Help - Electric Shower just went off!

Caseyface

Please help

I was just enjoying a nice shower when there was a click sound and the electric shower just stopped. I looked up at the box where the pull cord is and the red light wasn't on?

The electric is fine everywhere else in the flat.

Do you think it blew a fuse?

p.s i'm 8 and a half months pregnant so any help/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

DVardysShadow

Blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker. Replace or reset and try again. If it happens again, you need to get the shower and its cable looked at.

Caseyface

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker. Replace or reset and try again. If it happens again, you need to get the shower and its cable looked at.

Thanks for quick reply. So should i have a wander downstairs and see if i can see a trip switch for it? If not, should i just unscrew the box and check which fuse i need?

macman

Your shower will (or certainly should) have a dedicated circuit, so if it's fitted with MCB's it should be obvious which has tripped because the breaker will be in the 'down' position. You shouldn't have to unscrew anything. Just reset the MCB.
Tell us what kW rating the shower is and what is the rating on the MCB, it could be 32A, maybe 40A, depending on the shower rating.

Dave_C_2

I'm more than a little concerned about the safety aspect of this, especially as the OP is pregnant and it is a shower. MCBs don't trip and fuses don't blow without reason.

Unless you know what you are doing, please seek expert advice.

paulpud

It's quite common for people to replace old 7kw electric showers with 8.5kw or 9.5kw models nowadays, which pull quite a bit more through the 32A mcb they're fed from. You can usually get away with a quick shower but anything more leisurely can pop the breaker or it could be the breaker has gotten a bit worn carrying the extra current for a period of time.

On this basis it is worth resetting a tripped mcb and checking the operation of the shower before worrying about it being anything more sinister

macman

But there's no risk in the OP just confirming the circuit rating and the shower rating, that should give some clues as to whether the MCB is near to it's limit. If it's not, it could be that the cable requires upgrading.
Or of course it could be a fault in the shower causing the trip.

Caseyface

Thanks for your help.

Safety conscious us, called someone in. The wiring had melted inside the box :eek:

Finally i have my shower back though :T

Thanks again

macman

But why had it melted? Had the circuit cable not been upgraded when the shower was?
Cable don't just melt without good cause.

thescouselander

macman wrote: »

But why had it melted? Had the circuit cable not been upgraded when the shower was?
Cable don't just melt without good cause.

Most likely the cable probably wasn't clamped down properly in the terminal module (eg maybe the screw had worked loose). I found quite a bit of loose cabling when I moved into our current house and the cabling was quite modern.

keystone

paulpud wrote: »

It's quite common for people to replace old 7kw electric showers with 8.5kw or 9.5kw models nowadays, which pull quite a bit more through the 32A mcb they're fed from. You can usually get away with a quick shower but anything more leisurely can pop the breaker or it could be the breaker has gotten a bit worn carrying the extra current for a period of time.

All of which is downright bloody dangerous!

Cheers