Led Mirror with always on Demister pad

[Sys33]

Hi all, Just moved back in to our renovated house.

We have a Led mirror fitted in the bathroom. The electrician told me he wired it to the upstairs socket circuit which is fine and the mirror functions as required. My only problem is this particular mirror has a always on Demister Pad and a touch switch for the led lights.

It is now too late to return the mirror and tiling is complete so can't rewire the mirror to the light switch. I'm not too happy about the Demister running 24/7, it gets quite hot to the touch, don't know if this is safe and it's consuming unnecessary electricity (rear of mirror says input is 17.4W)

Would appreciate any advice on my options.

Thanks.

 

[JohnW2]

We have a Led mirror fitted in the bathroom. The electrician told me he wired it to the upstairs socket circuit which is fine and the mirror functions as required. My only problem is this particular mirror has a always on Demister Pad and a touch switch for the led lights. ... It is now too late to return the mirror and tiling is complete so can't rewire the mirror to the light switch. I'm not too happy about the Demister running 24/7, it gets quite hot to the touch, don't know if this is safe and it's consuming unnecessary electricity (rear of mirror says input is 17.4W)

If it's drawing 17.4W continuously, that will probably cost you about £24 per year in electricity (assuming about 16p per unit). If it is thermostatically controlled, it could be a lot less than that.

As for whether it is safe to have it running continuously, what do the manufacturer's instructions say about that?

Would appreciate any advice on my options.

I'm not sure why you say that it can't be re-wired to the lighting circuit. Assuming your electrician can find where it connects to the sockets circuit (presumably outside of the bathroom, since there won't be any sockets in the bathroom), (s)he ought to be able to reroute that to a light - if there is access to the light!

Kind Regards, John

 

[Sys33]

Thanks for the reply.
£24 a year doesn't seem too bad I suppose but it all adds up. Wife bought the mirror from eBay, seems a unbranded import and the "Demister has PET applied safely working at constant temperature" ?? they say it is IP44, IP67, CE and ROHS certified and has a Omniseal Alu housing.

The bathroom was part of the rear bedroom that was converted many years ago (before we moved in) and electrician said there was a inaccessible socket behind the old vanity unit. He removed the socket and used this wire to power the mirror, so this is now embedded behind the tiles.

A guy to work suggested I get a 2a 240V mini pull cord on/off switch and retrofit to the inside of the mirror casing with the string coming out the bottom. Does this sound like a safe thing to do?

Thanks

 

[JohnW2]

£24 a year doesn't seem too bad I suppose but it all adds up. Wife bought the mirror from eBay, seems a unbranded import and the "Demister has PET applied safely working at constant temperature" ??

That sounds like a poor translation which, given what you say about the source, could well mean that what you have is a 'dodgy' (and not necerssarily safe) Chinese import. I don't know what they mean by "PET" but the reference to 'constant temperature' might mean that it is thermostatically controlled - in which case, as I said before, the running cost might be appreciably less than I suggested.

they say it is IP44, IP67, CE and ROHS certified and has a Omniseal Alu housing.

The item as a whole can't be both IP44 and IP67, although they might mean that different parts have different degrees of protection against the ingress of fingers, dust and water! However, even if it was only IP44 that would probably be adequate. However, again, if it happens to be a 'dodgy import' than you could take all compliance claims (particularly "CE") with a pinch of salt.

The bathroom was part of the rear bedroom that was converted many years ago (before we moved in) and electrician said there was a inaccessible socket behind the old vanity unit. He removed the socket and used this wire to power the mirror, so this is now embedded behind the tiles.

It seems a little odd if, as you seem to imply, he connected the wire to the mirror without any intervening switch or fuse.

A guy to work suggested I get a 2a 240V mini pull cord on/off switch and retrofit to the inside of the mirror casing with the string coming out the bottom. Does this sound like a safe thing to do?

Something like that might well be technically feasible, but it would need to be done by someone 'who knew what they are doing', and the exercise might possibly reveal some 'horrors within'. It would also, of course, invalidate any warranty, but I suspect you probably don't have one (or a meaningful one!), Anyone doing such modification would need to ensure that the IP rating was not compromised.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Taylortwocities]

A guy to work suggested I get a 2a 240V mini pull cord on/off switch and retrofit to the inside of the mirror casing with the string coming out the bottom. Does this sound like a safe thing to do?

