How to safely replace an electrical wall socket UK, plug socket
In this video I show you how to replace an electrical wall socket, plug socket.
I cover the installation and the safety requirements.
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Tools used
Voltage tester
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circuit breaker lock out and safety signs
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Electrical screwdrivers
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voltage pen
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Polished chrome socket
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Tripod
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Thanks for watching my videos 👍🏼 Please leave a comment and be sure to like, share and subscribe to help the channel out 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
This is really useful and easy to understand. Loads of thanks, I subscribed straight away.
@@lemsdarkapprentice2535 glad you found my video useful and thank you for subscribing 👍🏼
Thanks mate 👍 i recommend a level meter to make sure the socket is level . Other than that this video is great!
I will invest in a Multimeter & electrical screwdrivers. 🤓My tool collection is growing. Makitas are my favourite.
I am terrified of electricity, but that video gave me the confidence to replace an old socket where the on/off switch had ceased. Excellent.
Brilliant, it's great to know my video gave you confidence and helped you replace your socket yourself. Thanks for watching and don't forget to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
@@spendtimesavemoneydiyIs there a discord server?
Excellent video, thanks - you have given me the confidence to attempt this on my own on a double socket where one of them hasn't worked for ages. Wish me luck :)
Excellent and comprehensive description. Thanks for making the video.
I love the practical safe approach. Thanks so much.
Love the video, not health and safety overload, just proper sensible advice from what sounds like an expert about precautions which could save your life! Really good video pal.
Stay safe, keep it simple and a lot is just common sense. Glad you enjoyed my video. Thanks for watching and don't forget to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
You made this video so so easy for me to follow, I’m going to buy all the safety kit and do this myself I’m a 35 year old woman and really want to learn how to replace my own base plates and ceiling lights. Thanks so much for sharing just about anyone can follow this simple tutorial 👍
Glad my video has inspired you to tackle the job yourself. Stay safe. Thanks for watching and be sure to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
Great safety advice with the fuse box, voltage tester, and the insulated screwdriver.
Can't be too careful with electrics, you only have to get it wrong once. Thanks for watching and please consider subscribing 👍🏼
I need to do this on the weekend…thanks pal 👍🏻
Thanks mate! Simplified the fear in minutes and job done, much appreciated!
Glad it helped 👍🏼
Great video. Worth investing in the kit and doing the job right. Can't be too careful with electricity ⚡
Great vid man drunk me decided to fall over and take the plug socket out with all the plugs clean out the wall 🤦♂️ life saver man
Glad I could help. Thanks for watching and don't forget to check out my other videos and subscribe to help my channel grow 👍🏼
Thanks for the video, very thorough and helpful step by step guide!
You're welcome. Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching and please consider subscribing 👍🏼
Brilliant video, great advice, just what I was looking for 👍🏼
Glad you found my video useful. Thanks for watching and don't forget to check out my other videos and subscribe to help my channel grow 👍🏼
I live in UK but I love your accent! An American here. Thank you for the video.🤓
This is very helpful, thanks!
Thank you. This was just perfect, keep up the good work mate
Glad you enjoyed my video. Thanks for watching and be sure to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
Thank you just moved home did not know about insulated screwdrivers. Will be swapping a single plug socket to a double in the hallway. Thank you
You're welcome, remember to stay safe when working on electrics. Thanks for watching and don't forget to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
This is a brilliant taskmaster great to see the testing meter before and after disconnections .I have just one improvement suggestions for you to consider . I was always in the habit of earth off last and earth on first. Gives a sound ground through the task
Thanks for the tip 👍🏼
Thanks for this video. You made it soo easy to understand. I’m a 63 year old grandma and want to do this for myself. After seeing this I know i CAN do this and won’t kill myself. 😂😂❤😊
Nice. Clear. Precise. 50% of the time for preparation and checking.
Thanks, more time making sure it's safe than doing the job
I would bag a CED metal socket if they are selling in the local hardware store but if I buy them on EBay I tend to go for the more premium brands like MK, Crabtree, Contactun, Varilight, Click/Scolmore or Volex. In the high street you get whatever they happen to stock but to be honest most hardware stores near me only tend to sell white accessories. B&Q is another great place to buy metal sockets and light switches.
You are an absolute legend mate just so you know, great job
Very informative and well described video, thank you! (the audio could have been louder, but I have good speakers so no worries there)
Glad it was helpful! I struggled with audio as I was new to video making. I have since invested in better microphones so hopefully I've improved it 👍🏼
Your such a trained person but my father will show me how to do electrics really well and safe. Good job your being carful and aware
Thank you. Very informative and clear instructions (love your accent, btw.)
Glad you enjoyed my video and my accent lol. Thanks for watching and be sure to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
Thanks and well done great video.
im from birkenhead and in college tovbe come an electrician. well made video and very clear :)
Glad you enjoyed my video. Thanks for watching and be sure to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
Text book method. Great stuff.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching and be sure to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
Thank you for the video much appreciated
omg this has given me confidence to change mine thank you!!!
