What rating electric shower can I run from 6mm cable

[Justin_Scotland]

Hi All,

I just purchased a house that currently has a Heatrae Sadia (Saphire) shower installed. I pressume its 7Kw as during winter I get only a very weedy drible of hot water.

My next job is to get this replaced with a better equiped and better performing shower however I do not want to have to get wiring changed. I therefore presume it will have std 6mm cabling (haven't looked inside yet)

My question is what Kw rating for electric showers could I safely run from this feed. I was looking at the Mira Sport range of showers and believe 9Kw would be okay but wondered if I could use 9.8 or 10.8Kw?

Any help would be very gratefully received.

Regards

Justin

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Hi All,

I just purchased a house that currently has a Heatrae Sadia (Saphire) shower installed. I pressume its 7Kw as during winter I get only a very weedy drible of hot water.

Might just be an old under-performing heater can.

My next job is to get this replaced with a better equiped and better performing shower however I do not want to have to get wiring changed. I therefore presume it will have std 6mm cabling (haven't looked inside yet)

There's nothing "standard" about 6mm² cable, any more than there is any other size. If it is a 7kW shower then the cable might well be 4mm². You need to check and make absolutely sure. Also, you need to find out what the rating of the fuse/MCB is, how long the cable is, and how it is installed (i.e. surface, in plaster, in insulation, bunched with other cables etc), as these factors all affect how much current it can carry.

My question is what Kw rating for electric showers could I safely run from this feed. I was looking at the Mira Sport range of showers and believe 9Kw would be okay

If your cable is 6mm² it might be OK, or it might not, it depends on how the cable is installed.

but wondered if I could use 9.8 or 10.8Kw?

No way.

Any help would be very gratefully received.

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Book/4.3.1.htm