Electric socket fusing?

[goddessmum]

We live in a 9.5 year old house and tonight when I was cooking I had a steamer plugged in and the veg wasnot cooked at the end of the time. We thought the steamer had broken but it works on other sockets, the kettle etc work for a few seconds on the socket it was plugged into then stop. Do the sockets have a fuse in them? Can the socket be changed easily/cheaply?

many thanks

[stanleyman]

Kitchen sockets can get hard use and do wear out, overheat and can start a fire. There is no fuse in the socket itself, most sockets will be on one ring main circuit or a cooker circuit and the 30 amp fuse or 32 amp mcb will be in the consumer unit. Disconnect first.

Changing the socket should not be too difficult however this may only be a loose wire needing to be tightened up so check that first. They can be difficult to get at if under kitchen cabinets so extra care is needed to ensure that all wires are correctly and fully in and all tightened up.

You will usually find a pair of cables connected to the socket, sometimes three if there is a spur off and one if it is a spur. Check your plugs and other sockets for signs of overheating and change if necessary, they are quite cheap. Get an electrician in if not confident.

[goddessmum]

Thanks stanley man, hubby has change the socket and all is OK now!