Good work mate 🙏
Well done 👍. Nicely done
Thank you Sir... learnt something today😀
Mohammed Rashid glad I was able to teach you something new. Thanks for watching and be sure to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
Thanks a lot sir. You've just help me! 👍🏻
You're very welcome. Thanks for watching and please check out my other videos and subscribe to help my channel grow 👍🏼
This guy is a legend. 👍
Thanks for the compliment 👍🏼
Great video, very informative
Very cool.....Moved to Portugal recently, but was working for LFC....Rock 'n' Roll.........;-)
Thanks for watching and don't forget to check out my other videos and subscribe to help my channel grow 👍🏼
Great video, how do I know if I have a single or double pole socket?
Cheers mate! Going to give it a go this afternoon. I’m 40 and I’ve never changed a socket before 😳
Let me know how you get on 👍🏼
@@spendtimesavemoneydiy Managed to do it! 👍🏻 Great video 🙌🏻 thanks again
@@Inshallowseaswesail you're welcome, glad I could help you. If you haven't already would you mind subscribing to my channel to help me out? Thanks 👍🏼
Done 👍🏻
Good job! Cheers.very clear and precise advise.
Thank you Simple and Safe .....Just needed to ensure I’d got this correct before I replaced all the sockets in the house .
Hope this helped you. Just always stay safe when working on electrics. Thanks for watching and don't forget to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
This helped me realy well . Thanks for this useful video 😍😍😍💯💯💯💯👍👍👍👍
Glad my video helped you out. Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe 👍🏼
Very clean and professional..
It has to be when working with electrics. Thanks for watching and please check out my other videos and subscribe to help my channel grow 👍🏼
Great explanation sir ❤❤❤❤
4:05 Your creation is very nice
Hi, thanks for the video.
Excellent video. I may yet attempt it..
Glad you enjoyed my video. Let me know how you get on with your sockets but stay safe around electrics. Thanks for watching and be sure to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
Great program
Thanks so helpful
Thank you.
very helpful. Thanks
Thank you so much 💗
Excellent video! You made it seem very easy. Thank you!
It's easy if you know what you're doing but always stay safe with electrics. I have a scouse accent from Liverpool
@@spendtimesavemoneydiy Absolutely! I already electrocuted myself once trying to change an outlet cover. I learned the hard way. 😉
Literally got charged £50 per socket installed a couple years ago lol on top of the hourly electrician rate, definitely gonna be doing it myself next time
Cool socket 👍
Thank you so much.x
You are very welcome. Thanks for watching and be sure to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
Thanks for your help ❤
I appreciate your video thanks 🙏
Glad you enjoyed my video! Thanks for watching and be sure to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
Great video, thanks
Glad you enjoyed my video. Thanks for watching and don't forget to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
Great video thanks
Glad you liked it. Thanks for watching and be sure to share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
Excellent video. I'm looking to save a bit of money as I have a property that's currently being renovated. It"ll look good when it's finished apart from those awful white plastic switches including the lights! As it's a country home I thought about the brushed victorian style ones. The living room and stairs obviously have 2 way light switches but I think you can use them as one way am I correct?
Yes a 2 way can be used as a 1 way. Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe 👍🏼
Excellent instructional video! My back boxes and double sockets in a 2001 built house all have fixing hole centres 120mm apart. All the new polished chrome replacements I look at buying have fixing hole centres 126mm apart. Will they fit the existing back boxes?
I think they are a standard size. I've never had one not fit.
Very understandable
I would highly reccomend you choose Varilight over CED or just any old generic brand as Varilight are a more reputable brand. Volex are also good but they now only make metal sockets with wide rockers and look similar to Crabtree, another top quality brand if you don't mind wide rockers which is more down to personal preference. MK and Hager are also good brands.
Thanks.
most useful job 👍️💓
Glad you found my video useful 👍🏼
Hi, my voltage tester (same as yours, Knightsbridge te1) shows RX and POWER LEDs, plus continuous beep, but no voltage, when i test between live and neutral, after i have switched off socket. Same as when i self prove the device. Any idea what this means?
Ok lad. Could ye do a video on putting extra sockets in when ye get a chance from a fellow scouser👍👍
Paul Dunning thanks for your comment. If you take a look at my video about adding a spur socket, you can do one spur off each socket. Here is the link. kzhead.info/sun/qKxmc9mnrZajrIU/bejne.html Thanks for watching and be sure to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
Sound lad thanks
Thanks mate, if 2 terminals on the new socket for earth, are they OK all into 1? Don't need to be split as double socket?
Love this video very good bro 👏
Glad you enjoyed my video. Thanks for watching and please consider subscribing 👍🏼
I like the lockout
Thanks for the vid! Have you got a lot of enemies on building sites or summat? 😂
Ok that's a good work I like it
Thank you for the video. My wall socket is not working. How can I fix it on my own, diy
Cheers mate
Great Video, thanks for this. I am trying to do myself and change from plastic to brass plates. But when opening I can see red wires are in the N and black wires in L. Is this correct? I was just going to put the wires as they are now into my new plate but then got nervous because as you mentioned in the video red wire should be in the L slot. Please advise would much appreciate
If in any doubt consult a qualified electrician. Red wires are usually live and black neutral but the person who did the wiring may have done it the other way around. So testing might have to be carried out to make sure it's safe. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching and don't forget to like and subscribe to help me out 👍🏼
Going to try tonight before it gets too dark
Let me know how you get on 👍🏼
Thank you very much. Could I ask a question? I see there seems to have two earth slots - one on left and one on right, correct? I also see there are 3 green cables, but you have fixed all three only to one side of the earth. Could you kindly share with us?
