Socket to Hob and Sink - minimum distances please

[Richard]

Presumably there are minimum distances between a mains socket and a (gas) hob or sink?

I'm in the process of finishing the kitchen re-wire that I started last year ;-)

The area between the hob and sink is ideal for locating a kettle. In order to discourage the use of a socket that is too close to the hob and sink by any items with long cables, could I fit what I call a Euro socket thus restricting it's use to devices bearing a Euro plug? I could drastically shorten the kettle lead and fit a Euro plug.

If that is not acceptable could I fit a switched fused cable outlet and wire my kettle base direct into that?

I am talking about kettles that sit on a base, not those with a cable attached to the jug.

Perhaps Euro socket is better described as IEC socket? They're the plugs and sockets on PCs and Hi Fi

TIA

Richard

[Stefek Zaba]

Whenever this comes up, the consensus seems to be that there's no stated minimum: just the general requirement not to do things which are silly and obviously hazardous - and that wiring accessories (sockets etc) should be 'suitable' for the situation they're installed in. So mounting a 'normal' 13A socket where it's likely to be splashed (right behind the taps) or likely to give you cables trailed across a hot surface (on the wall next to the cooker, first bit of worktop on the other side of the cooker) is a no-no. But other than that, "be sensible" is the right principle.

There are non-standard plugs and sockets you could source - RS (rswww.com) for example supply a 13A socket and plug with the earth pin rotated through 90 degrees; that has the advantage of retaining the fuse-in-plug idea which UK appliances and the flexes supplying them are designed for. Your FCU+kettle-base idea is also OK, especially if so mounted that it's not possible for the kettle base to be knocked into the water-filled sink. The IEC connector is less ideal - the 'normal' IEC320 is rated for 10A? (from memory), making it inappropriate for some heftier-draw kettles. There's a 16A-rated variant (also in the RS cat), or there's the 20A Powercon ones derived from the Speakon style of speaker connector (246-8313 + 236-8284 would be the right pair from the RS range, but you'd have to then tool around mounting the chassis socket in a blanking plate + deep box, and provide for fusing it down with a

13A FCU or ideological equivalent...)

HTH - Stefek

[Richard]

Thanks Stefak, very helpful.

I worked on a govt site for some years where the 'clean' computer supply was identified by, IIRC, a circular earth pin with a flat on one side.

I was hoping that 'be sensible' was the approach but feared that there would be stringent regulations to deal with those of little sense. I suspect that the FCU+kettle-base solution, provided it can be sold to SWMBO, is best - not least of all because I can obtain a suitable fitting in the same black nickel as the other fittings. My preference would be for a standard 13A outlet but I fear that, to be equidistant from both hazards, it would have to be located under a window sill which would mean very little distance below the socket to the work surface, thus introducing the problem of kinking the flex as it enters the plugtop. The only solution to that would be to mount a single 13A outlet rotated through 90 deg!

Rgds Richard