fourth wire?

[Lowlowgear]

I hope to remove an old electric towel rail from the bathroom. But it has a fourth wire, which is beyond my simple understanding.

It would be simple to isolate and unscrew the live, neutral and earth from the unswitched socket, but the fourth wire continues (through the socket) somewhere into the wall.

I don't understand earth bonding, but perhaps the fourth wire is some type of extra earth bond and perhaps it would be safe to simply cut this wire and tidy it into the redundant unswitched socket? Or should I call in an electrician?

Thanks for any guidance.

 

[Deleted member 267285]

A photo or make model of the towel rail might help. Is the extra wire green & yellow? If green & yellow then the earth has to be continuous and link back to the main earthing arrangement.

 

[robinbanks]

Perhaps for thermostatting purposes?

 

[JohnD]

Photos please.

 

[Lowlowgear]

I'll get a photo, this afternoon.

 

[Lowlowgear]

Two photos showing the towel rail and wires. The three 'normal' wires have been removed from the socket.

 

[Deleted member 267285]

Two photos showing the towel rail and wires. The three 'normal' wires have been removed from the socket.

Hard to tell from photo, looks like it is an earth wire. It’s also separate from the main flex cable, so likely an earth.

 

[FrodoOne]

I hope to remove an old electric towel rail from the bathroom. But it has a fourth wire, which is beyond my simple understanding.

It would be simple to isolate and unscrew the live, neutral and earth from the unswitched socket, but the fourth wire continues (through the socket) somewhere into the wall.

From your photos, there is no "socket".
However, there appears to be some "rough" wiring.

I don't understand earth bonding,

So, please try to educate yourself.

perhaps the fourth wire is some type of extra earth bond and perhaps it would be safe to simply cut this wire and tidy it into the redundant unswitched socket? Or should I call in an electrician?

Cutting things off is unlikely to be the best solution to any "Electrical" problems

If you have not gleaned this from the foregoing (and your very few "Posts") the best solution for you may be to "call in an electrician".

 

[Lowlowgear]

FrodoOne I think you should smoke a pipe with Bilbo, and remind yourself of the serenity of life in the Shire. Your comments are undoubtedly correct. But I am trying to help out a 95 year old friend, and hoped that I might find some assistance here. Stay chilled.

 

[Adam_151]

They have taken supplimentry bonding to the heater itself (not strictly necesarry, connecting at the local connection point or isolator is acceptable)

Presuming it does not loop onto anything else from the heater (you only have the one extra earth to the box, theres no more from the heater that go in another direction) Then just cut in the box and connect it in with the other earth thats in there (make sure you leave a reasonable length in there to work with)

 

[Lowlowgear]

Fourth wire is now cut. In doing this, it was obvious to see that the wire was an earth. Earth bonds used to be provided to exposed metal in wet areas to provide a extra strong pathway to earth in the event of a fault developing (I think). I've connected the cut wire to the earth in the box as advised by Adam. Thank you all. I needed to reassure myself.

 

[EFLImpudence]

 

[phatboy]

Fourth wire is now cut. In doing this, it was obvious to see that the wire was an earth. Earth bonds used to be provided to exposed metal in wet areas to provide a extra strong pathway to earth in the event of a fault developing (I think). I've connected the cut wire to the earth in the box as advised by Adam. Thank you all. I needed to reassure myself.

Sounds right. Parents had a new bathroom in the early 90's, and a big, ugly earth conductor was added to a similar towel warmer (It had a separate terminal on the front). It was removed when replaced.

 

[333rocky333]

I believe that big earth wires was the case back in the day when supplementary bonding became obsessive, it later became clearer in the regs that the earth wire within the flex was adequate to negate the supplementary bonding direct to the heater and terminate it within the connection point, as Adam stated earlier.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Sounds right. Parents had a new bathroom in the early 90's, and a big, ugly earth conductor was added to a similar towel warmer (It had a separate terminal on the front). It was removed when replaced.

Bonding conductor.