yet another question about the shower cable

[dantemm]

Great to see all these discussions about the shower cable. I still have some questions though.

It is probably really silly so my apologies but when people refer to 10mm cable do I understand right that they mean the width of the whole cable and not each conductor inside (don't laugh!).

The cable that is already installed is a twin one and there is a separate earth one. The cable is grey and its diameter is 10mm inside it has one 5mm black and one red cable. Is that a 10mm one ?

Also, is there a way I can find the details of the fuse on the switchboard if it doesn't have the little sticker on it? Is it worth trying to remove the cover, to look, say at the back of it?

Thanks.

 

[Steve]

This post contains so much that scares me, the only advice I can give is to call an electrician.

Or post up some photos of things.

What exactly are you trying to do?

 

[dantemm]

You must be pulling your hair with all this ignorance around but note that I also don't know the terminology in English so apologies for the offence.

I 'll probably do call an electrician at the end but I am trying to replace a shower or understand what replacement I can get.

The cable is already installed. It is a I described it above. Don't have a picture handy but it is something like that

http://www.selwholesale.co.uk/images/twin and earth cable.jpg

but *without* the earth inside. Each cable inside it is about 5mm and there is a separate one for the earth.

The cable seems to be installed appropriately with a switch near the switchboard. I was only wondering about the fuze trying to understand about the capacity of the cable.

The distance is about 5 metres and I am wondering if this cable is enough for a 9.5Kw shower or even for larger one like 10.5kw?

Thanks for the help.

 

[flameport]

The size refers to the cross sectional area of each individual conductor.

A twin flat cable 10mm wide is most certainly NOT 10mm or anything even close to it.
The fact it has no CPC (earth wire) inside is also a serious concern - just how old is this cable?

What exactly do you mean by 'switchboard', 'fuse' and 'switch' ? What is printed on these devices?

 

[dantemm]

It is quite old. This is the reason I posted these questions.

Just moved in this place and trying to understand its wiring.

With switchboard I think I meant consumer unit. This has fuses inside for the various devices and rooms in the house. I feel like I am learning English again but with a bit of search I now think they are called MCBs ? (again, don't laugh - if you ever need advice in my field I promise I 'll be helpful)

Wires come in and out from the MCB and they go to something that looks like a normal switch before continuing behind the wall to end to the bathroom. I think the purpose of this switch is to provide an easy way to switch the shower and and off (instead of a pull cord that I 've seen in other places).

Does this make more sense?

I am in London. What charges would I expect more or less from an electrician to fit a shower, given that we are just saying that the cable is old and will need replacement? And would I also need a plumber (given that previous shower was there already) or usually electricians do this?

Thanks again.

 

[Steve]

About the price of a meal for four.

 

[GaryMo]

About the price of a meal for four.

But that could differ wildly depending on where you choose to dine.......

 

[dantemm]

well ... better to have a shower installed than to buy four people dinner

 

[GaryMo]

Or reward the electrician of choice a meal for four......at McDonalds!

 

[333rocky333]

From the wiki

"10mm² CSAT&E has overall dimensions of 17.1mm x 10mm"

10 mm cable usually refers to 10mm², this is the cross sectional area (CSA) of the total of the copper in the live or neutral conductor.

There is a formula for working out the Diameter of the copper if you know the csa and vice-versa.

 

[GaryMo]

CSA = (π x d²)/4

d = √ ((CSA x 4)/&#960

Remember when working with stranded cables you need to work out the CSA of one strand then multiply by the number of strands for the total CSA.