To fit an electric shower...possible for an 'amateur'?

[totoisacat]

I appreciate the response, especially the extensive and constructive comments from Softus and Ricicle. I can understand that some members feel 'protective' towards their knowledge and don't like a 'DIY'ER' wanting to take on what they have spent years studying etc. However i did say i could only do this limited task with help. I don't need to know the theory so long as someone else guides me.I was told plumbing took ages to learn..it doesn't. Nor does plastering. I'm not expecting to turn out a qualified electrician, just fit a new circuit(correct term?) using correct wire/fuse etc. I can manage the pluming. I realise also that i will need to pull boards up etc to root the new circuit to main box but its only a small cottage so this won't be a problem at all.
If someone is willing to guide me i'll reciprocate in kind if i can share some skill (need a website perhaps? Brochure/business cards?)
Any offers?!

 

[Pensdown]

Is it just me, or is the first question to the OP.

Do you mean a shower fed from the existing hot and cold water but electrically pumped, or do you mean an electrically heated shower that overcomes the lack of head by using the mains water pressure?

As trog has pointed out, in the first instance it would help us if you confirmed whether it is an electric shower or a shower pump?

 

[totoisacat]

Electric shower as no water pressure and immersion tank I am advised could drain too quickly if an electric pump was used. I did look into that and would have preferred that to an electric shower, and fitted one at home so can mange it. I am only fitting an electric shower a si rent the cottage and people want to use showers (fair enough!)
Hope this clarifies the situation.

 

[DESL]

I can understand that some members feel 'protective' towards their knowledge and don't like a 'DIY'ER' wanting to take on what they have spent years studying etc.

You are way off the mark there.

If we (professional electricians) were protective of our trade we would not be on here in our spare time giving advice free of charge.

Our answers may seem a bit harsh but our main concern is yours and your families safety.

 

[totoisacat]

I think you are taking this out of context..i did say that i could only do it with help and that i didn't expect to become aqualified electrician overnight. I recieved some very helpfula nd positive responses-others not so, hence my comments that SOME (not all) seemed protective. That is clearly what i had said.

I am aware of safety and the need for it and would have it all checked by the Council, as i do for other work i have undertaken (without prior knowledge...)

Hopefully someone will help and as said before i will reciprocate in kind with a website or brochure or something...

.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It is a notifiable job and must be done by a part P electrician.

True, and untrue.

Do not connect a shower to this spare fuse as it will only be a small fire that burns your house down,

Why should a fuse blowing start a fire?

you will invalidate your insurance by causing the fire as it wasn't carried out by a competant person.

Do you know that that is in the small print of his insurance policy?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Hopefully someone will help

Electric showers need their own circuit.

Without knowing the rating of your shower, the length that the cable will need to be, where and through what the cable will run and what type of protective device it has, it is not possible to tell you what cable to use.

Or what rating of protective device.

Or even if your CU is capable of supporting it.

The circuit will need testing, notifying to the council in advance, and initially left exposed for them to (hopefully) inspect its installation to check for joist holes, bend radii, supports, proximity of other cables and services, conformance with regulations on concealed cables, grouping and insulation factors etc.

And as you are renting this property out, pay careful attention to the Ts'n'Cs in your liability insurance.

 

[Softus]

I can understand that some members feel 'protective' towards their knowledge and don't like a 'DIY'ER' wanting to take on what they have spent years studying etc.

If you want to avoid alienating the potential helpers, then please consider leaving out this kind of comment.

I was told plumbing took ages to learn..it doesn't. Nor does plastering.

Ditto.

If someone is willing to guide me i'll reciprocate in kind if i can share some skill (need a website perhaps? Brochure/business cards?)
Any offers?!

No. I don't want anything in return, thank you. Please accept the help in the manner that the web site advertises.
_______________

Electric showers need their own circuit.

Wake up b-a-s; we've already covered that point.

Without knowing the rating of your shower, the length that the cable will need to be, where and through what the cable will run and what type of protective device it has, it is not possible to tell you what cable to use.

Or what rating of protective device.

Or even if your CU is capable of supporting it.

And all of that.

