isolating live wire question

kaloochi · 29-07-2008, 20:27

Hello all. I'm decorating my hall at the moment and on one of the walls i've stripped there is a smoke alarm that is connected to the mains. I want to get rid of the alarm by completely removing it and capping the exposed wires, pushing them back into the wall and filling over it.
Can anyone advise me on the correct procedure here please.

DIY Guy · 29-07-2008, 23:03

Hey kaloochi, welcome to the diy forum....

Regarding your mains smoke alarm... Why on "earth" (bad pun) would you want to get rid of a mains powered smoke alarm?

ok, so lets assume your crazy enough to want to actually get rid of it, do you have a fused switch for it on your mains consumer unit?

If you do, switch it off, hopefully the alarm has some sort of light on it to indicate its on mains power, so once this has gone out, you should then be able to remove it safely.

Then go get something called a "choc box" from any electrical supply store, its basically a big plastic box, the size of a packet of cigarette's with a terminal connection inside and a screw down lid.

Eterna Choc Box 5A

Remove the wiring from the alarm, fit it into the terminal connectors in the choc-box, screw the box shut and if you really want to, tape the box up with electrical tape, then just push it back into the ceiling.

Job done.

Pop a bit of tape over the consumer unit fuse too so nobody tried to switch it back on, (Not that it will do any harm) and your good to go.

Before you remove the wiring though, make sure no other alarms are linked to that one, or that it isnt feeding something else.

If your not 100% sure, consult a qualified electrician though, they wont charge much just to do a little job like this, its very simple if your wiring is already certified and in good condition.

Show us a picture if you can?

kaloochi · 30-07-2008, 04:49

Thanks for your answer mate. The alarm has to go because my girlfriend wants it to go, because it's old. I'm worried that i could be next LOL. I will replace it. The alarm is above an airing cupboard door fixed to blockwork [concrete] and obviously the plaster on top of that. The fuse box is inside the cupboard so the wires go through the wall. Using your method i could pull the wires through the wall and fit the choc box inside, then fill the hole.
Would it still be ok to do this if something else is on that main, as long as i isolate it?
I'll see if i can get a photo later this morning. How would i upload it?

DIY Guy · 26-08-2008, 02:14

Hiya mate

Apologies for the delay, yes, if you are 100% knowledgable in what your doing, and can competently isolate other items on the mains to a "certifiable standard" then you should be fine, but do get it certified immediately when done, otherwise, if anything goes up in smoke, you may find yourself without any home insurance.

If your not sure about the "exactness" of it, then leave it to a pro.

Electrics are immensly dangerous, and extremely easy to get wrong, even when all "appears" to be ok and working.

I know first hand as I had a team of electricians rewire my place, and although it all worked on the surface, upon professional inspection, half my house had to ripped out and done again as it would have caused a fire had I put any loads on the ring main.

To upload a photo, you need to use the "Advanced interface" which you can set in your "UserCP" and you will then get the "manage attachments" box below the post message window.

wilsonmian · 04-09-2008, 20:18

To be very true, that is the stupid thing to do so don't remove it.