Mate I've changed many sockets and you're the first to tell me those mini circles are screw caps, I just checked and all my sockets had them on the back. Thanks!
Really handy video; was thinking about putting a couple of these and was worried I'd need to re-do the ring main to add more cabling for the USBs. No need to do? Lovely!!
Only arrived on the app properly to give yous a thanks used Google and it wasn't letting me like or anything in smalls screen but clear and precise exactly what folk need cheers dude, exactly what I was looking pal 👍🤙
Thanks so much for this, I've had USB sockets for ages but put off fitting them. This video is perfect! I'll be changing the sockets tomorrow thanks to this video! Cheers dude!
Hi Steve, thanks again for the feedback. There's not always screw covers in the back casing, it depends which socket you have, but a lot of the modern ones seem to be doing it now. Always worth checking! Thanks for watching.
@@POUSEaroundtheHOUSE Btw, my screwdriver's come and it's digital. It buzzes when near AC and you can press a button to see the voltage. I put it into a plug socket and it shows 252V {not 240} but it works. However, when I touched it to the ends USB charging leads, it showed roughly 30, 60 and 120 volts for micro, USB-C and lightening. But that's DC and coming from a normal USB-A charger which is 5V. That doesn't make sense. Any ideas? Do you think it's faulty and should be sent back? But it will work for doing what you do in the vid, so will try that when the plug comes. Again, many thanks. My beloved watched the video with me and thought the same - someone who takes you through it clearly and simply. {You have no idea how rare that can be. She does video editing and we'll watch videos explaining how to do different things with the video or audio apps, and they'll have Americans speaking who pause all the time because they don't really know what they're gonna say and end up confusing themselves and the viewers. So best of luck and I'll keep watching. All the best. ZnR. Ganpati bless.}
@@POUSEaroundtheHOUSE Cheers, mate. You vid worked a treat. Got a new plug fitted with one USB-A and one 30w fast charge USB-C to my beloved's side of the bed. And I've taken the double USB-A from her side and put it on the plug on my side. 2 more of the double USB-C and USB-A ones have just arrived and will fit those downstairs tomorrow. Thank you so much. Am in my wife's good books as a result. We have an electrician coming soon to do a cooker circuit and the loft light but now don't need to pay £20 each to change those 5 USB plugs, plus whatever mark-up they'd have added to the plug fronts. Do you have any vids explaining how to run off from the landing light that comes down from the loft to split that power and add a light into the loft, do you? But again, thank you so much. Someone who can speak pwoppa fucking English coherently so a beginner can understand what needs to be done. You're a literal Godsend, mate. All the best. Rory.
When removing and replacing with new usb socket, found the back box was too shallow to except it, these sockets are much deeper, so be ready to replace the box as well.
The only recommendation I’d have with this is it’s good practice to keep your cpc’s continuous through the back box for example, when your cpc’s enter your back box, take one leg to the lug on the back box first then to the socket without breaking the connect by just putting a loop/bend in the cpc to terminate into the back box
If you don't have an earth then you can't put it to the socket either? If that's the case then you should look to have the electrics upgraded as without earth connections you can't provide the modern safety requirements. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching.
Brilliant video. Thank you. I have a question though please. This double socket has twins of each wire (live, neutral and earth). I know you said that some have only one wire for each. Is there a specific reason why? Can I replace a single socket for a double socket, even if the single socket only has one each of live, neutral and earth? Thanks in advance! Great tutorial!
If you have one wire then it is most like a spur which means the wire has come from your main ring circuit in the house. You are allowed one socket on a spur so assuming that is the first spur then yes you can add a double socket. But....sometimes especially on older houses people have incorrectly added several sockets to a spur so if this is one of those then really you don't want to add more appliances to more sockets. The only way to know is get an electrician to test it if you're unsure. Hope that helps, thanks for watching!
@@POUSEaroundtheHOUSE Thank you for coming back to me. The room with the single socket also has a double socket in it. Do single sockets ever contain two of each wire then (I guess indicating that they're not on a spur)? I'll of course check with an electrician if need be but I'd love to do the job myself.
@@AdyB2008 yes single socket will have two cables if on the ring, all wired the same. But most people just do a double these days due to number of appliances we all use. Hope that helps.
I just installed one of these, which was nice and easy, but I'm a little concerned by something I found. We recently had work done on the house, and all the floor-level sockets were replaced(because they had to go further up the wall). There's a spur coming off the back of the socket plate I replaced, and it was wired so that there was a live and a neutral wire going into each live and neutral terminal, so the spur live was coming of the original neutral and vice versa. I swapped them back so that both lives are together and both neutrals are together, but now I'm second guessing myself... should I have left it the way it was? It seems wrong to me, but it _was_ done by a professional. Should it ever look like that?
This might sound stupid but this will be the first time I’ve done this- when you’re putting the wires into the terminal, are they just usually bendy metal wires that you whack in there? How do you make sure they don’t come out when you put the socket back on, and are there any implications if one of the wires comes loose? Thank you!
What do you recommend if the new USB socket doesn't fit inside the backbox? Have a couple where the backbox is too shallow with existingwiring included and just won't fit. Can you use a standoff/ face plate surround to help as they are only not fitting by a couple of mm?? Thanks
Yes, you could use a patress box designed for trunking sat off the wall, or you could remove the box and chase the wall a bit deeper and then replace the box with a deeper one. Depends how much mess you want tot make. I have a video on how to chase a wall here - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ew93KF53yms.html
Can I ask, do usb sockets make very low humming or buzzing when not in use? Mines seem to do so but can only hear when my ear is literally against it 😂
Random quick question, I hate the text detailing the wattage for the USB ports - do you know the best way to remove the text without damaging the finish of the plug? Great vid btw!!
