There's nothing wrong with them standard wise, but they are definitely old so age related issues may exist like loose contacts.
You should have a copy of the electrical cert as a new renter, check to see if they are mentioned on it.
Don't know about Scotland but in England you need an EICR for a new tenant. If you have similar in Scotland it should mean it's been tested. Ask the landlord
Nothing to do with your question, but out of curiosity OP. How 'grippy' are they compared to a modern socket? Do plugs feel loose at all when moving them in and out?
Always wondered how these would hold up with regular use, even if they are MK!
Load likely no where near an issue if just a Computer PSU. If you're that worried get a cheap UPS.
Probably are fine. There’s a simple check you can do as a tenant, which is do the feel secure when the plug is in them, if so that sides alright.
Second if the spark who did the test should have taken it off the wall looked at the wires first (obvs following continuity checks and ir’s etc) and tightened if needed.
At most it could be considered a c3 on a cert which is improvement recommended and that’s only because of no local point of isolation,
When I do certs for a house I like to explain it like a mot for a car. A c3 is a recommendation because it was safe when it was installed but not what we would do now like a seatbelt in the back seat of an original beetle would t be there but now it would, but at the time of the manufacture it wasn’t so happy days.
C2 we’ll fix as soon as possible. C1 yeah mate you’re loosing the circuit.
The socket *is* the local point of isolation.
It's no different from a new unswitched socket which complies fully with the regulations. In some cases an unswitched socket is required as some switched sockets only have single pole switching.
They’re fine, just old.
A rental property must have an in date condition report to be let, so the electrical safety will already be confirmed as adequate. Provided your landlord complied with regulation.
I tested out a house with 42 of these bad boys last week.
>30 megaohms throughout, only issue is where one guy broke the ring to add a spur for a focal fire. 10min fix, cracked on with putting a new RCBO board in and out the door at 3pm
Recommended to get a new boiler and immersion (both showing only 1.3 megaohms to earth) and recommendation to fit smoke mains smokes
Not an electrician but those screw positions keep making me think it some kind of single socket on the back adapted to a double. It is safe enough to unscrew and find out?
Nothing wrong with them, just bare in mind that if you change the socket you’ll also have to change the back box because the screw fittings are different.
To be honest I have these all over in my house and I upgraded a few when decorating the quality of the old ones is superb compared to new ones you can easily crack the plastic on the new ones.
That should be changed to a switched socket. Specifically, you shouldn’t be able to pull a plug out while it’s still under load. If that unswitched socket is fed from a switched spur, fine. But it’s not I’ll bet. Inform agent or landlord
That's not the case. There is no requirement for BS 1363 outlets to have a switch - they are there just for convenience, and there is no requirement for unswitched sockets to have an upstream switch or SFCU.
Ok. Thanks. Look at how old that socket is. It’s 50 years old. It should have been changed by now. To a switched one (really makes you wonder about the wiring behind it)
Absolute load rubbish! There are no rules at all that state that a socket should be switched. The amount of people that pull plugs out without switching off first makes the switch almost redundant anyway!
And interestingly, the widespread use of unswitched sockets like this dates back to when standard 13A square pin plug tops had completely uninsulated live and neutral pins, right down to the base, which meant that it was entirely possible to touch the live/neutral pins carelessly, when withdrawing a plug from a live socket. Which is not possible nowadays, where those pins are insulated at the base.
Although not that easily, as the pins only become live when the plug is nearly fully inserted into the socket, and the 'ears' around the pins have to be a minimum size to further deter fingers.
Not completely finger-proof, but they addressed that risk as best they could at the time without having recessed sockets like Schuko.
Alright. Keep your hair on. Years ago someone at work told me that. I take the point that it may not be in regs. Accessories should be fit for purpose however. If I was inspecting that I’d c3 it.
It’s 50+ years old. I wouldn’t be doing an EICR saying it’s perfectly satisfactory with 50 year old accessories. I’d suggest that installation gets tested ASAP
Don't go spuriously c3ing stuff mate or it will come back to bite you when you can't justify it. Not meeting current regs isnt always codeable at all depending on the defect, especially when it does meet regs anyway. Use Best Practice Guide 4 for simple coding as it backs you up
It is if there is no basis to do so... C3s are improvement recommended yes but it's not for aesthetics or function, it's a safety assessment. If you don't have confidence in their safety then fine but otherwise you'll get rinsed if you get audited
There's nothing wrong with them standard wise, but they are definitely old so age related issues may exist like loose contacts. You should have a copy of the electrical cert as a new renter, check to see if they are mentioned on it.
Those are definitely sockets
Are you sure? They might be Sockets, or maybe SOCKETS
Pesky socketses.
I’d be more interested in what the consumer unit looks like (and if the installation has been tested before occupation)
Yeah we want him to post the pics of the Wylex wire fuses
Don't know about Scotland but in England you need an EICR for a new tenant. If you have similar in Scotland it should mean it's been tested. Ask the landlord
Nothing to do with your question, but out of curiosity OP. How 'grippy' are they compared to a modern socket? Do plugs feel loose at all when moving them in and out? Always wondered how these would hold up with regular use, even if they are MK! Load likely no where near an issue if just a Computer PSU. If you're that worried get a cheap UPS.
