OT: Any ideas??

In my kitchen I have two single sockets below the worktop for a washing machine and dishwasher (or fridge and freezer). Above the worktop are two switced fused spurs which 'isolate' these two sockets, my question is why? The house is a modern build (1992) and these were done by the builders as my

3 neighbours houses have the same thing. I cannot see that it is to isolate the sockets for removal of said appliances as you would unplug them when moving them. Anybody got a clue as I haven't?

TIA

John

Reply to
John
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It may, under some circumstances, be possible to carry out maintenance work on the appliances in situ - so that you couldn't get at the plugs but may still need to isolate them from the mains.

Reply to
Set Square

In article , John writes

Hi John, just a thought, and not based on anything in particular, but I would imagine that they are there to quickly isolate the equipment in the event of a fault developing. If my washing machine decided to go up in smoke I wouldn't want to have to pull it from under the work surface to turn it off. OK I could go to the CU but that would take longer than operating the switch above it. As I say just a thought I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will come along with a better answer.

Reply to
-

The switches are used to power down the sockets in case a fault occurs and you get electrocuted if you touch the appliance casings when trying to move them out. They also tell you the appliance is powered up correctly if the machine doesn't switch on when it should. There are a lot more reasons why it is handy to have remotely switched hidden sockets, and I won't bore you with any more just now.

Reply to
BigWallop

Some people like to be able to turn the things off.... It might also be handy any time you need to stop an appliance in an emergency and are not going to be able to pull the thing forward to unplug it. Imaging for example that your tumble driver suddenly started emitting smoke and/or flames!

Reply to
John Rumm

Since this implies an earth coming off, is it a good idea to introduce more connections on the ring main if you think this a likely scenario?

Reply to
Dave Plowman

I think you will probably find it is a requirement

Something along the lines of a local *Accessible* form of isolation

Sparks...

Reply to
Sparks

According to the dishwasher instructions (yes folks, I actually *read the manual*. Horrors!) they recommend unplugging the bloody thing all the time it's not in use?! I'm pretty sure the washer destructions said that too.

-- cheers,

witchy/binarydinosaurs

Reply to
Witchy

I'd agree the socket should be accessible.

Reply to
Dave Plowman

I've seen that on a clock radio instructions.

Reply to
Dave Plowman

Lets say a 97 year old granny has your house. Next thing she knows there is smoke coming out of the dishwasher / washing machine / fridge / freezer. So she grabs hold of the impending fireball, pulls it out crawls in behind and turns it off.

Or just turns off the fused spur

She could climb up the step ladder in the garage, with her car in it, and turn off the mains switch. But she wouldn't want to have to reset the clock on the bedside alarm, cooker, video and microwave. Then have no electricity for 4 days until an engineer came out and fixed the appliance. Presuming of course she was to frail to pull a washing machine full of water out from under the worktop

One possibility as to why they fit them

David

Reply to
David

Why does everyone insist the only alternative to an FCU etc is a socket

*behind* the appliance, requiring it to be removed for access?

That's of course assuming she knows what it's for. Rather unlikely. She'll be used to unplugging things, though.

You are, of course, assuming the switch on the washing machine itself has failed *as well*. Unlikely, IMHO.

Reply to
Dave Plowman

My dishwasher bay has an isolating switch above the worktop. Recently a "repair" I did to the dishwasher became undone, sprinking small amounts of water around the guts of the machine. The ring circuit RCD didn't like this and promptly tripped out (fair dues).

So all I did for the short term was to turn off the isolator switch then reset the RCD and the rest of the house became happy again (all apart from the eldest who told me in no uncertain terms how far he had got in the computer game before the power went off :-)

Now imagine the same scenario without the isolator: try and haul out a dishwasher full of crockery and cutlery and water so that you can get to the socket at the back of it...

So, in my books an isolator is pretty damn useful for such appliances.

Mungo

Reply to
Mungo Henning

In message , Dave Plowman writes

Ehh? surely the point here is there the FCU was there because the socket was behind the machine - an alternative would have been to have the socket elsewhere and accessible (such as a cupboard) surely.

I have had the machines plugged into sockets inside a cupboard, personally I prefer the above the worktop technique.

I find it useful to have a remote switch on the dishwasher socket as I can turn it off so my little daughter then loses interest in pressing the buttons on the front when the lights don't come on.

Reply to
chris French

Heh - 'remember to unplug the clock before you leave the house'

-- cheers,

witchy/binarydinosaurs

Reply to
Witchy

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