Keep hidden cables inline with the socket either virtically or horizontally, protect cables with RCD protection and and new cable or connectors must be correctly rated to take the power. Hope that helps!
@@POUSEaroundtheHOUSE thanks, just trying to find those hidden points (if there was any) that usually lurk behind common sense ha ha best of luck to you, cheers
Hi. My plug socket has 2 live wires, 2 neutral and 2 earth wires. It doesn't seem to have a separate earth cable coming from the back box. So, do I just skip that step you suggest in the end or won't this work for my plug socket?? Thanks in advance. P.s ur video is so clear and simple to follow, great work, thank you.
Hi Sophie, your socket will still work fine. It's just good practice to attach a metal back box to the earth terminal with earth wire (as shown in the video) as it safely earths your back box in the event a live wire accidentally touched it. Thanks for watching!
Hi the clips on which the screws go on mine are damaged, do you know what the item is called its made of metal and very small do you know where i can buy them, thanks
Just get another length of 1.5mm bare copper (or larger) and use it to connect the back box to an earth terminal on the back of the socket. This is good practice. Hope that helps, thanks for watching!
Double pole when switched off isolate both the neutral and live wires so are meant to be safer in tge event of kids sticking their fingers in. I have a mixture of both in my house. Hope that helps.
Just put the earth wire to one of the earth terminals on the USB socket. The two earths should be joined by a metal strip anyway. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching!
Hi Tom. If you're not confident doing this then yes you should call an electrician. If the wiring is done incorrectly then it could fail or be dangerous. But it is a fairly simple job as electrical work goes.. You must ensure the power is turned off before working on any electrics and test the wires to ensure they are dead before working on them. Good luck and thanks for watching!
They must go in the earth terminals but it doesn't matter which earth wire goes in which earth terminal. Some sockets only have one earth terminal. In that case, put both earth wires into one earth terminal. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching.
Hello - Thank you for the videos, I have subscribed. I am going to blank a socket so I can go flush to the wall without having to hammer chisel drill etc where the plug is not needed. I am going to use terminal blocks (one for lives, one for neutrals and one for earths) and blanking plate. Any reason you know of if this won't work ? Thanks a lot
Hi Richard, that's absolutely fine. If you use a plastic blanking plate, then you always have access to the connector block if you need to get to them at a later date. There are a range of connectors on the market. I like the wago 222 connectors, perfect for this kind of thing. Check out my video of the wago connectors as it may be of use to you - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-B65_vZ9DM1I.html. Good luck and thanks for watching!
I have also used your other video on the wago which I use - very helpful Thanks. One thing that happened when I did this work I don't know why.. I tested the live terminal before turning the power off and unscrewing the socket, there was no power to the terminal. However something tripped downstairs (the tv specifically, the children were very unhappy) and I had to turn it back on at the box... any idea why ?
Without looking or testing it's difficult to say. Sounds like a wire touched somewhere it shouldn't have and your RCD tripped which is a good thing as it means it's working and keeping you safe! If in doubt obviously get an electrician to test the wiring as you never know what's been done to the electrics in a house over the years. Good luck with it and thanks again for watching.
I'm going to go back this weekend and actually put a USB socket on. It's safe to assume if there is no current once the circuit is isolated that I can work on it? Again. Sorry I really appreciate your help
The Amp rating on the socket is actually shared between the 2 usb ports. So if two of the same devices are plugged in then both will only get half the power. It maybe your one device consumed so much that the other device wouldn't charge. The only thing to do is either opt for a higher rated usb socket with more power, or use the 3 pin plug on the device using the most energy as it will likely charge a lot quicker also. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching.
Great video. I tried to fit a double USB socket with one wire (brown, blue and yellow), but tester showing earth is missing when I test it! It has two earth and I connected one. doesn't have a metal socket. help please
I’ve got a single socket that’s got 2 blacks and 2 reds and 1 green,,,I want to change it to a double socket,,,,but also,I could do with another double socket on the other side of the wall in the other bedroom,,,how would you recommend me doing it buddy 👍
You could either break into the ring main (I don't have a video for that yet) or do a spur. I have a video for how to add a spur to a ring circuit here - How to wire a spur socket - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KJWHK9YYIHU.html. Thanks for watching.
My old socket looks like your but my new usb double gang had a black block at the back and when I connected and wired and screw looks like it not fully inserted into the wall the usb double gang isn't flat on the back like your new usb socket on the back so there's a gap not fully flashed againest the wall
This is a common misconception. There is absolutely no difference in terms of the wiring required for a USB plug. Exactly the same as a non usb socket. People often believe extra work is required. It’s not and once you have done one or two it’s very simple too.
@@POUSEaroundtheHOUSE Tidy! 👍🏼 Can't believe anyone would think you have a northern accent, full blown South Wales butt! Cheers for the vid, good effort. I had a feeling it was fairly straightforward so I'm off to fit and hopefully not die. I hate electricity, f'ing witchcraft.
Get rid of that screwdriver. If you play with electrics alot get your self a proper tester like a fluke T3. or any other equipment that doesnt use your body as a path to earth
Kieran, I agree on your comment, but, having used a similar screwdriver for the last 30 years, because it is quick and easy when grabbing from the toolbox.
