earthing towel rail? old house wiring?

[sean oc]

Evening.

Anyone able to help?
House built in 60s so just two wire nothing is earthed. Just bought an electric towel rail saying it needs earthing?

I was just going to wire it in to a fused spur socket and tape the earth up as can't use it. 13 amp by the way

Would that be okay? If not what can I do? Thanks

 

[deadshort]

Hi, aparently it's a towel radiator !

You need an electrician to install this if it's in a bathroom it MUST have an RCD fitted. Please let a spark!

Kind regards,

DS

 

[sean oc]

Hi, aparently it's a towel radiator !

You need an electrician to install this if it's in a bathroom it MUST have an RCD fitted. Please let a spark!

Kind regards,

DS

Hi.

It's not in a bathroom it's a utlity room off the kitchen. Does that much of a difference? Only got a sink and few cupboards in there.
Or do I need a spark.. thanks for reply

 

[bernardgreen]

NO it is NOT OK

It could kill you or give you a severe electric shock.

If there is no Earth connection in the socket(s) then you need to get the place re-wired as a matter of urgency.

And having an Earth wire in the back of the socket is not enough. It MUST be connected to the Main Earth Terminal at the fuse box ( or consumer unit ).

 

[OwainDIYer]

Do your sockets really have no earth at all? If this is the case then your house is long overdue for rewiring.

The towel rail MUST be earthed. All new wiring MUST have an earth conductor which connects to the main earth terminal for the installation.

(If this is in a bathroom, f not all circuits in the bathroom are RCD protected (which they won't be with an installation of that age) then you MUST install supplementary bonding.)

You MUST also install main equipotential bonding. Depending on how you wire the new circuit you MUST protect the new wiring by RCD and you must run a new circuit back to the fusebox and MUST NOT piggyback off unearthed wiring.

 

[sean oc]

NO it is NOT OK

It could kill you or give you a severe electric shock.

If there is no Earth connection in the socket(s) then you need to get the place re-wired as a matter of urgency.

And having an Earth wire in the back of the socket is not enough. It MUST be connected to the Main Earth Terminal at the fuse box ( or consumer unit ).

Hmm I'll just remove the towel rail if that much works involved. I'm not really wiring the whole house for that job. It's lasted since the 60s with everything else.

Cheer for info. At least I know it's not safe now and not worth doing.

 

[deadshort]

Hi, sorry! when you say you have no earth ….. we freak out, as that's about as lethal as it gets !

Please get an electrician

DS

 

[sean oc]

Do your sockets really have no earth at all? If this is the case then your house is long overdue for rewiring.

The towel rail MUST be earthed. All new wiring MUST have an earth conductor which connects to the main earth terminal for the installation.

(If this is in a bathroom, f not all circuits in the bathroom are RCD protected (which they won't be with an installation of that age) then you MUST install supplementary bonding.)

You MUST also install main equipotential bonding. Depending on how you wire the new circuit you MUST protect the new wiring by RCD and you must run a new circuit back to the fusebox and MUST NOT piggyback off unearthed wiring.

Thanks for the info. I may just remove the towel rail for the time being then. Can't afford a Re wire ... first house first year in, money's tight. I'll just leave everything as it currently is and working.

Cheers Sean

 

[Jackrae]

How do you know that it has no earth - or do you mean the 1860s build date Twin and earth has been used for at least the past 60 years. The main supply may come in as two separate cables but your consumer unit may have an 'earth' connected to a ground stake (fairly ineffective without RCD protection) in which case your consumer unit could fairly easily be upgraded to a TT system

 

[bernardgreen]

Can't afford a Re wire ... first house first year in, money's tight. I'll just leave everything as it currently is and working.

Just because it is working does not mean it is safe. Your first house so maybe you do not have the experience of what can go wrong with defective electrics. Defective electrics, such as sockets without effective Earths, will enable appliances and lamps to work but at the same time there is no protection for when things go wrong.

For your own safety and that of every one else in the house please have the electrics at least checked by an electrician. Put safety first even if it means going without some luxury to make cash available to make the house safe

 

[deadshort]

Ye, been there ,done that ! I was so skint i rewired my flat! Post some pics of your wiring including the fuse box and meter wiring then we can see how old it is.

DS

 

[oceansoul]

Everything will 'work' without an earth connection as that's not what the earth is for. The earth is there as a fault path so, in the event of a fault, say a live wire coming loose and touching the front of a socket, enough current will flow causing the protective devices to operate (fuse, MCB etc). If that earth connection is not present and a person touch's said socket, current will flow through that person to esth which could be fatal.

This is why the earth must be connected. It is not there for the operation of things, it is there as a safety connection.

 

[sean oc]

..

 

[sean oc]

How do you know that it has no earth - or do you mean the 1860s build date Twin and earth has been used for at least the past 60 years. The main supply may come in as two separate cables but your consumer unit may have an 'earth' connected to a ground stake (fairly ineffective without RCD protection) in which case your consumer unit could fairly easily be upgraded to a TT system

It may the twin and earth. When I changed the lights in kitchen and lounge area there was no earth used. Haven't took the socket off I was going to use for this towel rail yet to see if that is either. I'm guessing not though

Cheers

 

[sean oc]

Ye, been there ,done that ! I was so skint i rewired my flat! Post some pics of your wiring including the fuse box and meter wiring then we can see how old it is.

DS

Just posted a pic of fuse box

Had new conservatory with all new wiring... and there all handy man jobs. Sockets fitted all over the show added on over the years. Even them old sockets with no switch just plug in and it works.