Nick wrote:
John White wrote:
Phil L wrote:
but please don't try to tell me that a boiler wired directly
into the mains is any safer than one with it's own 13amp fuse and plugged
into a socket.

Well there we must agree to differ. :-)

I would be interested to hear your explanation....

It's probably a bit esoteric but my concerns are about what else gets
plugged into the socket.

I was asked to PIR a large Edwardian villa that had been converted
into eight flats. In each case the flat's combi boiler had been
located in a bathroom cupboard.

This should not have been a problem as all the controls had been
positioned elsewhere. Unfortunately the installer had used a plug and
socket to connect the boiler rather than a FCU, with the result that
the tenants had used the "handy" socket to plug in other appliances.

To add to the fun the boiler was on its own 16A MCB which was
(correctly) fed from the non-RCD section of the consumer unit.

This does not just affect boilers by the way, I have seen immersion
heaters where a plug and socket arrangement was abused in the same
way.

When I was an apprentice some thirty-mumble years ago we were taught
that a fixed appliance should always be hard-wired and never plugged
in.

Perhaps I'm getting old. :-)

John
--
John White,
Electrical Contractor