Bathroom light safe?

[cajar]

We just bought a metal cased bathroom light designed to be mounted over a mirror above the wash hand basin.

It will be mounted >0.6m from the taps placing it in zone 3 and it will be earthed but I am still concerned about the safety aspect. The switch on the bottom is a rocker switch on the underside and could be operated by a person who has their other hand in a sink of water. Is it not risky to have live current so close to the wet fingers of someone who is potentially a really good earth?

 

[ebee]

it is the bath/shower that dictate the zones not a hand basin.
A hand basin in a bathroom or a sink in a kitchen does not create any zones.
Of course possible splashing etc. has to be accounted for wherever it occurs

 

[holmslaw]

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[cajar]

We are trying to achieve something like this

http://mattron.co.uk/12-ideas-for-small-bathroom-design/

Safety has to come before design though, that's why I'm asking before installing it.

 

[bernardgreen]

We just bought a metal cased bathroom light designed to be mounted over a mirror above the wash hand basin.

How do you know for certain that it is designed for that location ?

The switch on the bottom is a rocker switch on the underside

A rocker switch ( unless IP65 or better) suggests it was not properly designed for that location. A switch operated by a pull cord would be more appropriate for that location

 

[holmslaw]

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[cajar]

The staff in litecraft said it was designed for bathroom use and a check of the internet suggested zone 3 can contain any sort of light. The light itself is marked IP21 which appears to mean it is designed to offer the minimum protection against dripping water.

I said >600mm. In reality it will likely be around 800m from the taps but has to stay reachable. My main concern isnt really splashing its what could happen when a person uses the switch.

As electricians would you install an IP21 light with a rocker switch .8m above the taps if a customer asked you to?

 

[bernardgreen]

As an engineer I would not install IP2X in many domestic situations as that allows for 12.5 mm objects to enter the item. A small finger for example.

I would never install IPx1 in a room where water could be splashed as IPx1 is only protection from water falling as drips from directly above the item.

 

[cajar]

I'm not going to take risks with it. Thanks for your responses

 

[JohnW2]

We just bought a metal cased bathroom light designed to be mounted over a mirror above the wash hand basin.

So why are you mounting it above the taps? what are you trying to achieve? And no its not a safe idea, its a daft idea.

I don't really understand this question/comment. It sounds as if the op intends to mount it in exactly the way its designed to be mounted ('above the taps' IS 'over a mirror above the WHB') - (s)he merely told us how far above the taps the light would then be.

Have I missed something?

Kind Regards, John.

 

[holmslaw]

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[ban-all-sheds]

We just bought a metal cased bathroom light designed to be mounted over a mirror above the wash hand basin.

Nope - don't think it's JohnW2 missing a few brain cells....

 

[holmslaw]

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[JohnW2]

It will be mounted >0.6m from the taps

"It" being the light, he wants to mount 0.6 above the taps, not the mirror.So that would put the light about 1500 above ffl, perhaps he was a dwarf.

You have quoted the op correctly. Do you understand what the symbol ">" means?

The op presumably thought that there might be a problem if the light was less than (for which the symbol is "<", by the way) 600mm above the taps, and was therefore pointing out to us that this was not the case.

Kind Regards, John.

 

[holmslaw]

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