Rehabitat: swap old BJC sockets without chasing the wall

Swap old BJC sockets without chasing the wall

Anyone with old BJC electrical mechanisms at home — the ones with a metal frame and non-standard box — faces a familiar problem: when replacing them, the wall opening doesn't fit modern mechanisms. The answer isn't to start chiselling. The brand itself sells the **Rehabitat** series, an adapter system that lets you fit new mechanisms onto the old boxes. The saving isn't just in building work: it's in time and headaches.

The key is identifying which series is installed. The two most common are the **Lineal series**, sold and installed well into the 90s, and the **Estrella series**, of which there are "loads installed out there" and which is remembered for its quality and its endurance through decades of heavy use. In both, removing the frame reveals a metal frame that determines everything about the subsequent installation.

What you gain beyond the looks

The change isn't just cosmetic. The Lineal series had **fused** sockets. In the same space as one of those sockets you can remove the fuse and fit a Schuko plus two simple lighting outlets, so the number of sockets in the house multiplies. And there's a practical advantage beyond the count: Schukos let you plug in appliances with an earth connection, like computers, which previously couldn't be connected.

The cost, based on shared experience, is "peanuts" per mechanism, far below what a local electrician or a big-box store charges. The Rehabitat series is documented on BJC's website, and there are online shops listing references and photos, which makes it easy to draw up your shopping list before deciding.

The fuse that protected nothing

The conversation soon turned to what's behind the plastic. In homes from the 80s, many of those sockets included a fuse that, in practice, was just for show: if there's already a **10-amp** miniature circuit breaker at the head, a 6A or lower fuse only adds a point of failure. The conclusion reached is that they end up being "of string or silver paper", so the sensible thing is to disable them.

The most repeated technical warning concerns actual use. If Schuko outlets are added to a lighting circuit, sooner or later someone will plug something power-hungry in there. With **10 amps at the head** the ceiling is 2,200 watts, and appliances like a 1,500-watt bathroom heater or a hairdryer get dangerously close to that limit if they coincide with other loads.

The problem with rectangular boxes and discontinued series

Not all old boxes have such a clean solution. The **rectangular boxes** Niessen used in its last series disappeared years ago, and finding replacements becomes a headache. For BJC's discontinued **Metrópoli** series, the suggested alternative is to use surface-mounted outlets screwed to the wall that cover the old box, with the aesthetic cost that implies.

It's also mentioned that narrow-box mechanisms can be replaced with **Simon's series 27**, narrow and compatible with the box without touching anything. And it's worth remembering that the protection of the installation matters more than the finish: a **30 mA** residual current device is the first thing, and if there's no box with a DIN rail, one must be installed.

The exact point where the analysis gets stuck: the adapter solves the opening, not the wiring. Behind those old mechanisms there are usually thin cables, triple wiring and circuits spliced any old way. Changing the visible face of the installation doesn't change what's inside the wall.