Fitting a Fused Spur

[Atticus]

I'm fitting a water heater above a sink in a small recess.

My question is - can I fit a switched fuse spur beside the unit, i.e above or certainly in close proximity to the sink?

I believe IEE Regs require a socket to be no less than 2 metres away from a sink. What about a spur? I'm not keen on having a long flex from the unit to the spur and a pull chord switch is not really an option.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JohnD]

The 2 metres is not a rule, it used to be considered good practice as it made it difficult for a user to have the plug in one hand and the tap in the other. 300mm is now considered the minimum distance, and it must be in a position where it is not expected to get splashed.

If you want a distant switch and no dangling flex, you could run the cable under the plaster or in mini-trunking, and have a flex outlet close to the heater, with the FCU (e.g.) by the door.

 

[Atticus]

Thanks JohnD.

The '300mm and out of splashing range' rule sounds good to me and should be manageable without too much hassle. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't breaking any laws.

 

[JohnD]

(personnally I think 300mm is too close, but then I'm old-fashioned)

 

[farndon]

The regulations state that no socket/spurswitch can be within 60 Cm radius fom a wet zone

 

[JohnD]

I didn't know that. Where did you see it? Is it in the building regs, BS, or an IEE publication? Or should i have seen it in my guide to the 16th Edition?

 

[Atticus]

Oh well. Not to worry, fortunately I was able to get my distance to something like 1 metre. Even 60cm seems quite close, for me.

Thanks for updating this.

 

[Spark123]

I didn't know that. Where did you see it? Is it in the building regs, BS, or an IEE publication? Or should i have seen it in my guide to the 16th Edition?

His post subject says IEE regulations? I wasn't aware of this either, only the guidelines in the electricians guide to the building regs which give a recommendation of 300mm from the edge of a kitchen sink to a socket outlet. Afaik the regs say an accessory is required to be suitable for its environment. Special locations have more restrictions re sockets and spurs though.