How To Wire An Electric Fire Into A Fused Spur

Connecting your electric fire to a spur is a great safety measure. Learn more about how you can tackle this project at home!

Wiring an electrical fire to a fused spur needs knowledge about the purpose of a fused spur and manually doing all the connections.

Want to make your fireplace safer? We give you all the know-how to do this at home.

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An Electric Fire Must Be Connected To A Fused Spur

An electric fireplace is one of those appliances that have a power rating that does not permit you to plug it into an ordinary wall socket. For this reason, a fused spur is the safest recommendation to wire the fire.

There is a likelihood that you might feel tempted to just put the fire into a plug socket next to the fused spur on the wall. Resist that urge. It is truly a lot safer to follow the recommendations of experts in the industry and that is to use a fused spur.

In this article, we are going to share how to wire the electric fire into a fused spur to make your home cosy. But, before we do, you might first want to understand the importance of a fused spur.

If your fireplace is a little too talkative, find out why your fireplace is so noisy and what you can do to fix it.

Why Is A Fused Spur So Important?

A fused spur is an electric component equipped with a fuse. Its purpose is very important and that is to prevent overloading. The latter can, in the worst-case scenario, lead to house fires. In case you are wondering how overloading can happen, let’s quickly look at the process. The wall socket is usually equipped with a 13Amp fuse that is capable of handling any equipment with a rating of about 2000W to 2500W. However, if you have more than two such pieces of equipment and you intend on plugging them in a single plug, then the plug will be overloaded.

Many types of equipment with high power ratings use a fused spur to avoid overloading. Some people also prefer to put a plug next to the fused spur. However, this one has some disadvantages which include overspending since you will have to buy a patress for mounting the socket and extra cables for this connection. For this reason, the best idea might be to turn the fused connection unit into a socket or better still, wire the equipment into the fused spur. You will be surprised at how easy it is to turn the fused connection unit into a socket.

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Apart from preventing overloading, FCUs are also good at preventing unnecessary unplugging of your equipment. Some of the gadgets connected to an FCU are not supposed to be unplugged once they are functioning. Examples include central heating boilers and built-in ovens. An electric fireplace is another such appliance. It does not require unplugging once you have connected it and that is why wiring it into a fused spur is perhaps the best installation procedure to follow.

Among the most common problems that owners experience with electric fireplaces is that the appliance keeps shutting itself off. If you also struggle with this, find out why your fireplace keeps shutting itself off and what you can do to fix the issue.

How To Connect An Electric Fire To A Fused Spur

Okay, the whole process is basically one big hardwiring project. It involves opening the FCU and doing the connections manually. But before we start, always check to see if your model has a wiring diagram for a fused spur. It should be in the instruction manual. If your manual has nothing, then follow the steps below.

1. Take sharp clippers and cut off the plug on the electric fire.
2. Look at the cable you just cut and identify the live, neutral and earth wires.
3. Make sure that you also correctly identify the locations where each of the three wires needs to go on the FCU.
4. Once you have their locations, securely connect each wire and screw them down firmly.
5. Ensure the cables have enough resistance to withstand the rating of an electric fireplace otherwise you will have to deal with an overheating cable (which is dangerous as it may blow up after prolonged usage).
6. Once you have screwed down the three cables into their correct positions inside the fused spur, the next thing is to put it back on the wall and screw it on to its patress.
7. Test the spur by switching it on to see if the electric fireplace activates.

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DIY Or Hire A Professional?

To fix or adapt an electrical appliance, one must stay cautious. There is always the chance that something can go wrong and then one might get shocked or electrocuted. Incorrect wiring can also lead to fires or explosions. If you have extensive experience with DIY, then, by all means, go ahead and do your thing! But remember, a professional can also save you time and doubt if you want to do this quickly or have no electrical DIY experience.

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A Quick Summary On How To Wire An Electric Fire Into A Fused Spur

• Due to the risk of overloading, plugging an electric fireplace into a regular wall socket is not recommended by safety experts.
• The safest thing to do is to connect your electric fireplace to a fused spur.
• This process requires that the fireplace be hardwired into the spur.
• Doing so prevents overloading and also ensures that don’t have to unplug the appliance the whole time.

This project is easy enough to do at home but a professional can quickly connect the electric fireplace if you lack the time or experience to do so yourself.

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