Earth wire - where does it go in a plastic socket box?

All the surface boxes I have ever used have a "dumb" terminal for the earth lead to be screwed into. All the flavours of box on TLC seem to be so endowed....

On 9 May 2004 12:43:49 -0700, in uk.d-i-y snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Lobster) strung together this:

Erm, are you sure you should be wiring things up? In a socket the earth wire should always be connected to the earth terminal. In a light switch you should connect the earth wire to, nothing. A connector or somesuch will do. You should never just cut off earth cables at the outer sheath.

Unless it's a metal faceplate perhaps??

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

I assume this is the new B&Q plasterboard boxes. Right pain. But it is ok to cut off the earth cable if the end is then shrouded with heat-shrink tubing. This is done internally on many products where the earth is not needed for example. Not sure how legal it is with sticky tape though. I actually think using a single piece of floating choccy-block wrapped in tape is worse.

On Sun, 9 May 2004 21:54:10 +0100, in uk.d-i-y "G&M" strung together this:

I usually just use an overly long peice of sleeving over the earth wire then double it over. Works a treat.

Re the choccy-block, why do you say that, is it the choccy-block you object to, the fact it is floating around or both ?

"Coherers" wrote in news:z5wnc.6857$ snipped-for-privacy@news-text.cableinet.net:

I thought so, too - land the earth there and extend if and when required

mike

The floating around. When you squeeze the whole lot shut (have switches got bigger or the wall boxes smaller :-) you don't really know where it is going to end up.

On Sun, 9 May 2004 21:36:23 +0000 (UTC), in uk.d-i-y mike ring strung together this:

No, the earth wires should be terminated on the earth terminal on the accessory, then a flying lead to the box, if you want to earth the box.

Mind, I don't know about dry-wall boxes ( which on reflection I think is what OP has a problem with) as I **hate** them. They should be the same, but who knows...

Still can't understand the problem here. If wiring up a socket it has 3 pins yes? Live Neutral and Earth. You have 3 conductors yes? Live, Neutral and Earth. So my suggestion which I think Andy was trying to make earlier is why don't you connect the Live to the Live, the Neutral to the Neutral and the Earth to the Earth and stop worrying about the box since it's plastic and the only thing you aren't doing which you would do an a metal box is adding an additional earth lead running between the earth on the faceplate and the earth on the back box. It sounds like (and I do hope I'm wrong!) that what you appear to be suggesting is that you are going to connect up live and neutral but not earth the earthpin on the faceplate, in which case DONT.

You just shouldn't have any need to have a spare wire and so no worries about what to do with it.

If the situation is different to my understanding can you make it clearer.

heat-shrink

On a lighting circuit there may be no immediate need for the earth at a switch if using a plastic switch. But later this may be changed to a metal type which does need an earth. So a terminal to 'park' the earth wire makes sense to me. Yet another reason to avoid dry line boxes - nasty things.

OP's problem is with **light** switches in plastic dry-wall boxes, there being no earth terminal on the switch itself . Sockets are fine. Why they don't have a dumb connector like surface mounting boxes is beyond me. Anyone know ???. I feel an email to MK coming on.....

MK have the earth terminal as a seperate item, part number 3715. Whether anybody actually stocks it could be a different matter.

Yet another reason to avoid dry line boxes - nasty

But I love to see chrome sockets and switches raised a few mm from a newly plastered and painted wall with the edge of the box showing. And no adjustable lug to boot. You just have to hate them.

I was asked by my NIC inspector to sleeve the lighting cable earth and use a piece of strip connector on the end in dry line boxes. I am not sure if it required, but he signs the certificate and it leaves the cable ready for a metal faceplate.

Adam

You are supposed to plaster the box in as well so that it's flush. And some do have adjustable lugs - don't buy the cheapest.

Not very easy when the second fix is usually done after the plasterers have been

And some

Never seen them. Where do I get them from, I want some.

Adam

Then get the project manager to make it part of the first fix or carve out extra plaster and re-skim. What would you do with metal socket boxes ?

Got a gross of the ones I use a few years ago at Newey and Eyre I think. Haven't got their latest catalogue to hand to find out if they are still there.

snipped-for-privacy@tiscali.co.uk (Lurch) wrote in news:409ea730.255266904@

One thing about posting c**p on usenet - you soon find out

mike