Timed towel rail and fan heater...

[P.S.]

What i'm proposing to do is hit one button on a timer, which will turn on a heated towel rail and fan-heater for a pre-set time.

I'm thinking, take a 2.5mm spur from an RCD protected ring to a switched FCU

then into the timer.....

then take two 1.5mm feeds from the load side of the timer to two

one 3A for the rail (600w) and one 13A for a wall fan heater (2Kw)

Q. In theory it will work, but is any of it aloowed under regs ?
Q. Would it be ok to take two feeds out of the timer ?
Q. Should the above un-switched FCU's be switched ?
Q. can either the non-switched or switched FCU's be mounted in the bathroom (zone 3) next to the two appliances ?
Any help or suggestions please....

 

[P.S.]

looking to dry-line the walls shortly, so any comments on the above would be appreciated, before I lose access to the stud walls.

ps

 

[plugwash]

the wiring would definately be ok outside of a bathroom but im unsure about the zoneing issues

 

[P.S.]

It's a loft conversion, bedroom/bathroom. having all these switch plates and FCU's on the same wall will make it look unsightly, as its part of the bedroom wall. I also have a D/P sower and a T/P fan isolation switched to fit.

Ideally i'd like to utilise the FCU's in the bathroom as both a means to connect the flex and as the fuse. They will be on the opposite wall from the shower and basin, well outside of zones 1 & 2.

This set-up is purely for the lazy teenager son of mine who never seems to be able to switch anything off !!!! and being in the loft, where I don't want to venture that often, don't want the 2K fan left on all day !!

Any other comments re: siting FCU's in the bathroom or anything else about this set-up welcome.

 

[AdamW]

To me, your solution sounds OK... Could you possibly hide the timer unit and the first FCU in a built-in wardrobe in the bedroom (for example)? Then you only need have the FCUs as flex outlets in the bathroom itself.

Siting of FCUs in a bathroom: well, would they sell electric towel rails if you couldn't have an FCU in Zone 3? The only thing I am concerned about (I have raised this before) is the risk of condensation from tiles dripping down into then. Never did get a satisfactory answer on that one!

 

[P.S.]

The timer will be placed at light-switch height at the bathroom door, so a quick press of the button sets off the heater and towel rail, it's not an automatic timer, needs a manual press of the button, just as you go to have a shower. In fact, i'll probably replace the one shown above as 1/2, 1 and 2 hours are too long. They do make a 15min,30min and 1hr version.

Yup, condensation, specially as this will be produced from a heated towel rail with a damp towel on it and a "cold" tiled wall. This was why i was wondering as to if it is permissable to fit the FCU in the bathroom, or having to site them out of the room and use blank flex-outlets only....

but makes little difference if there is a fuse holder in it as would be affected in the same way. Perhaps a bead of silicone round the top and sides - just to make sure.

Is it just this country that has such stringent laws ? I was in a hotel in Rome, the on-suite was a "wet-room" and inside it had a mains socket and a wall mounded light switch !!!!

 

[AdamW]

Perhaps a bead of silicone round the top and sides - just to make sure.

Is it just this country that has such stringent laws ? I was in a hotel in Rome, the on-suite was a "wet-room" and inside it had a mains socket and a wall mounded light switch !!!!

I will be putting a bead of silicone around my towel-rail FCU when I have tiled my bathroom. Not ideal, but the FCU isn't likely to be moved frequently (or ever!) so re-sealing won't be a major inconvenience. The switch still concerns me, but when I asked before no-one seemed to know. Perhaps this is an overlooked area of the regs! FCUs on a tiled wall in a bathroom.

That Rome wet-room sounds "shocking". I have never understood the need for a mains outlet in a bathroom anyway, other than for a hairdrier I suppose... but British people manage to wait until they are in their bedroom before they plug in the blower, it isn't a real problem!

 

[algenon_iii]

Try Malaysia, British style sockets with European wiring practices. Go into a bathroom in a Malaysian hotel and you'll find a British socket right next to the bathroom sink.

Don't get me started on other wiring there...

 

[AdamW]

I have experience of Malaysian electricity too! The earth is seldom connected on outlets.

Proper nutters they are.

 

[P.S.]

hey,

enough of the dodgy wiring around the world, what about mine ?