Aquatron - Replacing for new.

saracen · 7 Aug 2006

Hi all.

I have a Aquatron E11 shower, it works fine and has served me well over the last 5 yrs since moving into the house.

Im now planning on re- tiling my bathroom and thinking of purchasing a new Mira Sprint shower which will be 8.5 kw.

My Aquatron is 7.5kw, will i be able to use the wiring all ready in situ ?

Thanks for your time.

starspark · 7 Aug 2006

what size cable do you have in for the shower now?wat size mcb is it on?
a 6mm twin and earth cable on a 40a mcb should be sufficient.

Pensdown · 7 Aug 2006

You maybe able to use the same supply depending on your original install

Do you know what size cable you have installed and can you let us know the MCB/fuse size of your existing shower?

saracen · 7 Aug 2006

starspark said:
what size cable do you have in for the shower now?wat size mcb is it on?
a 6mm twin and earth cable on a 40a mcb should be sufficient.

Thanks for your reply.

My neighbour reckons the wire is 4mm, its twin (red & black) and earth, fuse in consumer unit is Type 1 32a

The consumer unit is a Crabtree 63A RCCB 30mA trip, 240V, 2 pole.

saracen · 8 Aug 2006

Having major problems getting a 45amp fuse for my Crabtree consumer unit, I've been told the best alternative is to purchase a seperate RCB to use as a standalone fuse box for a new shower using 10 mm cable then i can basically install any shower up to 10.5kw.

Any pitfall is this or is it really a good safe option ?

Thanks.

ban-all-sheds · 8 Aug 2006

It is a good safe option, but it requires you to do things like pull the service fuse (unless you are lucky enough to have an isolator fitted) and split the meter tails with a Henley block....

And there is legislation in Scotland which may affect how, or if, you can do this work yourself. You should make the effort to find out for yourself what the legislation says.

Do not rely on other people's interpretation of it, particularly if they have vested interests, such as being electricians, or running a registration scheme, or being a local authority after a quiet life.

I say this not because I have any evidence that such people or organisations are misleading the public, but because I have seen exactly this happen with English electricians and organisations with respect to Part P.

saracen · 8 Aug 2006

I've been doing some research into the legislation and as yet, Scotland doesnt have the same law as England and Wales, but its coming that im confident of.

Just been out a purchased a Proteus Switch gear, or known as a Shower Kit - Insulated 1 way consumer unit with 40A 30mA DP, RCD & 40A SP type B MCB also has a new pull switch ( 45A pull swich with neon flag indicator, 1 gang 47mm deep pattress with earthing terminal) with tails.

Shower is a Heatstore Aqua plus 9.5 kw, plus i also bought 10 meters of 10mm cable. All from City Electrical Factors. CEF.

I was informed as the cable is less than 16 meters a 40amp fuse is fine. I hope so.

The person who is fitting it is a competent DIYer, ( finding an electrician in my area is harder than counting hens teeth)

Any negatives/positives on the items i've bought will be gratefully received.

Thanks.

ban-all-sheds · 8 Aug 2006

saracen said:
Just been out a purchased a Proteus Switch gear, or known as a Shower Kit - Insulated 1 way consumer unit with 40A 30mA DP, RCD & 40A SP type B MCB.

And how will this be supplied?

saracen · 8 Aug 2006

Supplied through the main consumer unit which is 100A, The " tails" i was given are 2 of H 1.25.0 and a slightly thinner earth cable. thats all i know as wiring it up is way over my head..

ban-all-sheds · 8 Aug 2006

saracen said:
Supplied through the main consumer unit which is 100A,

But

saracen said:
Having major problems getting a 45amp fuse for my Crabtree consumer unit.

So what rating will you use on the circuit supplying the shower CU?

And how will the shower CU do anything that the main one can't?

thats all i know as wiring it up is way over my head..

I think some more planning, and investigation would have been in order before going out and buying that stuff...

saracen · 8 Aug 2006

Yep i agree, more planning should have been done, however from the 3 Electrical premises i went to today, CEF, William Wilson, Edmundson, they all recomened utilising a shower kit over a fuse to upgrade my consumer unit which i could have got once ordered in.

As for ratings on the circuit that i dont know. I only purchased the items recommended for the job, my knowledge from there is zilch.

ban-all-sheds · 8 Aug 2006

You have been very poorly advised and served by them.

They have sold you items which you are not going to be able to use.

You can buy more stuff, which will make what you have usable (meter tails, earth cable, 2 single-pole Henley blocks or 1 DP), but that will mean that to fit it all your competent DIYer friend is going to have to be competent and confident enough to cut the seals on the service fuse and remove it...

saracen · 8 Aug 2006

yikes, sounds like i have been badly advised

Only alternative i can think of would have been to replace the 32A fuse to 40A which i saw on Screwfix direct.

But to confirm if the fuse is correct one to fit, will i not have to cut the fuse box seal to get into it ? ( unfortunately i cant see my fuse box as im not at home just now)

also will the shower kit not wire up into where it is now but of course it will be fused thru the additional shower fuse box ?

The tails i was supplied are 25.0 blue/grey ( 2 of them) and 1 16.0 green yellow earth cable.

saracen · 8 Aug 2006

Just spoke to a spark, hes gonna fit it for me, decided not to take chances with a DIYer, so for peace of mind getting it done correctly by qualifed electrician.

ban-all-sheds · 9 Aug 2006

saracen said:
yikes, sounds like i have been badly advised

Only alternative i can think of would have been to replace the 32A fuse to 40A which i saw on Screwfix direct.

Which would limit you to a 9.6kW shower, not a 10.5...

But to confirm if the fuse is correct one to fit, will i not have to cut the fuse box seal to get into it ? ( unfortunately i cant see my fuse box as im not at home just now)

There is no seal on your fuse box. The seal, and fuse, I was referring to is the main one on your supply, before it goes into the meter.

also will the shower kit not wire up into where it is now but of course it will be fused thru the additional shower fuse box ?

Not sure what that means, but irrelevant now...

The tails i was supplied are 25.0 blue/grey ( 2 of them) and 1 16.0 green yellow earth cable.

Sorry - missed the mention of tails in the 15:47 post. And it should be 1 brown, 1 blue..

You're missing a service connector block aka Henley block, which is basically a large, high-current junction box.

The idea is that the tails that come out of the meter and go into your fuse box are moved, and go instead into a Henley block, and from there two sets of tails come out, one goes to the existing fuse box, and the other to the new mini-CU for the shower.

Obviously for this to be a safe task, the supply has to be isolated via removal of the electricity suppliers service fuse.

saracen said:
Just spoke to a spark, hes gonna fit it for me, decided not to take chances with a DIYer, so for peace of mind getting it done correctly by qualifed electrician.

Good idea.

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Aquatron - Replacing for new.

starspark

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