What kw shower?

[kozzymodo]

We are renevating the bathroom and our 8.5kw shower is on its way out. We would like to replace it with the most powerful model suitable for the wiring.

The power supply cable is 10mm and runs for aprox 20 metres.

The switch on the consumer unit can handle 40 amps.

should we stick with a 8.5kw or could we get away with a 9.5kw or even a 10.5 kw one?

thanks in advance

 

[breezer]

switch on consumers unit? or do you mean fuse?

 

[dingbat]

I'd go for a [maximum] 9.5kW shower (about 41A) and replace your 40A circuit breaker (the switch to which you refer) for a 45A one.

Any higher and you'll need to use a 50A breaker and upgrade your shower's local isolator, plus you may be operating close to the limits of both your cable (depending on how it's installed) and your consumer unit.

Buy why the general stampede to go for bigger and bigger showers I just don't understand. My 8.5kW is capable of running far too hot for any human to withstand!!

 

[AdamW]

Well, according to some website I was reading a few months back, "The Federation of British Shower installers" or some such group, people want the "power shower experience". This doesn't have to be a power shower per se, it is just that people want a lot of hot water thrown at them in a shower. Higher kw isn't about higher temps, it's about greater flow!

It's like all things. People want more. A car is no longer 4 wheels and an engine. You want aircon, 12 speaker hifis, comfy chairs. Same with a shower. It isn't about economy, it is about enjoying a shower. Sometimes I even feel like taking one just for the hell of it!

 

[dingbat]

Yeah I know, Adam, but it's bowlarks really. I mean, how clean do you want to be fer chrissakes? Showering falls into the general category of activity known as ablutions, for which the minimum time to be effective is required. In, get the job done, out... get on with more important things.

Or are these the same people that spend more than three minutes [tops] having a s**t?

S**t, shower, shave, teeth, get dressed... any bloke that takes more than twenty minutes for the lot is a poof!

(Women can do what they want in there... reason is beyond them.)

 

[securespark]

You want aircon, 12 speaker hifis, comfy chairs. Same with a shower.

Yeah, I've just had my cubicle fitted with an armchair and a Bose system.. aircon provided by adjacent window, though.

 

[AdamW]

any bloke that takes more than twenty minutes for the lot is a poof!

Well hello, sailor! Ooooh, chase me chase me!

I am renowned for my rigour and time spent on ablutions... takes me about 5 minutes just to brush my teeth (especially now seeing as the fanatical scrubbing has caused gum problems, I have to be ginger with my gingiva ).

My preferred order is different to yours: optional shoe-shine first, s**t, teeth, shower (working from top to bottom), shave. But I know one of my mates goes shave, shower, s**t, teeth... seems a bit backwards to me.

I like to make sure absolutely everything is clean... when one is so obviously a poof it is expected, ducky!

Of course it could be more because I am blatantly an obsessive compulsive when it comes to this kind of thing. Although I do follow the rule of "never take longer in the bathroom than a woman unless you want her to think you find her hygiene poor".

 

[AdamW]

You want aircon, 12 speaker hifis, comfy chairs. Same with a shower.

Yeah, I've just had my cubicle fitted with an armchair and a Bose system.. aircon provided by adjacent window, though.

I should write more carefully, I nearly wrote something about washing my hands in the toilet as well!

When I planned my bathroom I found it hard to not install speakers recessed into the walls. I even considered mounting a TFT into the wall, sealed watertight behind a sheet of glass. The plan was to drive it from a mini-itx based integrated PC in the loft above, with video-in. I even found a waterproof keyboard!

Luckily I remembered that I am only living here another few months and it wouldn't be worth the outlay for such a short time (secondhand hifi doesn't add value!).

 

[dingbat]

When I planned my bathroom I found it hard to not install speakers recessed into the walls. I even considered mounting a TFT into the wall, sealed watertight behind a sheet of glass. The plan was to drive it from a mini-itx based integrated PC in the loft above, with video-in. I even found a waterproof keyboard!

Ah bless you, Adam, you'll grow out of it in time.

As for the sailor remark, you may like to know how it's done on board her Majesty's sleek grey messengers of death... Form a queue, step into shower for a matter of seconds and start soaping up, step out and rejoin the queue at the back, continue soaping until it's your turn to rinse, then rinse and leave. Ten blokes, one shower, five minutes... all clean. I can guarantee that after a few years of that you'll spend no more time than absolutely necessary in the bathroom! (Submariners don't bother at all, by the way... they just get their missus to hose them down after a deployment)

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Or are these the same people that spend more than three minutes [tops] having a s**t?

3 minutes?

That's bonkers. How much of the newspaper or BS7671 can you read in that time?

 

[dingbat]

There are those who have reading matter in the bog and there are those who prefer not mix pleasure with their business.