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Refurbing my youngests room. There is a socket blanked off on one wall which would be useful to reinstate. Opened it up and it’s live, but terminated into a block, and it looks really old, not copper looks like twisted steel. I’ve had the boards up and as far as I can the socket must be feed through the cavity. I had planned to disconnect it and use the more modern wiring from a nearby socket.
not sure what to do now, no easy way to disconnect, presume that’s why it was left by the last spark.
options seem to be leave it as is, reinstate socket with new wiring but leave old wires in outlet as is, or start knocking big holes in the walls to try and find where the bloody wire is connected.
should say I’ve got a recent consumer unit and it’s all been tested
sometimes it’s just better not to look isn’t it
im also trying to move a downstairs switch and that’s 2 way and that seems to be like trying to track a needle in a haystack, wires everywhere.
and turns out their used to be a sink in there, so I’ve ga good few metres of dead piping which I’m guessing is still connected so needs to come out too….
if it helps identifying ive pulled out some of the disconnected stuff, its says henly on it, and the earth is unsheathed, three twisted strands. looks like ally so im guessing its 50s.
so whats the danger on having some old live wires terminated in an outlet. so not actually being used to power anything, just sitting in back of the box?
so whats the danger on having some old live wires terminated in an outlet. so not actually being used to power anything, just sitting in back of the box?
Not a lot if the live bits are properly covered / terminated and a cover is screwed on. Much better to get rid of it tho. turning mcbs of one at a time should tell you what circuit its on. Can you see any old wiring in the consumer unit?
It would bug me tho and I would have to find it and disconnect properly
no old wires going to the consumer unit that i can see. its a weird one for sure as i was not expecting to find any wiring of that age still live in the house. I guess it drops down the cavity as its above the consumer unit. im going to have to put a hole right though the hallway wall to try and find it. if its in the cavity i wont be able to trace it.
the outlet has been blanked off and was in the back of a built in cupboard ive just removed. i reckon its probably been like it since the last rewire, which i think was 80s some time. its currently terminated into a choc block. though its two wires so im wondering if its part of a loop. or maybe by little fluke pen is giving a false reading
not sure about faffing with it, the stuff ive pulled out is really brittle. i could disconnect the choc block and seperate them to see if it breaks the upstairs loop
seemed a simple job to start with !
Could be spurred of something else?
possibly, but im a bit flummoxed as there are no wires beneath the boards (this is in an ypstairs bedroom). its also on an external wall so the only way the cables can come in is through the cavity. i think. it wouldnt surprise me as ive found old wall light wires, still live that had been wallpapered over
You're saying there's two cables, it's live, so likely part of a ring? With such old, brittle wiring I'd be getting somewhat worried at that point.
Find which breaker it's on, switch off (everything to be safe), disconnect your two cables from each other and see if you've still got continuity between the ends (i.e. live to live), i.e it is part of an active ring. Not definitive of course, could also be a dodgy double spur, or the ring may be broken anyway (a surprisingly common occurrence!).
Old stuff like that used to be called, from memory, 7/5 for sockets and 5/3 for lights. The numbers correspond with the amount of strands in each core and is aluminium I think. I wouldn’t connect anything on to it. Was the cupboard removed an old tank cupboard? As it could of been for the immersion heater. If it does form part of the ring main look to getting to removed and replaced properly as it’ll have a lower current carrying capacity than the fuse.
yes thinking that maybe the best approach, test to see if seperating them out of the choc box breaks the upstairs ring.
i could possibly get into the cavity below by getting a bit destructive with the hall window, looks like i could remove some of the cladding and take a peak inside to see where those wires go.
why dont sparkies pull out the old wire when they disconnect and tidy up after themselves? ive got a least 3 rewires worth of wires bloody everywhere
cant rule out an immersion, but i wouldnt have thought so as its a front bedroom and a way from the bathroom. its a mystery to be sure.
cant mess with turning elecs off till the afternoon tomorrow so going to have to wait.
the socket is going to be behind my sons cabin bed so i think i will probably end up leaving it blanked and fitting a new outlet next to it joined to the modern wiring.
i reallu dont fancy messing about with it to much. i think at least 2 rewires have ignored it, so must be on the too hard to sort list of jobs
It's a worry that even after 1 or more rewires, it's still connected somewhere! If the insulation is getting crumbly, certainly make all effort to investigate.
yes its causing worry maybe its been left as it was in the back of a cupboard so not picked up.
its directly above the consumer unit / stairs so i would havd thought it would be the first socket on the upstairs ring, but like i said i can see 2 wires going into the back box and from the cavity which are terminated in a choc box, the sort of thing you do if you dont want to break a ring. the other socket in thr room seems to be wired from elsewhere on more modern wiring, copper red black and the earth has been sleeved with yellow / green which dates it relatively modern comparativley
i could disconnect the choc block and seperate them to see if it breaks the upstairs loop
Testing involves messing about safely in the consumer unit and relies on you finding and testing every connection on the ring. You'll also damage the already brittle insulation.
It needs to go and it may be that because there's one hidden bodge you should expect another. Get someone to have a look
That's exactly where I'd be looking for an immersion heater, our old system had the tank in a bedroom cupboard. You also assume a qualified spark was responsible rather than a DIYer who thinks they know what they're doing (live cables behind wallpaper are a red flag that a bodger has been resident at some point).
Just trip each breaker in turn and see what it's powered off of, that tells you where to look for the spur. And you don't need to get destructive, you just need to disconnect the ends (assuming it's actually connected to something).
What are you testing with though? You don't sound sure what it's telling you.
well ive decided to leave it in situ until next time i have a proper spark in i dont want to bugger about with it and damage the insulation. ive just cut a back box close to it and wired it from the other socket. have to have the job finished by this evening so boy2 can have his room back
it all passed the safety checks when i had the cu replaced a few years back. i reckon its a redundant spur, maybe for an old immersion.
i reno the hall below i,ll knock a hole in the window surround so i can get a look into the cavity to try and trace it
quick job turns into a days faffing
Why rip the house to bits when you can easily do it non-destructively?
Seriously, breaker at a time to find the circuit then socket at a time to find the spur. An hours work tops and gives you peace of mind.
i know the circuit but cannot find the socket. least its not any close by.
im on the clock a bit as i can only have the carpets and boards up for a small amount of time as kids about so i focused on getting the new socket in
i dont think its spurred inside an outlet. i reckon its off a line somewhere inaccessible. ive found several like it so far. junction box under boards. slowly removing the horrors room by room. It can only be in two rooms below as ive checked all thr upstairs ones.
the lighting circuits are like spaghetti.
Oh. Might still be worth a look in the sockets anyway but that sounds like a proper bodger lived there. Might be related to my ex-occupant, found our old extension* was an entire spur connected by a terminal block under the floor.
*also built by good old George. Not tied to the house, no foundations to speak of (so was peeling off the house) and the inner blockwork was literally falling apart when I removed the plasterboard. Took 4 guys with club hammers and crowbars an hour to demolish it and that was only because they needed to move the rubble as they went.