Appliances

Installing an outdoor socket

If you are using electrical items outside then ideally you need to have an outdoor socket. You do not want to be using extension leads if at all possible and sometimes these will not work anyway and can cause the power to trip out.

You should always use a qualified electrician to install an outdoor socket and someone who has experience in this. The sockets themselves can range from £7 or ££8 up toward £50 depending on which one you want.

You may find it cheaper to buy this yourself or ask the electrician how much he would charge for the part.

If you are using a heater in a hot tub for example, then it will need to go into the socket outside as using extension leads can often be a fire hazard. If you do ever use an extension lead for the lawn mower for example, then you need to ensure that it is completely unravelled each time you use it and inspect it for damage.

When you are not using the outside socket be sure to leave the cover closed so no water can get in there. Ideally always use the socket, to start, with when you are in the property to check that it is all working as it should. The unit or the socket needs to be RCD protected to ensure that it will trip out and not give an electric shock should there be a fault.