Electric Shower

[mikel]

Iintend to have fitted a shower and in my case the most practical is an electric with a cold water inlet.At this time my local diy has gainsbrough showers 8.5 ,9.5 10.5kw on offer. Are these type(electric) just a cheap alternative or do they give good shower and is their any preference in the different manufactures
Mike

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The question of make has been discussed here very recently. Have a quick search.

As for do they work - yes, and the more powerful they are the better they work. I would not recommend an 8.5kW, unless you like your showers either feeble or tepid during the winter months. Go for the biggest you can find, and give serious thought to using either 16mm T/E or SWA-of-a-size-which-FWL-will-tell-us so that when they start making showers of 12kW or more you'll be well prepared....

Will this be a DIY job for you?

 

[BR]

12KW are already available. As for using SWA to supply a shower in a domestic installation - this is ridicules.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

As for using SWA to supply a shower in a domestic installation - this is ridicules.

Why?

 

[securespark]

Br mate.

Do a search on what FWL has written about the properties of SWA - it is well suited to the stresses and strains of a shower circuit.

 

[Big_Spark]

12KW are already available. As for using SWA to supply a shower in a domestic installation - this is ridicules.

BR..perhaps you should actually think about that statement for a minute. I will agree that when you first look at it, it may seem OTT, however for a 12kW shower you need 16mm2 Twin and Earth, and not only that you would be required to have a 63A MCB or RCBO in your consumer unit. Domestic units are not designed to take this load through one point on the BusBar.

The easiest installation method is actually SWA, 10mm2 SWA will meet the requirements of the regs for volt drop, current ability, disconnection time and everything else..it is also almost HALF the price of 16mm2 T&E, even taking the glands into account.

AND, if you change the choice of armoured to a 90C type, as listed in the Regs on Table 4E4A, you can actually use 6mm2 SWA for many shower installations as it has a rating of 62A, and even with a correction factor can more than handle the load of a 12kW shower.

 

[BR]

my sincerest apologies, I misread SWA as SOL (the second time i have done it today). I can see the benefits of using SWA here and have heard its use discussed on many occasions, however never seen it installed in a domestic installation.

In relation to 63A being supplied at one point on the busbar, you will find they are designed for this. (provided they are suitably rated) It is permissible to draw the full rating of the busbar from one point, although this is not ideal.

 

[Big_Spark]

In relation to 63A being supplied at one point on the busbar, you will find they are designed for this. (provided they are suitably rated) It is permissible to draw the full rating of the busbar from one point, although this is not ideal.

According to all the technical data available for Merlin-Gerin, Hager, MEM and MK boards, they do not recommend singles loads exceeding 47A (as an average) on their units that have 100A Isolators, for those with 125A, which are industrial grade, they do not recommend a single load exceed 55A on the Bus Bars.

I would imaging that to meet BSi approval the bars must be capable of carrying the full load of the unit on a given section of the bar for a given period of time, the problem is, whilst for approval this may be OK, as they state the above in their literature, should you have a problem as a result, they can probably walk away without a concern!!

 

[BR]

FWL, the above are guidelines. If any company sells a busbar rated for 100A then it has to be capable of supplying that at one point. I recently attended a MEM conference in Dublin where this was discussed. I cannot speak for the domestic bars, but their 125A one is guaranteed for 35years from the date of purchase regardless how you use it. (within reason, obviously if it's not installed correctly, the warranty could become invalidated) BTW these busbar (MEM anyway) are tested at significantly higher loads than they are rated for. (this of course does not mean that the rating can be exceeded under any circumstances.)

 

[c.k.]

SOL - I heard my brother (industrial electrician) refer to this (or more so the price of it!) What is this exactly.

 

[BR]

SOL (Solidified ?????? Locide) This is a relatively new cable designed for industrial use. It is manufactured in America. I have only used it once in my life. Why? It costs about (€19 + vat per metre!) and i'm not joking.

The advantages of it being that the cable has a minimal resistance and hence can carry much larger current. (Although it has many other properties.


This conversion wouldn’t be way off the mark: (if such sizes existed)
12mmsq Copper = 2mmsq SOL

 

[Big_Spark]

SOL - I heard my brother (industrial electrician) refer to this (or more so the price of it!) What is this exactly.

The Only SOL I am aware of..so it hardly makes it definitive is a thing called a Standard Overload Limiter, this is an impedance based device, much like the choke in a discharge light, that is designed to prevent a significant overload current from travelling back along the circuit.

You don't find these in normal installations, I have only a passing knowledge of them, they are usuallu found in installations with 11kV Transformers where they are installed to prevent fault currents being fed back into the grid..as I understand it anyway..could be wrong.

They are also found on overhead Power lines to dissipate currents induced by lightning strikes and magnetic field activety..normally caused by solar storms.

 

[BR]

Fair Point FWL, but i thought c.k. was referring to by reference to SOL in a previous post. overload limiters are also commonly used in telephone networks.

 

[Big_Spark]

Fair Point FWL, but i thought c.k. was referring to by reference to SOL in a previous post. overload limiters are also commonly used in telephone networks.

Your post was equally fair..Oh chripps..we're agreeing again BR..I tell you what..BLACK!!!

 

[Traceystock]

12KW are already available. As for using SWA to supply a shower in a domestic installation - this is ridicules.

I have been searching the web - hundreds of sites to find a 12kw electric shower - where can I find one or at least a manufacturer who makes one. Many thanks