Shower Installation

[russellm72]

Hi,

I currently have an electric shower installed over my bath but being only 7.4 kW and a tad old it has really had it's day. I want to install a new shower, well when I say I, I don't mean personally. I want to get some suitably qualified person in, advertising in the local paper (Cardiff).

I have been informed from some engineers in work that I will probably also need to upgrade the cable that feeds the shower with power and also the fuse box located downstairs. I have no idea what size of cable is there but it is a 30A fuse. I am hoping to install a 8.5 or 9.5 kW shower so will I need this box/cable upgraded?

In addition, how much is it likely to cost to have the shower changed?

Many Thanks for your help.

Russell.

 

[Hacman]

40A plug in mcb to 63A 30Ma rcd enclosure to 45A pull switch to new shower. All wiring in 10mm Twin and Earth. ok for 8.5Kw shower. Also supp bonding to pipes of shower if in copper.

 

[Adam_151]

Probably the best way would be for the electrician to use henley blocks to connect a separate shower consumer unit next to the existing one(63A RCD incommer, 45A MCB), and then cable from there in 10mm² though the shower switch and to the shower, and also to sup bond the bathroom, make sure the main bonding is present and correct .

The other alternative is to have your CU replaced with a more modern one, and because of the work involved in testing existing circuits and fixing any faults in them, it'd cost about a minimum of £300 for this (cu replacement) alone even before anything with the shower is even thought about

 

[russellm72]

40A plug in mcb to 63A 30Ma rcd enclosure to 45A pull switch to new shower. All wiring in 10mm Twin and Earth. ok for 8.5Kw shower. Also supp bonding to pipes of shower if in copper.

Thanks for the advice. I already have a seperate box in the kitchen (MCB) (30A fuse) which is located beside the main consumer box. I also have a rip cord in the bathroom but have no idea if it is 45A. Is this standard practice?

The power cable runs from the box up into my attic, across the floor and back down the other side of the bathroom into the shower unit. I am assuming it is 6 mm so will probably upgrade to 10 mm as suggested. I hope it will be a simple job of removing the old piece and feeding the new one down the original path.

I think I will get a 8.5 kW shower as this I think will be ample. So I hope it will be a case of new cable and 45A in the box downstairs.

Cheers

Russell.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I think I will get a 8.5 kW shower as this I think will be ample

If you're putting in new circuits anyway, take full advantage of their increased capacity and go for a 10.5-ish kW one.

IMO the Redring Selectronic is very good, as it has genuine thermostatic control, not just anti-scald. That also means that the temperature control is independent of the flow rate, and it adjusts how much electricity it uses according to what you temperature you want, so for most of the year it uses less than the full 10.5kW.

You can also lock out the higher temperature settings from casual selection, which is good if you have children or old people using it.

And no - I don't work for them...