bathroom fan parallel to light is this ok

[qwertyuiop]

in my bathroom which has a big window the wiring is 25 years old the extractor fan (in line about 700mm from vent above shower) is connected in parallel with the bathroom light. so if i switch on the light the fan comes on. is this now illegal? also everything else in the bathroom is on rcd at mains but light (and hence fan) are not. should i change this? finally the light on off pull cord in in the bathroom near the shower (bath/shower). it is not above the bath and is 2.9m from bottom of bath (and 10cm outside of bath edge). is this ok for the pull switch? i could provide power to light and fan from the mains in the loft which is rcd. should i do this?
many thanks for any help

 

[ban-all-sheds]

in my bathroom which has a big window the wiring is 25 years old the extractor fan (in line about 700mm from vent above shower) is connected in parallel with the bathroom light. so if i switch on the light the fan comes on. is this now illegal?

No - is not, and never has been, and is still the most common way to switch bathroom fans.

also everything else in the bathroom is on rcd at mains but light (and hence fan) are not. should i change this?

Is your supplementary equipotential bonding in place?

finally the light on off pull cord in in the bathroom near the shower (bath/shower). it is not above the bath and is 2.9m from bottom of bath (and 10cm outside of bath edge). is this ok for the pull switch?

http://www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:bathroom-zones

 

[qwertyuiop]

thanks for your kind help


no metal pipes in bathroom all plastic. but immediately outside bathroom all copper pipes are earthed

as you say its not allowed should i get an electrician in or can i leave it as it is 25years old. the fan does not have a timer. should it be on a seperate switch?

what about the light switch?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

as you say its not allowed

. . . . . . . .

is this now illegal?

No - is not

. . . . . . . .

what about the light switch?

Did you read this: http://www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:bathroom-zones ?

 

[qwertyuiop]

thaks for your help.

plan B!!

leave lights alone - or better still power them from rcd mains in loft via 3a dp switch in loft but retain pull cord in bathroom?? whould this be allowed?? would it be safer

disconnect fan from parallel arrangement. connect it to rcd mains in loft via 3a dp switch connector. and have a dp pull cord in bathroom to switch the fan on or off. fan does not have timer

would this be allowed?? would it be safe

finally my rcd is on my mains unit. do i need a seperated rcd for the bathroom with a lower rated rcd??
many thanks again

 

[wingcoax]

If bathroom electrics fed from rcd side of consumer unit everything should be ok.

 

[ColJack]

BAS has already said that it's perfectly normal and safe to have the fan paralleled off the light.. so stop messing with it..

if you have a CU that supports it, the easiest way to provide RCD protection to the lights would be to put the whole circuit on an RCBO.. this replaces the breaker in the board.. you'll need a registered sparky to do this.. it works out cheaper than DIY..

 

[qwertyuiop]

ok i am really embarrassed. i am dyslexic and read the first reply the wrong way around. so i thought it meant that it was illegal and wrong and dangerous to have the fan in parallel to the light. i know nothing about this stuff so thanks for all the kind help everyone and forgive me misreading. rob