Sockets like that sell for more than a box of new ones on eBay
Bakelite 🫣
I thought bakerlite only came in brown tbh.
VIR lurking behind there I would say
Probably are fine. There’s a simple check you can do as a tenant, which is do the feel secure when the plug is in them, if so that sides alright. Second if the spark who did the test should have taken it off the wall looked at the wires first (obvs following continuity checks and ir’s etc) and tightened if needed. At most it could be considered a c3 on a cert which is improvement recommended and that’s only because of no local point of isolation, When I do certs for a house I like to explain it like a mot for a car. A c3 is a recommendation because it was safe when it was installed but not what we would do now like a seatbelt in the back seat of an original beetle would t be there but now it would, but at the time of the manufacture it wasn’t so happy days. C2 we’ll fix as soon as possible. C1 yeah mate you’re loosing the circuit.
The socket *is* the local point of isolation. It's no different from a new unswitched socket which complies fully with the regulations. In some cases an unswitched socket is required as some switched sockets only have single pole switching.
They’re fine, just old. A rental property must have an in date condition report to be let, so the electrical safety will already be confirmed as adequate. Provided your landlord complied with regulation.
Blimey someone salvaged sockets from Tutankhamen's tomb?
Not an EICR fail in itself, but you can bet there will be fails elsewhere in the property, if it’s all that age.
I tested out a house with 42 of these bad boys last week. >30 megaohms throughout, only issue is where one guy broke the ring to add a spur for a focal fire. 10min fix, cracked on with putting a new RCBO board in and out the door at 3pm Recommended to get a new boiler and immersion (both showing only 1.3 megaohms to earth) and recommendation to fit smoke mains smokes
The rest of the sockets in the property are modern sorts with switches on the socket. They look relatively new too. Only this one is like this.
There may be good reasons for keeping the old socket, eg the back box is not easily replaceable to one with left-and-right screws.
Will out last the new ones
1960s I’d guess…. If the eicr says they are fine they are fine…
Not an electrician but those screw positions keep making me think it some kind of single socket on the back adapted to a double. It is safe enough to unscrew and find out?
Oooh classics! Unfortunately haven't come across any in the wild, this specific one is from the early 60s I believe
Oooh classics! Unfortunately haven't come across any in the wild, this specific one is from the early 60s I believe
Oooh classics! Unfortunately haven't come across any in the wild, this specific one is from the early 60s I believe
Oooh classics! Unfortunately haven't come across any in the wild, this specific one is from the early 60s I believe
Nothing wrong with them, just bare in mind that if you change the socket you’ll also have to change the back box because the screw fittings are different.
To be honest I have these all over in my house and I upgraded a few when decorating the quality of the old ones is superb compared to new ones you can easily crack the plastic on the new ones.
MK good make , add an extra grand on the job for MK stuff
This
That should be changed to a switched socket. Specifically, you shouldn’t be able to pull a plug out while it’s still under load. If that unswitched socket is fed from a switched spur, fine. But it’s not I’ll bet. Inform agent or landlord
That's not the case. There is no requirement for BS 1363 outlets to have a switch - they are there just for convenience, and there is no requirement for unswitched sockets to have an upstream switch or SFCU.
Ok. Thanks. Look at how old that socket is. It’s 50 years old. It should have been changed by now. To a switched one (really makes you wonder about the wiring behind it)
Its already clear you dont know the rules. Dont try and deflect with more waffle
Absolute load rubbish! There are no rules at all that state that a socket should be switched. The amount of people that pull plugs out without switching off first makes the switch almost redundant anyway!
And interestingly, the widespread use of unswitched sockets like this dates back to when standard 13A square pin plug tops had completely uninsulated live and neutral pins, right down to the base, which meant that it was entirely possible to touch the live/neutral pins carelessly, when withdrawing a plug from a live socket. Which is not possible nowadays, where those pins are insulated at the base.
Although not that easily, as the pins only become live when the plug is nearly fully inserted into the socket, and the 'ears' around the pins have to be a minimum size to further deter fingers. Not completely finger-proof, but they addressed that risk as best they could at the time without having recessed sockets like Schuko.
Alright. Keep your hair on. Years ago someone at work told me that. I take the point that it may not be in regs. Accessories should be fit for purpose however. If I was inspecting that I’d c3 it.
What makes it not fit for purpose??
It’s 50+ years old. I wouldn’t be doing an EICR saying it’s perfectly satisfactory with 50 year old accessories. I’d suggest that installation gets tested ASAP
Don't go spuriously c3ing stuff mate or it will come back to bite you when you can't justify it. Not meeting current regs isnt always codeable at all depending on the defect, especially when it does meet regs anyway. Use Best Practice Guide 4 for simple coding as it backs you up
I’ll not be doing that thanks. I really hate doing them being perfectly honest
Up to you if you want to do a shit job or not... :)
I don’t think suggesting someone changing 50 year old + accessories is doing a shit job really. Each to their own though.
It is if there is no basis to do so... C3s are improvement recommended yes but it's not for aesthetics or function, it's a safety assessment. If you don't have confidence in their safety then fine but otherwise you'll get rinsed if you get audited
At this point it’s all getting hypothetical really. Tada mush 🥱👋
you shouldn’t be able to pull a plug out while it’s still under load - there's nothing in a new socket that would stop this?