Bathroom circuit for heated mirror from redundant immersion circuit

[JohnW2]

No. ... The basin zone originated in this or an earlier version of it: After that, one or more manufacturers instructions appeared with the same diagram but with 'LIA IPX4 Area' replaced with 'Zone 2', which is incorrect. Much copy and paste later with a few alterations shoved in for good measure, and incorrect diagrams showing various permutations of zone 2 around basins are everywhere.

Thanks for clarifying. As you say, it's probably not an unreasonable concept, which goes beyond the minimum requirements of BS7671 - but is clearly incorrect (and confusing/misleading) to make it appear as a BS7671 'zone'.

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

The deal with FCUs is that they are usually IP2X, Crabtree example: ...

Yep, and to add another, virtually all MK accessories (including FCUs) are said (in their Data Sheets) to be "IP2XD".

Kind Regards, John

 

[flameport]

Does that not mean that they have not considered the water rating because it has a switch?

The entire range of accessories is IP2X, including the flex outlet plate: https://storage.electrika.com/manu/man-0170/pdftech/cr1075.pdf
so it's just a case of not considered at all for anything.

 

[securespark]

Are you thinking of IP4X?

May have done this before, but hell, in for a penny....

Is that resistance against beer?

 

[wrightyintheafternoon]

Or forget using the redundant immersion circuit and power the vanity unit from the lighting circuit. That's the normal way, and no FCU needed

The only reason as per my OP for using the 16A circuit is that it is currently redundant and is already running down the wall near to where the vanity unit will be located. Yes I could use the lighting circuit and I do have a feed I could use but would have to reroute for the purpose when I already have a cable in place.

 

[JohnD]

near to where the vanity unit will be located.

How far from the bath is it?

 

[wrightyintheafternoon]

How far from the bath is it?

The middle of a 600mm vanity unit located at the end of the bath.

 

[JohnD]

Do you mean that it is 300mm from the bath footprint?

 

[wrightyintheafternoon]

Do you mean that it is 300mm from the bath footprint?

The mirror would be, I.e. the cable ends, the FCU would be 300/400mm from the end of the bath if you draw a vertical line up from the end of the bath, but ceiling height less the distance to the FCU so from the edge of the bath about 1600mm above it

 

[JohnD]

What height is the ceiling?

 

[wrightyintheafternoon]

Not at home to check at the moment, will post back later.

 

[Taylortwocities]

I don't know the history of this - was there ever a 'zone' around a basin, I wonder?

Yes!
Back in the 16th any area that was not in zones 0, 1 or 2 and inside a vertical area less than 2.25m from ffl and inside a horizontal area less than 3m from the edge of a bath/shower was in Zone 3.
Therefore (unless it was situated in Zon1 or 2) a basin would always be located in zone 3.

Thats a bit of pedantry, really, but AFAIK, there has not been a time when there has been a specific zone area (1or2) round a bathroom sink.

 

[JohnW2]

Yes! Back in the 16th any area that was not in zones 0, 1 or 2 and inside a vertical area less than 2.25m from ffl and inside a horizontal area less than 3m from the edge of a bath/shower was in Zone 3. Therefore (unless it was situated in Zon1 or 2) a basin would always be located in zone 3.

As you go on to say, that's a bit pedantic, and not an answer to the question I was asking (I'm well aware of Zone 3 - which some diagrams claim still exists!) ....

Thats a bit of pedantry, really, but AFAIK, there has not been a time when there has been a specific zone area (1or2) round a bathroom sink.

That was my question, and thanks for your answer - which is what I expected. As you will have seen, Flameport has given an explanation of how the 'basin zone' came about.

Kind Regards, John

 

[wrightyintheafternoon]

Thanks for all your responses. It appears to me that this is open to interpretation and that the standards are not clear cut hence the length of this thread. My feeling is that I will reroute my lighting circuit after pulling back the 16A immersion circuit and terminating in the loft space, or maybe use it for a socket in the loft.

 

[EFLImpudence]

You could do both. Put a socket on the cable in the loft and connect your mirror.

It's just a (presumably) 16A circuit. No interpretation required.