What could this white faceplate and pipe be?

grumbler

Stop misquoting me.

What I said was "In two words" - this implies that it wasn't an instruction.

For the first two steps I said that anybody can do them.

For the rest I said "Some extra checks can be needed and I'm not saying that the OP has to do this himself - this depends on how 'competent' he is."

dil1976

grumbler said:

Stop misquoting me.

What I said was "In two words" - this implies that it wasn't an instruction.

For the first two steps I said that anybody can do them.

For the rest I said "Some extra checks can be needed and I'm not saying that the OP has to do this himself - this depends on how 'competent' he is."

Well considering the testing require equipment that costs in the region of £500 minimum, unless they own on or can borrow one then the money could be better spent on getting someone in who actually knows what they are doing than listening to ill thought out advice on a internet forum.

grumbler

dil1976 said:

grumbler said:

Stop misquoting me.

What I said was "In two words" - this implies that it wasn't an instruction.

For the first two steps I said that anybody can do them.

For the rest I said "Some extra checks can be needed and I'm not saying that the OP has to do this himself - this depends on how 'competent' he is."

Well considering the testing require equipment that costs in the region of £500 minimum,

You can find it for £5K for yourself and then pass the cost onto your stupid customers incapable of hammering a nail into a wall. I can check live or not with a multimeter for £20.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

TheJackah said:
I hope they are live wires! We have been looking for ages how to easily get a socket on that side of the kitchen. Turns out it may have been there all this time! 

until OP comes back with a photie or update, all is speculation.

silvercar

GDB2222 said:

grumbler said:

GDB2222 said:

grumbler said:

GDB2222 said:

Section62 said:

GDB2222 said:

SergeantBaker said:

diystarter7 said:

Hi
Any of them warm/hot?
Trace them as stated above
The white socket has almost 100% live wires behind it as looks like a blanking plate

Was there a boiler or evidence of one within a few feet of that lot?
Thanks

You've determined that how?

OP beware of this poster, he's giving dangerous advice on another thread about electrics. 

That’s a bit OTT.

Even if it turns out that the poster is wrong, which is unlikely, I disagree that the advice is dangerous. He’s saying that there’s likely to be live electric cables behind that plate. So, that’s safe advice. And, if it turns out that the electric cables are not live, that’s even safer. 

The comment was about the dangerous nature of the advice given on the other thread, not this one.  The caution is valid because the advice given on the other thread is truly dangerous.  The advice of someone who has demonstrated that level of misunderstanding of the principles of electrical safety must be treated with caution.

GDB2222 said:

Clearly, anybody should make their own decisions about whether they can safely remove the cover from live electrics, and I hope the OP will think about that. Personally, I would switch off the electricity at the mains first. 

The underlying issue on this thread is comparable with the issue on the other thread.  I.E. how to determine whether or not it is safe to carry out work on something electrical when you don't have the equipment and training to make that determination safely.

When it comes to electicity, making assumptions is inherently dangerous.  It is a lesson most of us who have worked on electics learned by doing just that, but lived to tell the tale.

By assuming the white box on the wall is a "socket" and assuming there will be "almost 100% live wires"

there are two assumptions that form a mental model of the situation which may not be the reality.  That could lead to making decisions that causes someone to receive an electric shock.

For example, you say "I would switch off the electricity at the mains first".  But what exactly would you switch off?  If you've made the assumption the circuit is for a "socket" it could lead you into the mistaken belief that turning off the ring main circuits only would be enough to de-energise whatever is behind that blanking plate.  What if that assumption is wrong though?  A blanking plate could be used on any kind of circuit. For someone without the correct training and experience, the safe approach would be to isolate the power using the main switch of the consumer unit(s).  But how many people would bother to do that once they have made the assumption they are dealing with a "socket" circuit?

The assumption whatever it is will be "almost 100% live" is dangerous because not all circuits are live all the time.  Rather than it being "even safer" if turns out that the electric cables are not live, it actually creates an additional problem of working out why the cables are not live.  Assuming the cables should be live creates a false sense of safety on the discovery that they aren't.  And if they happen to be on a switched or timed circuit (e.g. lighting or central heating) then testing and finding them dead now doesn't mean they won't be live in a few seconds time.

It is in situations like this that the training and experience of electricians is worth its weight.  There are so many ways that DIYers can get it wrong.

I don’t think that anyone here has advised the op to remove the blanking plate.... I imagine that the op will actually just ask an electrician for help. 

I had. IMO, an electrician isn't needed to have a look at what's inside. And, if needed, any 'competent' person with a decent tester can fix a socket back if it used to be there.

For many people electricians are far too expensive for minor jobs.

The thing is, though, that someone who didn’t recognise what the blanking plate was might be better off getting an electrician in?

 I am all in favour of trying things out, but maybe not in this particular case. 

It's just to screws! Have a look, post a photo if needed, ask questions, make your mind what you want to do with this. Why on earth pay £75-£100 for this?!

Then, depending on the result, on what you want, and if you don't fell yourself competent enough for this job, pay somebody competent - not necessarily an electrician with all his qualifications, certificates and memberships, that are not needed for many basic jobs like replacing a socket.

So, the OP switches off the main switch (hopefully), unscrews the two screws, and finds some wires. Then, what does he or she do?

On the other hand he could find the blocking plate was just used as a cheap way to hide a hole in the wood, with no electrics anywhere near!  He’s just saved a call out fee.

Section62

grumbler said:

Stop misquoting me.

What I said was "In two words" - this implies that it wasn't an instruction.

For the first two steps I said that anybody can do them.

For the rest I said "Some extra checks can be needed and I'm not saying that the OP has to do this himself - this depends on how 'competent' he is."

You haven't been misquoted (by me) - anyone can go back and compare the posts to see that I have quoted you exactly as you posted, albeit with a break in the quote so I could reply to each part separately for clarity.

What you may have been is misunderstood - because I read the text "If it's two 2.5mm wires connected together...[Snip]...this depends on how 'competent' he is." as being instructions on how to install a socket, which the OP (or anyone else) could follow if they wanted to.

Being misunderstood is just part of the ambiguity running through this thread that several of us have commented on.  I read your words as if they were an instruction how to do something.  You apparently meant them as something else.  "Implies" in your post above shows that it wasn't clear that it wasn't an instruction.

As I've already pointed out "Some extra checks can be needed"  is wrong.  Additional checks are always needed before wiring a socket into an existing electrical fitting.

The ambiguity here in this thread is dangerous.  Electricity can kill people. It isn't something to mess with if you don't know what you are doing.  And people who don't know what they are doing shouldn't be advising people to use tools and equipment they don't understand, when the safety of forum members is at risk.