The earth terminals are connected to each other on the plate so you can use either or both. Thanks for watching 👍🏼
@@spendtimesavemoneydiy. Thank you very much.
Good to know thanks!
Thanks mate
You're welcome. Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe 👍🏼
Thank you
You're very welcome. Thanks for watching and don't forget to like and subscribe to help me out 👍🏼
So for the earths you can use either side of the unit ? Also the two sets of wires does that mean it’s on a ring ? Seen that in another video, I thought it was a set for each plug hole in a double socket 😞 Love clarification 👍👍
The earths are connected on the unit so you can use either or both. Two sets of cables doesn't mean it's a ring. Both a ring and a radial circuit will have a cable in and a cable out with the exception of the last socket on the radial. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe 👍🏼
Didn't explain why you didn't split the 2 earth's into each of the terminals but rather put them both into the same one. A lot of people might not get that abd think they have to put each earth into the separate terminals
Do all the sockets in your country have individual on/off switches for each plug on the socket?
Under 18th edition, if i change a single socket to a double socket, would that be covered under minor works and would i need to have it certified?
Smashed it
Hi is this safe because it looks safe to me i added a wall outlet but there was no wirewing so what i did was use an old power strip cable and cut the end off one end will go to an existing wall outlet fittet with a 13 amp fuse and other end will be in wall outlet i wired it up right but it only had one ground so i cut off an old cable and used another green wire and joined them together the wall outlet will only be used for vaccum and telephones so it should be fine right?
How do you know the screws is aligned with the hole, I want to buy a new switch socket however I'm unsure of whether the screws will be aligned
D3CEPTION they are a standard size so the screws should align. Thanks for watching and be sure to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
@@spendtimesavemoneydiy thank you for the quick reply, great video!
For some reason I was expecting you to put an earth wire to each of the earth points.. I wondered if this was only earthing 1 plug and not the other, could you explain the reason behind 2 earth points? thanks
They are both linked together so it doesn't matter if you use one or both
Thanks
Thank you, glad you found my video useful 👍🏼
Unable to fit a plugger in receptacle, can this be fixed or I need to replace it?
Ay mate y didn’t the neutral to earth give continuity. Was u making contact with N and E correctly?
so my question is I dont think I can cut the power but I do have my special insulated screw driver do you think its possible to use it to replace the plate? as you said it Rated to 1000 volts
Absolutely not. If you accidentally touch a wire it could be game over. Always cut the power or if you can't call a qualified spark. Stay safe 👍🏼
This is very different than how my grandad does it, he turns off the electrics and pulls out the plug, replaces it and done. Very unsafe 😰😰 you did it so safely, I think I’ll do it your way!
How is it unsafe if the electrics are off? Your grandad knows what he's doing obviously.
He made it to grandad so not very unsafe if you ask me.
Hi. The earth wires only are screwed in on the right side. I thought there was one on d left too.
The new socket had two each terminals but you put both earth wires into one of them, is this ok? I want to replace sockets myself (35f) but am worried I'll do something wrong
My outlets were crabtrees 2 gang sockets, can I put the 1 gang on it and just put all 3 wires (earth) into the same terminal?
Kane Owen yes the earth wires can go in one earth terminal. And it is good practice to earth the backbox too. Thanks for watching and be sure to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
Thanks for the video! Can I use a voltage tester pen instead of the voltage tester that you use?
I’m pretty sure that will work just fine, however, a multimeter with sound feedback will probably work better.
A tester pen will work but by the book you should use a multi meter. Whichever you use be safe and always test the tester. Thanks for watching and be sure to like share and subscribe to help the channel grow 👍🏼
I am about to do this exact swap plastic to metal/chrome and I have been told I need to earth the back box is this correct? or can I just do what you have done? thanks
CodGaming earthing the back box is recommended but not essential. The screws in the faceplate earth the back box. If you're unsure then earth it for piece of mind. It's only one extra wire and some sleeving. Thanks for watching 👍🏼
Thanks for your quick reply, no id rather do it the same way you have. Its just you hear conflicting stuff on the internet. Thanks for your advise.
CodGaming electricians always try to have a go at me because they think you should be qualified to do electrics. But that's not the case and I have colleagues more qualified that confirm what I do is safe. Let me know how you get on 👍🏼
I will let you know when I done it later this week or next. Thanks mate.
CodGaming good luck and stay safe 👍🏼
so you dont need a proving unit with some voltage testers? work are looking to buy me a few things after an electrical/ safe isolation course. cheers also i changed my first one today with usb and usb-c port with just a socket tester, i decided to turn off the main circuit breaker as i dont have the voltage meter yet :)
Very wise, if in doubt turn everything off but still test. Thanks for watching and don't forget to check out my other videos and subscribe to help my channel grow 👍🏼