no earth to ceiling rose

[ban-all-sheds]

Now now - the only point I was trying to make was that several people had said, in effect "you dummy how could you possibly think that a wooden joist could supply an earth", and I could see the possibility (small tending to zero) that it was a metal joist. If it was, it would make a lot more sense to think it would provide an earth.

As for your fan heater - just connect it to the lighting circuit. If you scrape away some grouting you could get a thin wire, e.g. bell wire, in there and it'll look OK.

 

[mapj1]

Ye Gods - some people.
In serious answer.
While it is quite possible to run a fitting that requires an earth from a supply that does not provide one, you are sacrificing the protection against a possible fault making the casing live, and as such, breaking the UK wiring regs, by creating a class zero installtion - one where a single fault makes it dangerous, and goes undetected.
It might be possible, depending on the design of the house, to 'borrow' an earth connection by running a suitable green and yellow wire from a light fitting elsewhere where an earth is present, or even from another circuit where earth is present.
However, this is frowned upon, and can lead ot accidental loss of earthing during maintainence to the other circuit, and the real solution involves rewiring at least that branch of the lighting circuit in cable with an earth core.
As earthing has been mandatory in lights in the UK since the late '60s when formerly 'placing out of reach' was OK, it is likely your wiring predates this, and, as others have suggested, it may be time to save up for a professional to rewire it for you.
Even if your joist is metallic, it cannot be used as the sole means of earthing.
In a bathroom there are also additional earthing requirements to cross-bond plumbing and wiring earths, which are almost certainly not present either, so be warned there is rather more work to this than meets the eye.

 

[andy]

As for your fan heater - just connect it to the lighting circuit. If you scrape away some grouting you could get a thin wire, e.g. bell wire, in there and it'll look OK.

itll be easier if you wire it in series with your light taking a feed from the switch. thatll save you having to wire it to the light and damage the ceiling

 

[securespark]

Sounds great lads, cheers. But I don't have bellwire, will co-ax do?

 

[HDRW]

Sounds great lads, cheers. But I don't have bellwire, will co-ax do?

Only if you strip the insulation off the outside first, and wrap it in insulating tape instead...

Cheers,

Howard

 

[pdcelec]

why not use 6 core alarm cable, then you could run the upstairs lights, the shower and some exterior lights with just one cable run.

 

[securespark]

Could I use 12 core and make it future-proof?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Now you're being silly.

 

[securespark]

Moi, Ban?

Jamais!

As for your fan heater - just connect it to the lighting circuit. If you scrape away some grouting you could get a thin wire, e.g. bell wire, in there and it'll look OK.

I think visitors to this site - even electrical beginners - know a wind-up when they read one.

For those that don't, please read the following (and bear in mind this is by no means an exhaustive list):

Use the correct cable for the job - Co-ax, bell-wire and alarm cable are all unsuitable for 240V installations.

Please, never attach anything other than earthing conductors to your water pipes.

An earth connection cannot be taken from wood, whether it be in contact with the ground or not.

Any earth connection required for light fittings or appliances must be derived from the earth conductor within the circuit cable(s) feeding that appliance. If this is not possible, serious consideration must be given to re-wiring that circuit. (It is possible to run an earth conductor outside the circuit cable, but you must closely follow the same route as the circuit cable. To be honest, if you're going to go to that trouble, you might as well replace the whole cable).

And finally,

If you are in any doubt whatsoever about the safety of your electrical installation, please contact a qualified electrician who is able to issue you with a Periodic Inspection Report (PIR).