Sure, if you do it safely.

If you can access the feed wire to the cabinet, there should be a way to have the demist pad controlled by the bathroom lights, but there are a lot of things to consider. Needs a thorough look on site to see what can be done.

Edit: does the feed also power the lights, as well as the demister? If so, then separating the lights and the demister may be an issue. You could wire it so the lights and the demister go off at the same time.

I have a similar mirror, and there is a separate switch on the side for the demister although I wired mine (properly) from the start so the lights are powered all the time (there's a sensor switch underneath) and the demist pad goes on and off with the lights.

 

[JohnW2]

Edit: does the feed also power the lights, as well as the demister? If so, then separating the lights and the demister may be an issue. You could wire it so the lights and the demister go off at the same time.

As I understand it, that's what the OP would like, but it can't be done because of lost access to the feed cable - which is apparently coming directly from a sockets circuit (no mention of an FCU).

Of course, if he could find the origin of the cable from the sockets circuit to the mirror (presumably outside of the bathroom), it might be possible to connect it to the lighting circuit.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Sys33]

Thanks for the replys.

Yes the translation is bit off, they sent me a manual via email that didn't even relate to this model. Definitely a Chinese import half the email was in Chinese.
When I spoke to electrician, who was sub contracted, he never mentioned a switch but I will ask.

Yes the feed powers the light and a clock on the mirror too. I suspect the clock has a battery backup as when I turned the electrics off for about 15 mins the time was still correct once back on.
Wiring the lights and Demister together will be the ideal solution if at all possible.

I will open unit up and post pictures of the internals later on today.

Thanks

 

[Sys33]

Just to add I'm not too fussed if I have to pull a cord switch to then use the led lights (don't think the Mrs would like it though) As long as the Demister can be turned off I'd be more than happy.

 

[JohnW2]

Yes the translation is bit off, they sent me a manual via email that didn't even relate to this model. Definitely a Chinese import half the email was in Chinese.

That does raise potential concerns about teh quality/safety of the product. At least if you do go with the pull switch approach, someone will have to open up the mirror and thereby determine whether there is anything 'worrying' inside!

When I spoke to electrician, who was sub contracted, he never mentioned a switch but I will ask.

It's worth asking him exactly how he did it. As I said, if he knows (or can find out) where the cable feeding the mirror comes from (physically), then it might be possible to do what you would like.

I will open unit up and post pictures of the internals later on today.

Thanks. I look forward to seeing them!

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

Just to add I'm not too fussed if I have to pull a cord switch to then use the led lights (don't think the Mrs would like it though) As long as the Demister can be turned off I'd be more than happy.

I doubt that would be necessary. Once you've got inside the unit (I hope you don't need a can opener!), it ought to be possible to insert a pull switch in just the feed to the demister.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Sys33]

Hi all, 4 screws and managed to get it open here are some pics. As you can see the feed splits so should be able to do the pull switch method. The white box is for the clock and led lighting touch control.

 

[Taylortwocities]

So you need to put the switch in the white cable that comes from the heating pad. It may be convenient to have it where the white cable and the black join together.

Your problem with a pull switch will be that you will not know if you have it switched on, or off.

One thing I do not understand. How do you turn the mirror LED lights on and off?

 

[Sys33]

The lights are controlled by the white box with red wires sticking out. They are activated by a touchpad on the front of the mirror which also has the time on it.

Yes the the black/white cable join looks to be the most convenient way to put the switch in. The only way I'll know it's on/off is to touch the mirror so will have to live with a few smudges I'll guess, unless there's another way.

Thanks

 

[rsgaz]

unless there's another way.

A relay, with a 12v DC coil, could switch the 230v for the demister, so it's on whenever the LED lights are on.

But, with the unit being double insulated, you'd need to be really sure with what you were doing or have it done professionally.

 

[Sys33]

Thanks for the idea, but I think that will be a bit too much for me, I have limited electrical knowledge, hence why I'm here getting great advice for free

A guy at work suggested it might be possible to connect a small LED power indicator to the Demister feed ??

Thanks