Electric Shower - Triton Opal 3 - no red light?

[docburgess]

Hi,
Found my shower not working this morning.

The external fuse switch outside the bathroom was red hot the other day so guessing it is something to do with this.

HOWEVER.... I'm not sure which fuse in the fusebox is for the shower so obviously don't want to open up the switch to have a look until I can work out which is which.

Any suggestions?

 

[bernardgreen]

Please get an electrician. That is the best advice.

Identify the fuse that supplies the shower and remove it. It is probably marked Yellow, Red or Green

Blue-15A
Yellow-20A
Red-30A
Green-45A


You should not have used the shower after finding the switch was hot. That is a clear indication there is a serious fault.

Most probably a loose connection or failed contact in the switch was the cause of the heating. If the front of the switch was "" red hot "" then the damage behind the switch to the switch and cable is likely to be extensive.

By not recognising the danger of a "" red hot "" switch and then trying to use the shower again you appear to lack the knowledge necessary to carry out a safe repair of the fault.

You need to get the electrician as soon as possible as the damage to cables may be creating a hazard of further heating from shorting between conductors in the heat damaged cables. That hazard is there even when that switch is OFF

 

[docburgess]

Looking at the fuse box, I can only find 1 fuse with 35A on it - and it is the only fuse that isn't an RCB. It is an old brown plastic fuse.

Is this illegal?

 

[bernardgreen]

RCD are not fuses, they detect earth leakage and turn off the power to some circuits, they have a test button.

MCBs are a "fuse" in that they detect over current and turn off just that circuit.

Can you confirm it is an electrically heated shower with only a cold water feed and not a shower pump that takes hot water from a hot water tank.
I now know it is electrically heated

The 35 amp fuse could be the shower fuse if it is an electrically heated shower . Turn the main switch OFF, pull out the 35 amp fuse, turn on the main switch and see if anything other than the shower doesn't work, Cooker, fixed electric heating, sockets may be supplied by it. If everything you need ( other than the shower ) still works then it is most probable BUT NOT CERTAIN the 35 amp fuse is for the shower.

 

[EFLImpudence]

RCBs aren't anything.

 

[bernardgreen]

RCBs aren't anything.

My error RCD

 

[EFLImpudence]

But OP wrote RCB so we cannot be sure if MCB or RCD was meant.

 

[docburgess]

Hi everyone,

Bit more information....

1. The 45Amp Double pole switch was very hot yesterday. I came to use the shower and no red lights in the Triton Shower unit.

2. I went to turn off the power in the box but couldn't work out which plug in fuse worked the shower. I am now pretty sure it is the one old style fuse with no Mini Trip Breaker as it has '35A' on the brown plastic housing.

3. Before I do anything I will switch off the main box.

My question is....
1. Can I just replace the 45A double pole switch with a new one.
2. Can I replace the old style 35A fuse (old type with wire) with a 40 Amp Wylex B Type plig-in Mini Trip Breaker just to be on the safe side?

Thanks

 

[stillp]

1. Can I just replace the 45A double pole switch with a new one.
2. Can I replace the old style 35A fuse (old type with wire) with a 40 Amp Wylex B Type plig-in Mini Trip Breaker just to be on the safe side?

1. Possibly. If the reason why it overheated was a loose connection, then yes, provided you cut back any overheated cable to clean bright copper. On the other hand, if the overheating was due to a fault, then that needs to be recified first. Do you have the necessary test equipment to determine if there is a fault?
2. What makes you think that would be safer? Do you have an RCD protecting this shower circuit? I'm guessing not, in which case you really should get one fitted professionally.

 

[docburgess]

1. Possibly. If the reason why it overheated was a loose connection, then yes, provided you cut back any overheated cable to clean bright copper. On the other hand, if the overheating was due to a fault, then that needs to be recified first. Do you have the necessary test equipment to determine if there is a fault?
2. What makes you think that would be safer? Do you have an RCD protecting this shower circuit? I'm guessing not, in which case you really should get one fitted professionally.

1. The Live wire feed from the supply to the 45 amp dp plug was burnt, and had burnt the actual plastic of the terminal.

2. If I fit a trip fuse in the fusebox then if there is a fault won't it trip out? Isn't this safer than an old style brown 2 pin fuse with 45A fuse wire?

I've now refitted a new 45Amp DP Crabtree switch with neon light. I left the shower on for a while and it seems to have worked.

However, now worried that I have a bigger fault as the live wire had burned out - why would it do this? Could my old switch have been faulty?

 

[stillp]

The most likely cause of your switch overheating is that the terminal had become slightly loos over time, so the resistance of the joint increased and the terminal therefore overheated. However this is only a probability, and it is also possible that there is a fault in your shower or in the wiring between the switch and shoer. An electrician would perform an IR test (Insulation Resistance) to check the wiring. If however you've just replaced the switch, you must cut the wire back to bright shiny copper, or the same will happen again, very quickly.
There is no such thing as a "trip fuse" in this context. What you're talking of fitting is an MCB, which will not give any better protection than a correctly-rated fuse.
It sounds as though you have quite an fuse box, and rather than spend money on additiona plug-in MCBs you might be better off having the consumer unit replaced, which would be safer since a modern CU would include an RCD (residual current device). These are essential for safe use of electric showers, and if you don't have one then you really, really should, asap