Relocating Shower Unit

BertieUK

I am in the process of changing my Aqualisa Electric shower unit for a new one of the same output.

I have traced the cables for this shower to the fuse box and I find that there is an on/off switched box beside the main fuse box. The cables come from the rear of the fuse box named Contactum into the switched box then to the shower.

Where exactly would I find the fuse ? Is it contained within the on/off box itself ?

I would prefer not to have to switch off all the power in the house if possible.


regards

Bob

keystone

I don't think you should be doing this yourself really.

If you can't work it out how is anyone here supposed to on the end of a PC and not being able to see it?

Cheers

BertieUK

That is a fair comment. The posting rules say that I cant post attatchments otherwise I would post a picture.


Thanks anyway.

Bob

phill99

Keystone is right. If you don't have the basic knowledge to isolate the power you shouldn't be doing this job. I know this is MSE and all that, but for £50 you could get a qualified electrician to do it for you.

£50 is nothing to pay for your safety.

BertieUK

I can agree with all your comments fully but I think that your comments are a little bit on the strong side.

I can isolate the power supply as I have done for many years on my dwellings, to replace like for like, and in the interest of safety, my question came from the fact that this was an isolation box that I had never come across in any other dwelling before.

Sorry to have troubled you.

phill99

But it is concerning that you simply don't know how to isolate the power.

BertieUK

I think that you are not reading the post, just jumping to conclusions of your owm makeing.

ie But it is concerning that you simply don't know how to isolate the power

I am mearly asking about the isolation switch beside the main box and asking if it contains a fuse which I dont think it has.

Isolating the power is not the issue.

regards

macman

Your shower should be fitted with a double pole isolator switch near the shower anyway-usually via a pull cord switch near the shower, or outside the bathrom. If it's wired to a dedicated circuit on the CU, then isolating that circuit is all that is necessary.
Modern circuits do not have removable fuses, they have RCD's or MCB's.
But you would be advised not to do this yourself, as your electrical knowledge is limited.

zax47

The shower circuit has been added to a consumer unit (CU) with no more space - therefore a separate connection has been made with it's own circuit breaker in a separate box next to the CU. Not an uncommon thing to find.

Isolate the shower a) at the local isolator switch (on ceiling or wall, in airing cupboard? or on bathroom ceiling) and b) at the circuit breaker in the box next to the CU. Belt & braces, better safe than sorry.

BertieUK

I moved into this bungalow just a couple of years ago, and and I am running into rather unusual and strange plumbing /electrics.

There is no "double pole isolator switch fitted" , which I thought unusual, just this box next to the main fuse-box that I tried to describe earlier. Within the main box there is no reference to the shower, because as you say there was no room within, it would have been nice if the installer had identified the box in the first place.

So would you advise that I get an electrician to fit a double pole isolation switch fitted to the ceiling ? As that seems to be the most logic idea.

Thank you both for describing, in greatr detail, this issue. If I could have posted a picture it would have been much clearer to understand what I was talking about.

regards

Bob

macman

A double pole isolator is a legal requirement under the current regs, and has been for some years, If that's not fitted, then either the shower circuit is old, or a DIY bodge. In which case I would be dubious that the circuit rating or the cable size s sufficient for a modern shower-which is yet another reason for getting a qualified sparky into check the whole thing.
It should also have a RCD on this circuit, although this is not a legal requirement.
What is the rating of the shower, and what is the rating on the circuit breaker on the shower circuit?
You can post pics by using a link to a third party site such as photobucket etc.