Hello all,
This is my first post, some background first.
I'm not qualified. I am comfortable with logic-level voltage and have worked a summer job wiring control systems under someone with 30 years of experience. I am comfortable I can wire something up neatly and safely (no nicks, no stray strands, no tight corners, proper crimping etc), it's just design I'm concerned about.
English isn't my first language (I do live i the UK, originally Dutch) so forgive me if I use wrong terms.
If you advise me to get an electrician in I will do so, but learning new things and making things yourself is just much more fun. As such your experience is very much appreciated.
On to my actual question:
I'm moving into my first non-rental soon, and am building myself a nice desk used for various things. Rather than the rat's nest living under my desk as it is now I'd like to make something nicer.
The plan is to mount a length of 100x50 trunking on the wall at the back of the desk. Inside the trunking I'm looking to install standard double wall sockets in appropriate twin BS boxes to make connecting and disconnecting various items easier. Things like a laptop, soldering iron, small lab power supply. Nothing too power hungry.
To do this safely my plan is to cable up a plug with 3 core flex cable, route that through a cable gland mounted into the bottom of the trunking to provide strain relief, and then use that to wire up the sockets.
I'd connect the different sockets by crimping two lengths of the cable into one (appropriately sized) crimping sleeve essentially connecting the different sockets in parallel. The one going to the previous socket (or the feed) and the other going to the next. I'd use the same 3 wire cable since I figured the extra layer of insulation is a good thing.
I'm looking to wire up 4-5 double sockets. I wouldn't use them all simultaneously, but for safety's sake I'd assume they will be.
The current plan is to start with a 13A fused plug plugged into the wall outlet. The cable I have is 1.5mm^2 which should be good for a minimum 14A. The sockets are rated 13A.
As such the fuse at the 'beginning' of the circuit should be the first thing to fail should anything downstream go wrong. In theory...
My questions are as follows:
- 13A and 14A are quite close, with there being resistance down the line. Would I be wise getting some 2,5mm^2 whilst still using a 13A fuse in the plug or would that be overkill?
- The sockets I'm looking at are rated at 13A which appears to be standard. This makes the socket potentially the 'weakest link' instead of my fuse. Would it still be considered safe? Is there anything I can/should to the sockets to protect them, perhaps fused sockets (if they exist)?
- Would I need someone to sign this off for legal/insurance purposes or is this something I can do myself according to regulations?
I hope you'll forgive me my long post. Any advice from you as experts is very much appreciated, even is the advice is don't be a muppet and get a professional. Thank you.
Edit: I hope I posted this in the right place. If not, my apologies.
This is my first post, some background first.
I'm not qualified. I am comfortable with logic-level voltage and have worked a summer job wiring control systems under someone with 30 years of experience. I am comfortable I can wire something up neatly and safely (no nicks, no stray strands, no tight corners, proper crimping etc), it's just design I'm concerned about.
English isn't my first language (I do live i the UK, originally Dutch) so forgive me if I use wrong terms.
If you advise me to get an electrician in I will do so, but learning new things and making things yourself is just much more fun. As such your experience is very much appreciated.
On to my actual question:
I'm moving into my first non-rental soon, and am building myself a nice desk used for various things. Rather than the rat's nest living under my desk as it is now I'd like to make something nicer.
The plan is to mount a length of 100x50 trunking on the wall at the back of the desk. Inside the trunking I'm looking to install standard double wall sockets in appropriate twin BS boxes to make connecting and disconnecting various items easier. Things like a laptop, soldering iron, small lab power supply. Nothing too power hungry.
To do this safely my plan is to cable up a plug with 3 core flex cable, route that through a cable gland mounted into the bottom of the trunking to provide strain relief, and then use that to wire up the sockets.
I'd connect the different sockets by crimping two lengths of the cable into one (appropriately sized) crimping sleeve essentially connecting the different sockets in parallel. The one going to the previous socket (or the feed) and the other going to the next. I'd use the same 3 wire cable since I figured the extra layer of insulation is a good thing.
I'm looking to wire up 4-5 double sockets. I wouldn't use them all simultaneously, but for safety's sake I'd assume they will be.
The current plan is to start with a 13A fused plug plugged into the wall outlet. The cable I have is 1.5mm^2 which should be good for a minimum 14A. The sockets are rated 13A.
As such the fuse at the 'beginning' of the circuit should be the first thing to fail should anything downstream go wrong. In theory...
My questions are as follows:
- 13A and 14A are quite close, with there being resistance down the line. Would I be wise getting some 2,5mm^2 whilst still using a 13A fuse in the plug or would that be overkill?
- The sockets I'm looking at are rated at 13A which appears to be standard. This makes the socket potentially the 'weakest link' instead of my fuse. Would it still be considered safe? Is there anything I can/should to the sockets to protect them, perhaps fused sockets (if they exist)?
- Would I need someone to sign this off for legal/insurance purposes or is this something I can do myself according to regulations?
I hope you'll forgive me my long post. Any advice from you as experts is very much appreciated, even is the advice is don't be a muppet and get a professional. Thank you.
Edit: I hope I posted this in the right place. If not, my apologies.
