45 Amp shower pull cord switch life expectancy.

[Aragorn84]

Personally I'll fit a din rail mount enclosure on the wall outside the bathroom, and put a standard 100amp main switch inside it as a shower isolator, those crappy pullcords are not really up to the job - you will be lucky to get one year's reasonable daily use out of one on average!

Can't do that, as it's not for functional switching, it won't live up to regular mechanical switching.

Either a wall switch outside or a decent pullcord.

Personally in 8 years I've only ever had one pullcord go.

I've always thaught it somewhat strange that you'd "turn off" the shower isolator anyway?

Do you apply the same to various other isolators round your house? For instance the washing machine/dishwasher? Oven? Bathroom Fan?

If not, why does the shower get special treatment?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

In my case because the fan is triggered by it.

 

[SaladFingers]

Personally I'll fit a din rail mount enclosure on the wall outside the bathroom, and put a standard 100amp main switch inside it as a shower isolator, those crappy pullcords are not really up to the job - you will be lucky to get one year's reasonable daily use out of one on average!

Can't do that, as it's not for functional switching, it won't live up to regular mechanical switching.

Either a wall switch outside or a decent pullcord.

Personally in 8 years I've only ever had one pullcord go.

I've always thaught it somewhat strange that you'd "turn off" the shower isolator anyway?

Do you apply the same to various other isolators round your house? For instance the washing machine/dishwasher? Oven? Bathroom Fan?

If not, why does the shower get special treatment?

The shower doesn't get special treatment.

All fixed appliances must have an isloator, such as an oven. Wheather people choose to use them or not is another matter.

 

[EFLImpudence]

All fixed appliances must have an isloator, such as an oven.

That will lead to a lot of ovens all over the place.

 

[SaladFingers]

All fixed appliances must have an isloator, such as an oven.

That will lead to a lot of ovens all over the place.

I even have an oven room.

'Throw that big oven over there and put a padlock in it'.

 

[Aragorn84]

The shower doesn't get special treatment.

All fixed appliances must have an isloator, such as an oven. Wheather people choose to use them or not is another matter.

I'm not talking about the requirement to have an isolator, i'm talking about the isolator actually being used for functional switching on a daily basis...

It seems reading this thread that many people turn their shower isolator on and off many times a day, rather than just using the controls on the shower and leaving the isolator on.

I'm wondering why the shower gets special treatment in that regard, or if the people that turn their shower off and on at the isolator many times a day also switch all of their other fixed appliances off at the isolators, such as the washing machine or the oven when its not being used.

I've personally never seen anyone i know turn a washing machine isolator off for instance (barring maintenance ofcourse). So why does the shower get turned off at its isolator, but the washing machine or dishwasher or oven etc doesnt.

Obviously in bans case theres a reason, but not many people will have their fans connected to the shower circuit, usually they're attached to the lighting.

 

[bhm1712]

in my case i turn it off at the isolator as well as the shower because the last 2 showers i have had (one Mira and one Triton) both told me to do so in the manual. The triton manual i have on front of me reads:

"In normal use, it is in order to leave the water supply permanently on to the shower unit, but as with most electrical appliances, the unit must be switched off at the isolating switch when not in use."

and later on:

"The switch must be accessible and clearly identifiable, but out of reach of a person using a fixed bath or shower, except for the cord of a cord operated switch, and should be placed so that it is not possible to touch the switch body while standing in a bath or shower cubicle. It should be readily accessible to switch off after using the shower."

 

[EFLImpudence]

"In normal use, it is in order to leave the water supply permanently on to the shower unit,

Oh good, that saves a lot of bother.

but as with most electrical appliances, the unit must be switched off at the isolating switch when not in use."

Why?

I remove the cut-out when I go out.

 

[SaladFingers]

"In normal use, it is in order to leave the water supply permanently on to the shower unit,

Oh good, that saves a lot of bother.

but as with most electrical appliances, the unit must be switched off at the isolating switch when not in use."

Why?

I remove the cut-out when I go out.

I switch off the feeder pillar when the street go out.

 

[bhm1712]

i just do as it says....

My washing machine manual tells me not to turn off the isolator due to the anti flood protection requiring power at all times!

 

[canduit]

Ive one of those electricity monitors and in theory after a 20 minute shower with a 10.8kw shower i should have used 3.6 units, but my monitor didnt show anywhere near 3.6 units extra to what it was before the shower. I know the monitors are usually only accurate to a certain degree but this one is part of the smart meter...so its normally pretty bang on.

Just a theory but could it be that you'll only use 10.8kw if its on its hottest setting?

 

[bhm1712]

Ive one of those electricity monitors and in theory after a 20 minute shower with a 10.8kw shower i should have used 3.6 units, but my monitor didnt show anywhere near 3.6 units extra to what it was before the shower. I know the monitors are usually only accurate to a certain degree but this one is part of the smart meter...so its normally pretty bang on.

Just a theory but could it be that you'll only use 10.8kw if its on its hottest setting?

I think this may be the case when you switch between the two modes that you normally find (usually high or economy, or high or low) on the power switch, but i think once you have selected the mode you want the elements are not regulated at all. The temp control normally slows down or speeds up the water flow through the heat exchanger depending on where you set the temperature control, it doesnt regulate the voltage going through the elements.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Some have more granularity than that.