Electric shower - options for increasing pressure?

[seco services]

Have i missed much ?

 

[srhawksy]

I'm sure whilst working for a local authority I used to get called out to redring showers (that's all they ever fitted) where the thermostat had failed, water over heated and a little plastic ball would shoot out the bottom of the shower to drain the almost boiling water before someone got hurt??

But I must be wrong..........

 

[sdss]

A 10.8 kW shower would need a 50A RCBO.

another quick question - hopefully.

there's currently a Wylex WSB40 on the circuit for the shower - is it okay just to have that swapped for a WSB50 or should it be a proper RCBO?

thanks

 

[bolshy]

Depends whether the consumer unit the shower is fed from has a RCD main breaker.
All new showers require RCD protection, so if there isn't any, you need to fit an RCBO. If you get the same make, it should be a similar size.

 

[bolshy]

http://www.lamppostelectrical.co.uk...E/2078499979?gclid=CMeCkrDK27YCFUXJtAod-2kAGQ

For example. Worth an extra £15 not be electrocuted by a shower fault.

 

[sdss]

thanks bolshy.

I've checked again and next to the WSB40 it says "Circuits protected by RCD" and there's a Wylex 80A WRS80/2.

Does this do the trick?

thanks again

 

[bolshy]

It's got RCD protection then, so you're ok. You're only problem now is you have an 80A capacity - and you're shower will take more than half of that. Good luck.

 

[sdss]

It's got RCD protection then, so you're ok. You're only problem now is you have an 80A capacity - and you're shower will take more than half of that. Good luck.

how much of an issue is this likely to be - presumably the current shower has been using up to about half this anyway? The property is a flat rather than a house.

Or would that RCD need put up a bit too? Or is that unsafe?

thanks again

 

[bolshy]

You can't keep increasing the size of breakers as you go along to meet your demands. That's how fires start. The breakers and cables are sized for the load. The breaker allows a maximum amount of current to pass through the cable without tripping, and the cable is sized to carry this current safely under normal conditions, without exceeding it's thermal limits.

You've been lucky so far in that your cabling seems to meet the requirement. Your current shower will have been using around half of what you have, yes.
You will have to get an electrician in to check your meter tails, main fuse etc, he will be able to tell you whether you are at your maximum rating, which I'd guess, you are.
You should get a professional in to do this. Money well spent. People are killed every year by dabbling with home electrics. At least you know you're already half way there.

 

[sdss]

You can't keep increasing the size of breakers as you go along to meet your demands. That's how fires start. The breakers and cables are sized for the load. The breaker allows a maximum amount of current to pass through the cable without tripping, and the cable is sized to carry this current safely under normal conditions, without exceeding it's thermal limits.

You've been lucky so far in that your cabling seems to meet the requirement. Your current shower will have been using around half of what you have, yes.
You will have to get an electrician in to check your meter tails, main fuse etc, he will be able to tell you whether you are at your maximum rating, which I'd guess, you are.
You should get a professional in to do this. Money well spent. People are killed every year by dabbling with home electrics. At least you know you're already half way there.

okay great - thanks, at least I know that i'll need to get a half decent electrician in and not just someone that will wire it up without checking things.

I take it checking the tails, fuse, etc is relatively straight forward though?

thank you again for your advice, it's appreciated

 

[bolshy]

You may well have sufficient capacity now - best to let a sparky check it all over for you, though, due to the increase in load. Main fuses used to be 100A, but many services vary. I'm sure you'll be fine.