No it's fine. However, I would recommend mainly extending the existing ring and using the new ring only for heavy fixed appliances, unless the old ring is already heavily loaded, or already covers a substantial floor area. However, the final decision will come down to how the individual appliances are expected to be used. I fully expect to use tumble dryer, washing machine and dishwasher simultaenously. Indeed, it is the normal case, so didn't want to allow much diversity on that circuit. The tumble dryer is even capable of running at 16A on its own, if I can get round to wiring it up safely.
I have three socket circuits in my kitchen. One is a conventional ring final circuit on a 32A RCBO. Another 32A MCB (no RCD) radial powers only integrated appliances (w/m, d/w, t/d) and has concealed sockets individually switched by a grid switch above worktop level. The final circuit is a 16A MCB radial purely and solely used for the fridge-freezer, again switched above worktop level, (although by a 13A FCU rather than a DP switch for some reason known only to myself).
Christian.
snip
Thanks. The main problem is that there is currently no separate ring for the kitchen and at the moment, for various access reasons, it is impractical to adapt the existing kitchen wiring into a separate ring. Hence the normal ring is already quite heavily loaded. Having an additional ring in the "utility" room, which I have easier access to wire, and where the washing machine, tumble, freezer etc are located anyway, will enable me to run these appliances separately and alleviate the loading problem.
Putting these on switch controlled sockets or FCUs off a new ring or radial sounds like a good compromise. :)
Lee
Got you. I assumed that the new ring was for the kitchen, not a utility room. It makes perfect sense to have a separate ring or radial for a utility room.
The existing sockets in the room can either be left, or removed. I prefer to remove sockets in these circumstances for 2 reasons. Firstly, they are rarely in the right place or at an ideal height. Secondly, it reduces the chance of confusion when power is cut to one circuit and not another. I have done this in my kitchen by crimping off a couple of sockets on the existing ring and installing the 3 new socket circuits in there.
I wouldn't install RCD protection on the utility room ring, especially if you aren't running an extra circuit for the freezer. If the room is the closest to the garden door, then you will need to install an RCD socket in the box closest to the door, or an outside socket so protected positioned such that it is unlikely that anyone would use a utility room socket for portable outdoor appliances (which means lawnmowers and hedge trimmers).
Christian.
In this case the existing sockets are in a useful position, hence the desire to keep them and the concern about them being live if the other sockets are turned off. I'll do something with neon equipped switches or FCUs on the new circuit, to limit any confusion :)
Lee
Thinking about it, it would obviously be easier if I just crimped off the cables to the existing sockets and wired them into the new ring.
I should have thought of that to start with! :)
Lee
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