I need to replace a damaged double switched mains socket but anticipate problems if I remove the existing socket. The problem is a lack of free wire behind the socket. I speculate that the socket was originally fitted with a minimal length of free wire and subsequently the wall was tiled and the socket refitted.
I can move the socket approx 2cm from the surface of the wall which is just enough to gain access to the screw terminals however I'm concerned that if I do remove the wires fitting a new socket may be extremely difficult.
Is it permissible to extend the length of wires in the back-box using crimps (using the correct crimp tool)? Or any other suggestions such as soldering and heat-shrink? I'm aware that I will possibly have to use a
2-gang spacer to gain extra space behind the socket and use longer screws.
You can use terminal strip if you want, and it may be easier to join the ring and only extend 1 set of wires to the socket, treating it as a spur.
You may need to find a replacement socket where you can get the screwdriver in from the side to tighten the wires with the socket close to the wall. MK?
If you are confident to solder, then solder plus heat shrink is the way to go. I'm always more comfortable with crimps if there is a decent length of cable so that you can get maximum "squeeze" and don't risk the cable slipping out slightly. Should not need a spacer (unless it is already a shallow box for the replacement socket or wiring placement is particularly unfavourable).
A few years ago I bought a box of 5 MK Logic Plus 2-gang 13A sockets from SF. They're good to wire as the terminals are all easily accessible. At that time they were on SF's site as Logic Plus but now aren't. There seems to be a lot of low reviews re. quality - things like the backed-off captive screws being so tight that they shear or the head splits.
There was a passing mention on here about possibly SF getting 'special' products from manufacturers so as to keep down the price - I wonder...
If its pvc, I'd not solder myself, but have seen crimping and sleeving used in this sort of situation before in my own house. Nothing has shorted or gone bang thus far! Brian
Provided the wires were properly cleaned and are soldered well, a simple "lap joint" will be fine for wires which won't see any movement or vibration. Also easier heat shrink neatly.
Anyone else remember desoldering ex-WD stuff from market stalls in the
60's to recover components? I believe I still have one or two field telephone switches in one of my boxes.
That's the only problem I have with them sometimes. Generally, when access is tight but there is plenty of wire, and space for fittings, then they are my coupling of choice. There is a knack to using the original junction boxes (which I still think look a bit nasty) but once you have cracked it they are actually very quick and efficient.
(I do tend to use the lever ones rather than the push fit).
Job completed, at my mothers' house. As usual with this property, the job didn't take 15 minutes but more like 3 hours.
I purchased a MK double switched socket from Toolstation. All 3 terminals are in line and the screws are tightened from above. The backed off captive screws were very tight and on the first attempt at trying to tighten the first of them I thought it may strip the driver slot in the screw. On examining the fitting, I used a slightly larger width driver to first screw all the terminal screws in by a few turns and then back out again. This freed them up allowing easy fitting the second time of trying. I tend to buy MK sockets as in the past I have purchased cheaper "no-name" shed brands and found them far inferior often with smaller terminal holes for the wires and the terminals in random positions.
The MK terminal arrangement can be seen in an image on the Screwfix site
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There was actualy enough cable behind the socket. What had happened was that all the spare cable had been pushed back through the knockout holes in the back-box. Originally the outer insulation had been split to pull out the inner wires and then most of the excess outer insulation had been cut off. When pushed back through the back-box holes the remnants of the outer insulation acted as a bard and prevented the wire from moving forward again.
Now my problems really started. The screws holding the socket to the back-box were too short and previously the fixing lugs on the back-box had been bent forward so that one or two threads just about mated, probably cross threaded. I had anticipated this after first checking the faulty socket yesterday and I already had longer screws which I brought to the job. Unfortunately on removing the faulty socket, by undoing the wire terminals, I discovered that on one side the fixing lug had sheared off and the other looked rather mangled. A new back-box was required.
The back-box had been installed before the wall was tiled. Luckily the back-box was attached be two screws in the corners and freely moved behind the tiles when the screws were removed.
I live about 15 minutes drive away so a round trip to get a back-box from my box of electrical spares and some more of my tools, the more important being a tile rasp.
On returning I carefully filed down the hole in the tiles to the size of the back-box and removed it. I then fitted a deeper back-box and used some rubber grommets which were missing from the original installation.
5 minutes later the new socket was fitted and a quick check with a plug-in checker for correct wiring and earth loop impedance.
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This is the same house where a quick change of light fitting revealed that the previous owners had removed a ceiling rose and had only loosely twisted the wires together and insulated with Sellotape. In this case the wires were so tight when attempting to get them all back to the small hole in the ceiling that it required cutting and repairing tongue and groove floorboards to gain access from the floor above. Another 15 minute job that took a lot longer!
I thought Wago bought Connexbox, so there would be no reason for them to make them incompatible, the Wago XL boxes only take the 221 connectors, but Connexbox still exists and seems to be independant, so maybe they just did a licencing deal?
I have often wondered what 'trade quality' means. Does it mean high quality for good tradesmen or does it mean manufactured at a lower cost? I think MK has factories elsewhere for local markets, so could it be that 'trade' means import and 'consumer' means UK made?
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