Re: British (european?) kitchen counter electric outlets

On 10/06/2024 01:41, Don Y wrote:

On 6/9/2024 3:50 PM, TTman wrote:

Yes, I've seen that.  And, they are *huge* (comparatively speaking;
a duplex receptacle, here, is a ~1x~3 inch device about an inch thick).
>
Ours also reside *in* the wall; I seem to remember the ones in England
were "on" the wall (?)

>
In the UK we have slim sockets now.... protruding maybe 2mm from the wall.

 So, they fit *into* the wall?  Is the wiring concealed in the wall and
routed to the outlet(s) from within?

Remember that in the UK most older houses are brick built with plastered walls so there is a fair amount of effort chasing a socket box into the wall. Historically a lot of ring mains wiring also ran behind the skirting board at the base of the wall and sockets were let into that.

 There is a product here called "Wiremold" that can be entirely surface
mounted (junction boxes as well as cable runs).  But, it would typically
not be found in most homes (kitchens).  A "Plugmold" product provides
similarly (permanently) mounted "outlet strips"

Surface mounted boxes are generally used in garages and utility rooms or in positions that are out of sight (like under counters behind fridges).

Basements/garages/exteriors will often have surface mounted junction boxes
with cable runs in EMT or rigid conduit, usually required by local code
(to protect the wiring).  E.g., I run all of my exterior network cabling
in EMT with water-tight fittings as it makes for a cleaner looking installation
and affords some protections against physical damage.
 

Earlier types protruded around 10mm and before that ( we called them surface mount) they protruded 25mm-40 mm.Our duplex sockets measure 6" wide x 3"high

 As I said, a duplex receptacle would be about 1"x3" and sell for as
little as 77c or as much as ~$10 (QTY 1 -- though most would be purchased
in much larger quantities) depending on the features desired (ampacity,
cosmetics, tamper resistance, etc.)

You can get flush surface mount units but you have to chase that much further into brickwork to fit the it in. The old way with ~10mm protruding was the least worst option and is still common. New build with a lot of stud walling tends to have more modern flush mount.

You can (just barely -- and with many qualifications) install one into
a Jbox of ~10 cu in internal volume.  A single gang device typically
exposes a 2x4" opening, covered by a 3.5x5" decorative plate

It takes a while with a chisel to knock a hole big enough for a UK mains socket out of a wall which is why most remain 10mm out to this day. The plaster tends to fall off nearby so it is always messy to install one.
--
Martin Brown