4 pin Socket (Actually a Fuse Holder)

[Herald1360]

Looks like a typo for wirelesses. Might be the fault of an automatic spill chequer

[matthewhouse]

It's funny, I read it as wirelesses but only saw the mistake when it was pointed out!

That house wiring information is fascinating. I have some old wiring information, but nothing as old as that. I have a few 16cp bulbs here, they have a lovely warm glow. I wonder what a house full of 100 would have been like.

I really like the circuit design, especially the thought put in to making testing easier, probably overkill considering the circuits are so simple. Did the insulation fail quick enough that regular testing was needed? With the wires kept separate in the casing and no earthing required, there isn't much else you can test. With a fuse in each room a fault would be far less inconvenient and make narrowing down a fault easier.

I'd love to carry out one of those installations, with modern hand and power tools it would be a breeze. Far more satisfying than putting up PVC mini trunking and tacky plastic switches.

[emeritus]

There's no equivalent information in the 1911 catalogue. No doubt it was no longer necessary by then as people were more familiar with electricity. The 1893 catalogue felt it necessary to explain what a plug and socket were, and has an extensive section on generating plant for private houses powered by steam engines and water turbines: supplies from central generating stations were still not common at that date, partly due to the draconian legislation that effectively gave any private central generating installations to the local authority in which they were set up after, I think, 25 years, Not only was this a strong disincentive to set them up, but I think that some of those which had been set up, closed when the legislation came into force. It put a strong brake on the adoption of electricity in the UK, and things only improved when the period was extended, so as to give investors a reasonable return on their investment before handing over their plant.

[robin coleman]

I have purchased the item in the first post. It appears to be fused in both live and neutral sides quite common in the early days of electricity. I myself would love to make the same wiring in a new house using a router and and oak moulded cable housing, so easy to pin point cable faults and more pleasing to the eye than plastic cable covers.

Regards, Robin.

[DAC10 Collector]

In the early 1960's I recall seeing a consumer unit, similar to the post #8 description, in a neighbour's house wired only for upstairs and downstairs lighting. This consumer unit comprised two linked tumbler switches, plus four circular ceramic fuses mounted on a rectangular pattress to provide live and neutral fusing for the two lighting circuits.

A 5 amp twin flexible cable leading from this consumer unit to the lounge was terminated in a 2 pin P29 type socket and a 3 way adapter. This supplied a Sobell T346 television, plus other appliances including a small electric fire.

Mike M1DPB

[AC/HL]

Not much more to say, we have established that it is a re-wirable fuse, rather than a socket, commonly used as part of an early incarnation of what is now known as a Consumer Unit.