C-H & Belgian,
No problem on the diversion to cords and proper protection. One thing leads to another in these discussions, and they're often related somehow anyway.
I'm often amused by the instructions that come with appliances sold in the U.K. along the lines that the plug "MUST be fitted with a 3A fuse" (their emphasis). Yet the same appliance, fitted with the same 0.75 sq. mm cord is now likely to be sold right across Europe, where in most cases it will be connected to a circuit fused at 16 or even 20A.
By the way, although 0.75 sq. mm is the smallest size generally used on Continental cords, some small appliances sold specifically for the U.K. are fitted with 0.5 sq. mm (e.g. table lamps). That's when the protection of a 3A fuse in the plug is really needed.
I agree with David about the extensions to spurs on our ring circuits. (Another sidenote: Most laymen here call them a "ring main," although the correct term is "ring final circuit.")
I've seen extra spurs daisy-chained from an original spur far too often, sometimes three or four. They're often feeding outlets in adjacent rooms, and thus it's quite likely that somebody could plug two or more high-power devices in simultaneously.
I seem to be inserting "by the ways" a lot here, but another point is that the original ring specification set out by the IEE actually allowed a spur to feed two separate outlets, not the one which is permitted now. (I haven't got my old Regs. handy, but I have a feeling it may have changed only in the 15th Edition, 1981.)
David,
I carried out similar hacks before to get power restored. In fact in one house a while back tearing into the tiled walls to find the problem was going to cause so much damage that I converted a 30A kitchen ring into two 20A radial circuits permanently.(fortunately, the break came at a suitable place and there was a spare way in the panel!).