 

[totoisacat]

Thank you for that constructive and helpful info. Having also read up last night in my Collins DIY 'bible' you clarify and expand on issues raised there.
Since i am doing up an annex (new window/interior wall/plumbing etc etc ) I am in touch with a BCO and will run the electrics past him and see what he says. I have also emailed an electrician in Blandford and await a response.
As for shower i saw advice here about getting a 10k one.
I am rally only getting one because we rent it and it is expected by most. (However no one has made a point about it before!)
Also having done up the bathroom last year if it was only us and friends using it i wouldn't bother. Aesthetically i don't like electric showers and in an old cottage they look even worse, I believe.
I can work out distances or the cable and routing it etc. I would also need to get someone from Southern Electric to look at the present set up as you say to see if it can stand up to it. When i am next there-maybe next week if time-i shall look at it and can produce details if you can advise futher? I am not 'flushed' with cash at present-hence doing work myself in annex (even rebuild of flint and brick walls-advice from this site-enjoy it!
Thanks[/b]

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I am in touch with a BCO and will run the electrics past him and see what he says. I have also emailed an electrician in Blandford and await a response.

And you must run it by your insurance company too - the one that covers your liabilities to your renters.

I would also need to get someone from Southern Electric to look at the present set up as you say to see if it can stand up to it.

Do you mean Southern Electric Contracting? I'm sure there are cheaper ways to get an electrician.

If you mean Southern Electric the DNO, they won't be in the slightest bit interested in looking at your CU.....

 

[totoisacat]

'And you must run it by your insurance company too - the one that covers your liabilities to your renters'

I would have though that if the Building Control Offficer/Council approved it that would be sufficient to satisfy the insurance company. One can become over cautious....

I mentioned contacting Southern Electric because i'm not sure if the old system that I have will allow for another circuit. I don't know if i'm required to do this or whether i could just ask an electrician.


I had no intention of asking Southern Electric to do the work by the way.

Thanks
toto

 

[Softus]

I would have though that if the Building Control Offficer/Council approved it that would be sufficient to satisfy the insurance company.

Probably, but don't assume it. You don't want to find out too late that you don't have cover.

I mentioned contacting Southern Electric because i'm not sure if the old system that I have will allow for another circuit. I don't know if i'm required to do this or whether i could just ask an electrician.

You can just ask an electrician.

I had no intention of asking Southern Electric to do the work by the way.

Don't take b-a-s too seriously.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I would have though that if the Building Control Offficer/Council approved it that would be sufficient to satisfy the insurance company. One can become over cautious....

You can never be too cautious when it comes to giving insurers an excuse to avoid paying out.

If your policy says that electrical work must be done by a NICEIC registered contractor, then no matter how unreasonable you think that is, that's what you have to do.

If it says all work must be done by a registered electrician, that's what you have to do.

What your insurer is happy with will probably have nothing to do with what your BCO is happy with with respect to the Building Regulations. Remember, this is not buildings or contents insurance we're talking about, it's public liability.

I mentioned contacting Southern Electric because i'm not sure if the old system that I have will allow for another circuit. I don't know if i'm required to do this or whether i could just ask an electrician.

Southern Electric, aka SE Power Distribution, the DNO, have no responsibility for anything on your side of the meter. Nor will they get involved in any calculations of your maximum demand - all of that is down to you or your electrician.

Southern Electric have a contracting business, which has a domestic arm - I wasn't sure if that's who you meant.

 

[bengasman]

Even if you would be able to do the job properly by following advice from the forum, which is highly unlikely to say the least, you would not be able to test what you have fabricated.
Just step back, detach from the emotional and ask yourself this:

“I am not a plumber, I am not an electrician, I have created a situation where I am standing in water and the shower has a big massive electrical cable running to it.

If anything goes wrong, how do I know that the safety mechanisms will engage?

Do I feel really safe, know I think about it?

If something goes wrong when my tenant has a shower, and at the trial it becomes clear that I did not engage a professional to do this job, but botched it myself for personal gain, what sort of sentence could I expect when convicted for GBH or manslaughter?

 

[totoisacat]

I think you are looking at the worst and most probably most unlikely outcome that i cannot obtain enough advice to do this myself. I do work on my car-change brakes etc but have never had an insurance co. ask questions in the event of an accident. You make the assumption that the worst possible scenario will be the outcome-that i will bodge the work and start fires/electricute my tenants. I can understand that you are cautious and worried about the average DIY's creating dangerous wiring circuits etc but i am cautious and intelligent enough not to go further than i think i am able to. I know that some aspects of your work are too complex for me to indulge in but equally a lot of it is not rocket science. Thanks for your advice.