I think it is very misleading for the lay person.  The box is labelled as an outdoor garden socket hence implying weatherproof.  They need to clearly state
Dry weather use only to attach appliance
Or
All weather use for appliance.

(As long as it is clear to the layperson)

There is always the argument about the who mows the lawn in the rain?
The plug and socket arrangement could be used for
Pond
Jet Washer
Mobile sump pump

It does need to be clear - outdoor sockets are not always for mowing the lawn - and even so it is not unknown to start in the dry and finish and wind in the leads in the rain - this is the UK after all.

I have a natural aversion to jet washers with short leads and 13A plugs, but it is an unintended consequence of the plug and socket regs that this is how they are normally sold.

Equally a mated 13A extension lead socket is OK operating with a light coating of droplets, until you go to pick it up. In more than one tight spot, I have been known to do ugly things with plastic bags and tape, taking care to get the open end draining down, which count as site applied insulation to no reg standard at all but make things a lot safer than doing nothing.

Mike.

Gary

i was using the Gewiss sockets due to their compact size and price being about half of the click aqua for example which ad you say closes the lid over the plug when in use to maintain the IP rating. I remember being told many years ago that once you drill a hole in an accessory for a conduit adaptor or gland for example you immediately invalidate the IP rating even if the gland or whatever you are using seals up the hole again, so the whole thing becomes a nonesense. 

Mike

yes it is quite misleading to sell a product with a certain specification but as soon as you use it, the specification changes. My example of the Gewiss socket is the same as a car manufacturer saying that in testing their car will do 50 mpg but when you want to use it and actually put people in it, it only does 20mpg. It’s a bit of a cop out on their part in my opinion 

Chris

• The reason for plug in is two fold. Firstly is for ease of maintenance and removal of fittings. The second is that the light fittings are suspended on chain and as such can swing about as the building has open sides and there can be a cross draught. I noticed a problem on a previous job where I was fitting led vapourproofs suspended on chain. I had pvc conduit running the length of the building at high level going in and out of a Wiska box at each lighting position. The flex from the light fitting entered the Wiska box via a stuffing gland and the flex was also held in position with a couple of clips prior to it entering the Wiska box also. The problem I noticed was that even with all this strain relief on the flex and cable clips, the flex moved about inside the Wiska box when the light fitting was swaying about in the breeze. Admittedly not by much but over the lifetime of the installation I thought it would eventually cause a problem. As such I considered a plug and socket arrangement would transfer any movement to an accessory that would be designed to cater for this. Obviously having the fittings fixed so that they couldn’t move would be the answer but the customer wanted them suspended so I had no choice. Also recently been fitting led hi-bays which can only be suspended so I had no choice but to try to deal with the problem

Baldyhugh said:

The problem I noticed was that even with all this strain relief on the flex and cable clips, the flex moved about inside the Wiska box when the light fitting was swaying about in the breeze.

Thank you. Isn't flex supposed to be able to, er, flex? However, I do take the point because even if the sheath is held firmly by the gland, the conductors might still be able to move (a little) independently.

I cannot see how a plug and socket would help because the flex must be clamped somewhere - I am now thinking of the cable grip in a 13 A plug.

I think that if the cable inside the box is laid in a lazy S, or perhaps even coiled once, any movement at the terminal will not be a problem.

(I now have a Hitchcock-esque vision of shadows of cattle on a barn wall moving in a howling gale. :-) )

There are some even worse examples.  Electric vans stating a range of 150 miles.  Load it up with 2 or 3 worker and their tools and parts.  The drive 50 miles and the battery is flat.

Recently Amazon had to send back a whole fleet of electric vans as the range was absoluly shocking. 

Hi Chris

yes flex is supposed to move but not inside a junction box as it will put strain on the terminations. That’s why I was planning to go down the plug and socket route as the cable grip in the plug will hopefully hold the flex firmly and the plug is designed to move in and out of the socket, not that any swaying of the light would move the plug about hopefully. Admittedly the movement of the conductors in the junction box was small but it didn’t sit well with me so decided to find a better alternative.

In most flexes the cores are free to move back and forth within the jacket, and are commonly dusted with chalk or talc to aid this. (and in eacch core, the strands are free to slide as well) If this is not done, then the bend radius is much larger - rather like the leaves of a leaf spring vs a solid steel triangle - the movement is small but essential to the operation. As such, when the lamps sway, the strands and then the cores are being tensed and slackened in turn. It is not the jacket moving, but the cores within.  If you really want to stop it, you have to clamp the cores individually. But some flexing at the terminals is unavoidable.

Mike.