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@stevo_com
Bit wordy but I am stumped so thought I would give all the background.
Odd one. We have a mains socket under the stairs which is supposed to be used for the boiler. I think it was a rudimentary way to make it slightly automatic by plugging in the boiler via a timer socket instead of hard wiring it as it is a fairly old boiler.
We have been using the socket for all manner of things (hoover, lamp to see under the stairs, wireless doorbell, boiler, etc - not all at once). We did away with the timer because I much prefer just turning it on for a bit when we want hot water or heating (plus I couldn't work out how to use the timer so instead of admitting my stupidity, I declared it "fucked" and threw it in the bin).
This has been fine for over 3 years until last Thursday. Some gardeners were doing some landscaping work out the front and needed to plug in a disc cutter. I asked them if they normally used it on domestic supplies and they said yes, it also just looked like a big angle grinder, certainly nothing industrial. They plugged in their extension lead, the tool span up but as soon as they touched the concrete, it crapped out.
I immediately assumed they had blown the fuse in the consumer unit, one of those old wire types. But then the other plug sockets in the house were working. It was then I found out that this plug under the stairs runs off it's own circuit with a 15amp fuse wire in the CU. I tried the lamp and the doorbell in the socket and neither worked. I then plugged an extension lead into the next nearest plug and tested the lamp, worked fine. Tested the boiler, worked fine. It's just this socket.
The fuse wire didn't look damaged but I replaced it anyway. Still no life in the socket. I went to the hardware shop yesterday and bought a new socket, fitted that, nothing.
I am completely stumped. There is something wrong between the socket and the CU but the cable goes up into the ceiling and must go into the back of the CU.
Anyone got any bright ideas?