Power socket behind kitchen sink unit?

[joidevie]

Hi.. A quick check with anyone who is savvy.. Tomorrow we glue in some blocs for our kitchen worktops and the dishwasher sits next to the sink. The elecs are in place, but ideally we would like things a few cm's across to one side..

Question is, can the socket for the DW be located under a sink console?

Many many thanks for any quick responses..!

 

[Alan Zoff]

This isn't a savvy reply, I'm afraid, but I might mention that the electrician when we bought our last English house chose to put the sockets for the D/W, fridge and washing machine directly behind the appliances. And I forever wished he hadn't...

[powerdesal]

Not uncommon Alan, but usually switched via a neon fitted switch above a worktop. Just make sure the lead is long enough to pull the appliance out and get behind to pull the plug

[sid]

The neon would be usual in UK, but they don't seem to do that here. Sockets are not switched.

A socket under a worktop would be OK I think, but not hidden by the appliance itself.

 

[Théière]

[quote user="powerdesal"]Not uncommon Alan, but usually switched via a neon fitted switch above a worktop. Just make sure the lead is long enough to pull the appliance out and get behind to pull the plug[/quote]

Known as fused connection units as as the only fuse/breaker in French wiring is back at the distribution board they have no need, some say better to remove plugs especially in electrical storms. Crikey that was pro French, I must stop that immediately

[Alan Zoff]

Don't know why I didn't do that - i.e. break into the existing socket supply cable above the worktop and fit a separate isolating switch for each appliance. The hassle, I suppose, especially when everything had been tiled, etc.

[Alan Zoff]

I might add that the same electrician also wired all the wall lights in the house (there were lots of them) using buried cable that ran diagonally rather than vertically. When I pointed out that this would make it damned difficult to know where they were when the house had been decorated (and damned easy to screw or nail into one accidentally) he said he always did them like that and it was perfectly safe. Nothing to do with saving on cable, I suppose.

[rowland]

Seems to be a 'french' thing as all our electric cables seem to be on the diagonal - only discovered when we stripped wallpaper for re-decorating

[Chancer]

Which just goes to show that at least 2 French so called electricians either dont know or dont give a rats **** for the normes.

In the early days I used to poke around chantiers in the evenings to pick up tips on how things should be done, at least that was my idea, even with zero knowledge at the time of the french normes I realised that the pavilions being wired by these jokers had horrible bodges hidden behind the placo, wires twisted and taped together to form a "Y" junction in gaine splitting one feed into two was particularly prevalent.

[LEO]

[quote user="Alan Zoff"]I might add that the same electrician also wired all the wall lights in the house (there were lots of them) using buried cable that ran diagonally rather than vertically. When I pointed out that this would make it damned difficult to know where they were when the house had been decorated (and damned easy to screw or nail into one accidentally) he said he always did them like that and it was perfectly safe. Nothing to do with saving on cable, I suppose.[/quote]

Isn't that the French motto!

[Punch]

[quote user="Chancer"]

Which just goes to show that at least 2 French so called electricians either dont know or dont give a rats **** for the normes.

[/quote]

Yes always makes me laugh on these forums when people say " I only ever use French electricians/ artisans: tradesmen etc" , and berrate the Brit artisans . I have been working here as a sparky for 13 years now and often team up with other French artisans . Our local village sparky is the worse culprit - when I had the oportunity to work with him, I noticed he'd crammed 11 x 2.5mm  wires in a single 20mm conduit !! ( the maximum allowed is three!!) . When I told him wasn't it against the normes ?, he gave me a gallic shrug and mumbled some patois  saying that he's always done it that way, and what do YOU know being a foreigner.

I go on at least one course a year and attend regular Consuel/Promotelec workshops, - I don't think he does -lol !!

 For the OP, it's the usual thing here to put sockets directly behind aplpliances and under the sink is fine. Switched spurs above worktop (as used in the Uk)  are not used here. As most appliances are wired on their own circuits, it is easy to isolate them by their individual circuit breaker back at the tableau electrique if needed.

[sid]

Good post! The last para sums it up nicely!

[Alan Zoff]

That it is indeed a potential (no pun intended) advantage of the French spur system. Just a pity that they don't always make proper use of it.

When we bought this house, the owner had just kept adding spurs to one circuit rather than spread the load around other largely unused circuits, so one fuse (no circuit breakers) dealt with part of the kitchen, most other downstairs sockets and lights, a 2-way switch for hall and landing with a mind of its own and a workshop 30 metres away (standard cable wired to back of sitting room socket, through window frame and then buried beneath lawn), said workshop full of power-points, none of which were earthed (and a few others I have overlooked).