electric shower just turned off...

KiWi13

the other night my hubby was in the shower when it just switched off. The light on the pull switch had gone out so we presume the electric had stopped flowing to it.
I checked the fusebox but all the fuses are marked as to what they relate to and there isnt one for shower.

The closest is immersion but that was working. I checked everything incase it was labelled wrong (we only bought the house 2 months ago so we didnt label them) but everything else worked.

is there anything I can check before I spend a fortune getting someone who knows what they are talking about out to have a look at it?

(hope this is in the right place)

chnelomi

Is it just a pull switch?
My old flat had a pull switch for the shower but it also had a fuse in it that would blow if the room got full of steam etc.
just a thought!

blindman

KiWi13 wrote: »

the other night my hubby was in the shower when it just switched off. The light on the pull switch had gone out so we presume the electric had stopped flowing to it.
I checked the fusebox but all the fuses are marked as to what they relate to and there isnt one for shower.

The closest is immersion but that was working. I checked everything incase it was labelled wrong (we only bought the house 2 months ago so we didnt label them) but everything else worked.

is there anything I can check before I spend a fortune getting someone who knows what they are talking about out to have a look at it?

(hope this is in the right place)

The shower should be on its own fuse which would be about 30-45 amps (depends on the size of the shower 8W, 9W or 10W)

These larger fuses should also be nearest to the big switch on the fuse box (where the power comes into the actual box from outside).

KiWi13

Hi chnelomi yes its just the pull switch - i shall maybe check that tonight when i get home then thanks that could be the problem as hubby likes the shower really hot and i dont so the steam could have been the cause.
:beer:

blindman
thanks i will recheck the fuses when i get home. I had already replaced the cooker fuse as it blew the first week we were there and it was no problem its just this one is proving to be somewhat elusive.
:beer:

AdrianW2

Is it a power shower rather than an electrically heated shower? If so it might be powered from the lighting circuit or a spur, which would explain why you can't find the fuse.

I assume you'd have noticed if the lights are out so that probably also eliminates the fuse from your fault finding.

AdrianW2

blindman wrote: »

The shower should be on its own fuse which would be about 30-45 amps (depends on the size of the shower 8W, 9W or 10W)

A 30 amp fuse should be in a red fuseholder, I'm not sure if domestic fuseholders ever came in larger sizes.

blindman

AdrianW2 wrote: »

A 30 amp fuse should be in a red fuseholder, I'm not sure if domestic fuseholders ever came in larger sizes.

Yes. I was referring to the fuse ratings for an electric shower.

KiWi13

AdrianW2 wrote: »

Is it a power shower rather than an electrically heated shower? If so it might be powered from the lighting circuit or a spur, which would explain why you can't find the fuse.

I assume you'd have noticed if the lights are out so that probably also eliminates the fuse from your fault finding.

i think it might just be the electric heated one. its not very powerful and doesnt make a lot of noise. All the lights were fine cos i checked that first to see as my fuses are marked

lights
cooker
kitchen plugs
house plugs
immersion


so i ran around checking that they were all working to see if i could narrow my search down to a specific fuse lol but to no avail.

Im horrendously unknowledgable about all this . kinda learning as i go along. but i do know how dangerous electricity is which is why I didn't go taking things apart or anything. just dont want to spend a fortune getting someone out who is going to tell me im an eejit and its something really simple!

zax47

Do you have a separate, newer, "fuse box" somewhere with a circuit breaker in - just for the shower? It is pretty common to find this set-up, usually because there was no more room in the old "fuse box" for the extra circuit when the shower was installed. It might be in the airing cupboard, if you have one - I've seen them in all sorts of daft (and incorrect) locations.

The other option is that some cowboy/DIYer has, in the past, wired it into a circuit that it shouldn't be connected to.

Either way, you could really do with calling in a qualified electrician (like me!) to have a look at the problem.

KiWi13

Do you have a separate, newer, "fuse box" somewhere with a circuit breaker in
not sure can certainly have a look when i get home

Either way, you could really do with calling in a qualified electrician (like me!) to have a look at the problem.

Yeah i think im going to have to. thank you for your advice. although at the minute im kinda skint so that could be a while hehehe

thankfully we also have a tap unit with a showerhead thingy attached too so not completely stuck for now. (phew)

macman

KiWi13 wrote: »

i think it might just be the electric heated one. its not very powerful and doesnt make a lot of noise. All the lights were fine cos i checked that first to see as my fuses are marked

lights
cooker
kitchen plugs
house plugs
immersion


so i ran around checking that they were all working to see if i could narrow my search down to a specific fuse lol but to no avail.

Im horrendously unknowledgable about all this . kinda learning as i go along. but i do know how dangerous electricity is which is why I didn't go taking things apart or anything. just dont want to spend a fortune getting someone out who is going to tell me im an eejit and its something really simple!

An electric shower has a cold water feed only. Any other sort of shower will have a hot and a cold feed. If the shower has a 'pull cord' switch to isolate it then it is an electric shower. Your description indicates you have an electric shower-possibly a Triton or Mira (will be marked on the casing).
An electric shower will have it's own dedicated circuit from the consumer unit, or maybe a separate switchfuse unit next to the CU if it has been added later.
If it's been connected to an existing power circuit then it is unsafe and needs putting right for your own safety.