electric socket under sink

sparky883

As an electrician i would not do it,But as far as regs go its OK as long as there is RCD protection on the circuit which there is.
We all follow Regs but sometimes common sense must prevale,Whats the point of putting a socket there and then relying on the RCD to stop accidents.
kitchen Fitters always do this and the so called electrician has probly only got "part p" defined scope qualifications for electrics which is all that is needed for kitchen fitters i bet your regular spark would put the socket in a better place using his noggin.

vivatifosi

Yikes, I'm not an electrician, so please forgive my lack of techie knowledge on that. However, I have a socket low down in my cupboard like that. When my sink leaked on it I lost power to the whole house (feet on floor in water, wrists in washing up water in metal sink very scary).

Having subsequently taken advice, I like the NICEIC guidelines on this, which I've copied and pasted from my surveyor's letter:

BS 7671 does not specify any minimum distance for socket-outlets to be from a sink.

Regulation 512-06-01 requires due account to be taken of all external influences. The Regulation requires all equipment to be of a design appropriate to the situation in which it is to be used or its mode of installation is to take account of the conditions likely to be encountered.

Accessories used in domestic installations are not designed to be splashed and therefore not suitable for installation close to a sink or draining board. The NICEIC recommends that socket-outlets and other accessories should be located at least 300 mm, measured horizontally, from a sink or draining board, where they are unlikely to be splashed.

Where circumstances require a BS 1363 socket-outlet or other accessory to be installed in a wet location, a splash-proof accessory or an accessory having protection to IPX4 should be considered. However, in a domestic kitchen, the industrial appearance of a splash-proof socket-outlet is likely to be unacceptable and a standard socket-outlet located a safe distance away is usually the preferred solution

andrew-b

Our kitchen fitters (who subcontracted a part p registered electrician for the electrics) put a socket for the tumble drier in almost exactly the same place as the first pic. I shared the same concerns but when i looked into the regs surprisingly it's not disallowed (not common sense though!). We did actually have a series of slight leaks from the tap connections above (amongst other leaks and problems) with the water dripping down actually onto the socket but the leaks didn't trip the electrics - though we weren't using the socket at the time.

My advice is to check the plumbing thoroughly for leaks before connecting anything to the socket (use a dry tissue to test joints for leaks rather than a finger - much easier to tell if there is a slight leak). I also check for leaks a couple of times a year just to double check - though that's probably a good idea anyway regardless of socket position!

If you do get it repositioned it will leave a hole in the back of your unit.

Stewie

BS 7671 does not specify any minimum distance for socket-outlets to be from a sink.

No, but building regs do. Sockets above the counter need to be a minimum of 250mm from the edge of a sink or cooker. Where 7671 does apply is in accessibility. It's necessary to be able to isolate an appliance in the event of a fault. IE, placing a cooker switch over the cooker itself would mean you need to lean over a burning chip pan to turn it off. Hence the distance between the edge of the appliance / sink and the socket.

In the case of appliances, it's usual practice to put an isolator above the counter, and the unswitched single socket for that appliance behind the appliance itself. You could argue this several ways, but ultimately the socket is more accessible for isolation under the sink than behind the appliance IF there is no above counter isolator. You wouldn't want to have to move the washing machine to turn it off in the event of a fault, and that seems to be the gist of their argument.

Agreed, it's not ideal but I don't know if you can get it changed free of charge.

Qualified electrician. C+G 2360 and 2391 test and inspection.

andrew-b

Year old thread..