"Jack Harry Teesdale" wrote in message
...
On 04/11/2020 19:49, Dr S Lartius wrote:
A multi-occupier building has, in a communal service cupboard, a
single standard 13A surface-mounted switched socket into which is
plugged a normal-looking plug.

Entering that plug are two different leads connected to two
different items of low-power fixed communal equipment (it is
not easy to see what each of those actually does - or did.

How should that setup be described, on a scale running from
entirely satisfactory to absolutely illegal?


I would say entirely unsatisfactory.

The correct method would be two seperate 13a plugs and a double socket
outlet. As a temporary measure a 2 way adaptor in to the single socket
would not be 'illegal'.

A multiple socket replacing a single socket is no doubt the best, but it is
a *lot* of DIY work to install - chasing out plaster, putting in a larger
backing box, undoing the two thick wires to each terminal and connecting
them to the new multi-socket. I'd say that a multi-way socket bar on a short
trailing lead is the best *pragmatic* solution. I prefer those over the
multi-way cube adaptors because there's less chance of the weight of the
various leads pulling the pins of the adaptor out of the wall. With any
adaptor (cube or socket bar) you need to apply a bit of common sense: a
3-bar electric fire on each of the four sockets in a bar is *not* a good
idea and hopefully the 13A fuse in the bar will blow PDQ.

Most of the time, multiple sockets are needed for lots of low-power
wall-wart adaptors rather than heavy power consumers, so the total current
in the cable and the single plug will be well below the 13A limit.