Electric Socket Points

leeegglestone

I was helping a friend move house last week and he connected his cooker back up from two wire ends,using connector blocks, i was surprised when it worked and he actually knew what he was doing.

Anyway, I am possibly going to put a Freezer in a Big Cupboard in my House, there are no electrical points in there.

I was wondering, how easy is it to to install one yourself with no electrical or DIY experience?

Otherwise how much would it cost for one to be created.

Avoriaz

Basic electric wiring is quite easy and simple if you know what you are doing though it can be a death sentence if you don’t know what you are doing and make a mistake.

Is there a power point close to the cupboard? You could simply remove the plug from the freezer, drill a small hole in the cupboard, feed the flex through and reattach the plug and plug it into the socket. You should protect the flex where it passes through the cupboard to prevent chaffing. A rubber grommet or similar would work.

You would usually install a power point in a cupboard by running a spur from the nearest power point but as every situation is different you really need someone qualified to have a look. You need to be certain that an extra outlet does not overload the existing circuit and there are other considerations as well.

There are recent new regulations restricting what electric DIY work is permissible. I don’t know the details so you need to google them or speak to someone knowledgeable.

My advice is to employ a good electrician or a friend whom you are certain is competent to do the job properly. If there is a nearby power point it is a simple and quick job to run a spur so it should not be very expensive. If the nearest power is a long way away, or you need to go all the way back to the consumer unit, it will be more expensive.

leeegglestone

There are some Sockets outside the Cupboard so i guess a feed from there could be taken, & the wire taken up the wall, across the ceiling and into the cupboard where the New Socket would be put.

Regulations are there for a reason. I just dont like bothering people with stuff and having to arrange for ppl 2come out to look and quote and then another day off for them to do it if its a 10minute job lol.

roger56

leeegglestone wrote:

I was helping a friend move house last week and he connected his cooker back up from two wire ends,using connector blocks, i was surprised when it worked and he actually knew what he was doing.

Two wire ends? Ouch, you must have at least three, one is the earth which ensures your safety. For a cooker, this is absolutely vital.

You should also be aware that "doing it yourself" can now be a criminal offence and will certainly invalidate your house insurances. Read here about Part P of the building regulations, and be aware!:
http://www.niceic.org.uk/partp/partphouse.html

This pocket guide is also very informative:
http://www.niceic.org.uk/downloads/Pocket%20Guide%208.pdf

leeegglestone

Yeah he did have 3 wires on each end of the Cable, which is what I meant :-)

Looks like I will get someone in to do it,unless I remove some wooden cupboards in the kitchen and slot a Fridge Freezer in there.

roger56

leeegglestone wrote:

Yeah he did have 3 wires on each end of the Cable, which is what I meant :-)

Looks like I will get someone in to do it,unless I remove some wooden cupboards in the kitchen and slot a Fridge Freezer in there.

Good!

I'd also recommend a 4mm2 supplimentary earth bond between the
cooker metal casing and nearest water pipe to the cooker.

This link shows a similar example of what I mean - see bottom of web-page.
It also explains why it is done (your safety again).
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Book/5.4.3.htm

shandypants5

House wiring is one of those.. you know what you are dealing with OR you dont know what you are dealing with things.

It should be a simple job to do but please DONT do it yourself if you are unsure.... (allso the new regs wont allow you to).... Death and or Fire are easy to cause.

Have you considered ventilation of the cupboard?
If you put a freezer inside a cupboard, it will cause heat to build up.
So its like having your freezer inside an oven... not very effective and it will use more electricity..

roger56

shandypants5 wrote:

House wiring is one of those.. you know what you are dealing with OR you dont know what you are dealing with things.

It should be a simple job to do but please DONT do it yourself if you are unsure.... (allso the new regs wont allow you to).... Death and or Fire are easy to cause.

I absolutely agree...

leeegglestone

shandypants5 wrote:

House wiring is one of those.. you know what you are dealing with OR you dont know what you are dealing with things.

It should be a simple job to do but please DONT do it yourself if you are unsure.... (allso the new regs wont allow you to).... Death and or Fire are easy to cause.

Have you considered ventilation of the cupboard?
If you put a freezer inside a cupboard, it will cause heat to build up.
So its like having your freezer inside an oven... not very effective and it will use more electricity..

the cupboard is ice cold. its on an outside wall and does seem to have a vent

Avoriaz

leeegglestone wrote:

the cupboard is ice cold. its on an outside wall and does seem to have a vent

If it is ice cold, why do you need a freezer?:p

shandypants5

leeegglestone wrote:

the cupboard is ice cold. its on an outside wall and does seem to have a vent

should be all ok then....But.
A few years ago I saw a report on tv about freezers not working correctly in cold garages.

The pipes on the back of the freezer get rid of the heat by evaporating the liquid inside them.
If its too hot the heat cant get away.
if its too cold the liquid wont evaporate properly. This causes problems with the pump, causing a breakdown.

freezers are designed to run in a normal room temperature.
I am not a freezer expert,:rolleyes: I just watch a lot of TV:o

Im sure it will be ok though.
But if you do have any problems let us know, so I can say
"I told you so".......:rotfl:
Joking...

it should be fine unless the cupboard is like the arctic.