Do I need to switch the shower off?

[88v8]

Our 9kw Mira shower has just eaten a second pullcord switch in ... not many years.
An MK, in this case, about 3 years old.
The neon glows faintly, but no power to the shower.

I switch it off after each use. Do I need to, or can I just leave it on?

 

[jurassic sparkk]

Leaving it on is fine. It's a isolator for maintenance on the shower not an on/ off switch.

 

[ETAF]

MK make are not as good as they used to be , i had to change one recently - well i got the electrician back as under a year .......
not sure which make is a good quality these days
we leave it ON all the time , unless away now

 

[Sureitsoff?]

Crabtree shower switch.

Crabtree Capital 50A 1-Way Pull Cord Switch White with Neon - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. 1-way DP with neon and mechanical indicator. Integral pattress for surface mounting. Can be mounted to a large circular conduit box. Terminals will accept up to 10mm² cable. Standard pull cord is 1.5m long, in white. For use with 25mm x 16mm trunking. Rated for...

www.screwfix.com

 

[SUNRAY]

I've been to enough properties where a shower fault has caused a problem, one of my colleagues went on a job where the internal switch had broken while they were away on holiday and they'd used a couple of MWh and lots of water, they were lucky the water went down the drain but the whole house needed redecorating due to the condensation. One I went to a wire was trapped and eventually shorted to a contact, bypassing the the differential pressure switch and thermal cutout without any water flow. The copper heater tank had split open and the plastic outer case had melted with a little evidence of a fire and a couple of others have caused flooding.

Guess what we do everytime we finish our shower?

In addition our shower has an LED to show power is on as does the pull switch, combined they draw something like 12mA so potentially approaching 3 W

 

[opps]

Guess what we do everytime we finish our shower?

Dry yourself?

 

[JohnW2]

I've been to enough properties where a shower fault has caused a problem, one of my colleagues went on a job where the internal switch had broken while they were away on holiday and they'd used a couple of MWh and lots of water ...

Yes, you've told that story before, but leaving a shower (or many other things) powered whilst one is on holiday is very different from leaving it powered continuously whilst the house is occupied and thee shower used every day

Given the number of problems we hear in relation to shower isolators, my personal inclination would be to minimise the number of times it was operated, by leaving it 'on' continuously other than when the house was going to b unoccupied for a significant period of time. ... but that is 'just me'!

Kind Regards, John

 

[ebee]

I often get the reply from some folk as to why they keep switching shower or cooker isolators off when not in use xxx no of times a day is "because I don`t like that little red light using up all that electricity"

 

[JohnW2]

I often get the reply from some folk as to why they keep switching shower or cooker isolators off when not in use xxx no of times a day is "because I don`t like that little red light using up all that electricity"

That doesn't particularly surprise me.

Perhaps you should advise them to reduce the durations of their showers (or cooking) by a second or so?

Kind Regards, John

 

[SUNRAY]

Yes, you've told that story before, but leaving a shower (or many other things) powered whilst one is on holiday is very different from leaving it powered continuously whilst the house is occupied and thee shower used every day

But that failure could just as easily occur when the last person leaves the house to go to work at 7am in a house that's empty for the next 8, 9,10 hours and have 20L/m pouring into the bathroom ceiling.

Given the number of problems we hear in relation to shower isolators, my personal inclination would be to minimise the number of times it was operated, by leaving it 'on' continuously other than when the house was going to b unoccupied for a significant period of time. ... but that is 'just me'!

Kind Regards, John

My experience differs with more known shower faults than known switch faults but follow that with problems with switch faults statistically occur when the shower is being used for a few minutes at a time whereas a faulty shower could potentially manifest itself when not in use, when the property is empty.
Ergo my risk assessment makes the shower the vulnerable part of the system and likely cause more damage.
Cost wise it's cheaper to replace a switch prematurely than repair a house.

 

[JohnW2]

But that failure could just as easily occur when the last person leaves the house to go to work at 7am in a house that's empty for the next 8, 9,10 hours and have 20L/m pouring into the bathroom ceiling.

True, but provided one doesn't leave a 'plug' in the bath or shower tray waste,that would cost a few quid in terms of electricity and water usage, but would not be the end of the world.

My experience differs with more known shower faults than known switch faults but follow that with problems with switch faults statistically occur when the shower is being used for a few minutes at a time whereas a faulty shower could potentially manifest itself when not in use, when the property is empty.
Ergo my risk assessment makes the shower the vulnerable part of the system and likely cause more damage.

Fair enough. One can but base advice and practices on one's 'risk assessment', and that will, at least in part, be be based on one's own experiences.

 

[SUNRAY]

True, but provided one doesn't leave a 'plug' in the bath or shower tray waste,that would cost a few quid in terms of electricity and water usage, but would not be the end of the world.

As long as the shower head is pointing into the bath or shower tray.

Fair enough. One can but base advice and practices on one's 'risk assessment', and that will, at least in part, be be based on one's own experiences.

I sincerely hope so and I fully expect there to be significant differences between risk assessments for and by different people

 

[JohnW2]

As long as the shower head is pointing into the bath or shower tray.

Indeed

I sincerely hope so and I fully expect there to be significant differences between risk assessments for and by different people

Quite so.

 

[88v8]

Interesting, thankyou....

As a rule I've been using the shower on its middle setting, but a few weeks ago I turned it up to high which is 9kw. Perhaps that accelerated the failure.

It seems rather odd that a switch should be so poor at switching. Just as well light switches work better.

I think I'll add it to our 'going out' routine rather than switching it off every day. I wouldn't want it failing to On, as sometimes the drain is a bit lethargic.

Thanks for the Crabtree rec. I already ordered an MK, perhaps I'll keep that in reserve.

 

[blup]

Replace it, no need to turn it off except for maintenance/access, and best to do that at the CU as well