What size fuses / which supply to connect for the following

mark.carline · 19 Oct 2006

I am fitting a number of fused switched spur outlets that will be connected to the following two items:

1) 4 x 20w 12v Halogens on a 50w to 150w transformer with a "the bathroom switch":
http://www.sensor.co.uk/BathroomSwitch.htm
and a inline "Bikkel" dimmer:
http://www.sensor.co.uk/Bikkel01.htm

2) A shower fan light as follows:
http://www.micromark.co.uk/epages/m...4000d6668273f0a020f650629+EN/products/MM30089
connected via another bathroom switch:
http://www.sensor.co.uk/BathroomSwitch.htm

I have the option in my loft to connect these to my 2.5mm ring main or to my 1.5mm lighting supply thats in the loft. I have two questions:

a) Which supply should I connect the spurs to ?
b) What size fuse shall I use on the fused switched spur ?

I was going to connect it to my ring main and use 1amp fuses but thought I would post on here to check that this is correct !??

JohnD · 19 Oct 2006

Put them on the lighting circuit.

If you are in England or Wales and these are going in the bathroom you will have to notify your Building Control ofice and pay the inspection fee.

mark.carline · 19 Oct 2006

ok thanks - Any ideas how much of this can be done DIY and how much the inspection fee is ??

Typical - Degree in electrical engineering and i'm not allowed to fit a light!

Burocracts !

JohnD · 19 Oct 2006

As long as you notify and pay, you can do as much as you want.

Look up your council's website.

davelx · 19 Oct 2006

mark.carline said:
Typical - Degree in electrical engineering and i'm not allowed to fit a light!

Burocracts !

Tell me about it - the Part-P wiki is worth reading, as the Council may try to pull a fast one abd avoid their responsibility and/or charge you for more than they are allowed to:
//wiki.diynot.com/electrics:part_p:diy_electrical_work_and_the_law

mark.carline · 19 Oct 2006

thanks for the wiki link, I thought that this comment on the wiki was interesting:

Surprisingly, perhaps, Part P does not alter the status of the Wiring Regulations. They are still non-statutory, and there is still no legal requirement to adhere to them in domestic installations. This is a source of great discomfort to many electricians, and some of them will jump through hoops to try and prove that they are mandatory, but the fact remains that they are not.

HOWEVER, adherence to them is a very good way of ensuring that you meet the technical requirements of Part P, and you would need a very good reason, and a very good understanding of what you were doing, to decide to not adhere to them

I have looked at my councils web site and phoned then and for what I can gather I need to:
1) fill in a load of forms
2) pay them around 60 quid
3) inform then before I do any work
4) get an electrician to test the work
5) get the council to inspect the work

This is madness and total burocracy (but I understand why they have done it with cowboy diyers) but my question is now - As long as its 100% safe and I follow all the usual rules whats the worst that can happen if I dont do this?. I guess perhaps if I sell my house in a few years it could come up on the survey ????

Thanks again Mr Blair for another "Nanny State" law.

Steve · 19 Oct 2006

That bathroom switch - does it meet the reg that calls for accessible electrical connections? I cant see how it would. And when the building inspector calls and wants to see, you'll be buggered.

mark.carline · 19 Oct 2006

crafty1289 said:
That bathroom switch - does it meet the reg that calls for accessible electrical connections? I cant see how it would. And when the building inspector calls and wants to see, you'll be buggered.

Does that not apply to mains voltage connections ?

Everything on the actual sensor side of the box is low voltage

Spark123 · 19 Oct 2006

Yes it applies to mains and extra low voltage, all screwed connections need to be accessable. Also if it should go wrong you will need to be able to change it.

iirc it says in section 1 of the iee regs that the iee regs are non-staturory, they may however be used in a court of law to claim compliance with a statutory requirement.

plugwash · 19 Oct 2006

They reccomend using weak sealant to fix the tile so it can be removed for inspection or if there is a problem.

but yeah i can well imagine a switch like that causing issues with picky building inspectors even though the law itself doesn't say anything that would forbid it.

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What size fuses / which supply to connect for the following

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