Is there such a thing as a flex outlet shaver socket combo?

[bpowell555]

For the bathroom. Currently have a towel rail on a flex outlet (FCU), was wondering if I could easily add a shaver socket for an electric toothbrush,

Cheers!

 

[tonyelectric]

No such product has ever been made, your shaver socket would be rather low

A shaver socket in a bathroom has an isolating transformer in it for safety, uses a bigger deeper box than an FCU and generally feeds from the lighting circuit where it is protected by (usually) a 5 or 6 Amp breaker/fuse

 

[bpowell555]

What other options for an eletric toothbrush charger are there then

 

[tonyelectric]

1/. Normal shaver socket correctly installed and notified

2/. Linolite light/shaver socket combi ditto

3/. Fused non-isolating shaver socket not fitted in bathroom

4/. Plug in shaver adapter in 13A socket, again not in bathroom

 

[bpowell555]

Thanks for the above - how deep a box does something like this need - bathroom has marble tiles so would ideally not cut a hole in one, but a 5cm box obviously would look a bit rubbish proud of the surface,

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/61532...o-Range/Marbo-Shaver-Socket-240V#BVRRWidgetID

Cheers!

 

[tonyelectric]

They are deep 45mm -50mm is typical if you surface mount plus add the depth of the frontplate.

Also consider that the power has to get to it which will entail either coming from behind or going over the tiles in one of the many cabling/conduiting combinations.

Bear in mind whay you propose is notifiable under Part P of the building regs.

 

[TicklyT]

I would hesitate to recommend using a shaver socket with an isolating transformer to charge a toothbrush, or even a rechargable shaver. Many seem to be specified to power a mains shaver for as long as it takes to shave, that's quite a short duty cycle. They don't seem to cope well with prolonged use recharging batteries.

The problem is only a socket with an isolating transformer is deemed suitable for use in a bathroom...... Rock and hard place......

 

[bpowell555]

I would hesitate to recommend using a shaver socket with an isolating transformer to charge a toothbrush, or even a rechargable shaver. Many seem to be specified to power a mains shaver for as long as it takes to shave, that's quite a short duty cycle. They don't seem to cope well with prolonged use recharging batteries.

The problem is only a socket with an isolating transformer is deemed suitable for use in a bathroom...... Rock and hard place......

Hmmm rock and hard place indeed

 

[ccam108]

So then the only "proper" way to charge your toothbrush in the bathroom is to hard-wire the charger into an FCU?

TBH the charging current of a toothbrush is minimal, and I have never known an isolated shaver socket to fail due to this.

Colin C

 

[ericmark]

I remember a post before where someone wanted to use some fancy tooth/mouth item and the output from a standard shaver socket was not enough. There was to be fair a battery unit also for sale and a warning not to use it with a standard shaver socket.

The problem is that although one could make ones own unit it would not pass the type testing required for a shaver socket.

The socket incorporates a switch so the supply to isolation transformer is only present while a device is plugged in. So it would be impossible to have the socket with a remote transformer and comply.

The Braun tooth brush I have is rated at 2W and the MK socket ratted at 200ma at 230v = 46W so unlikely there would be a problem however my tooth brush has a (CEE 7/4 "Schuko") plug but many shavers are designed to use the British 5mm dia pins on 16.6mm pitch (230V
socket) to BS 4573: 1970. Because the Euro plug has thinner pins (4mm) and bigger pitch (19mm) swapping between the two can cause bad connections as it strains the contacts inside the unit.

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

TBH the charging current of a toothbrush is minimal, and I have never known an isolated shaver socket to fail due to this.

Mine did (MK transformer type). Cracked across middle after 12 months, with just a toothbrush charging from it.

And there have been numerous other reports of this problem. When it happened I didn't have the time to follow it up, but it seems wrong, given the low current involved.

 

[flameport]

Shaver sockets fail when used for toothbrushes and other similar devices, because they are not designed for use with continuous loads, however small that load might be.
The other problem is the one ericmark has already mentioned, in that a considerable number of items with 2 pin plugs don't fit properly into the shaver socket, because they are designed for European 2 pin sockets, which are common in european bathrooms.

Here is a typical shaver socket:

Untitled

• flameport
• 13 Dec 2010
• 2

Note the words on the front ' Shavers Only'. All shaver sockets have this wording.
Rather obviously, this means no toothbrushes.

They are designed for an electric shaver which is plugged in, used for a few minutes and then unplugged. Nothing else - including rechargeable shavers which are left on charge for hours/permanently.

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

The MK one accommodates plugs as follows:
- British 5mm dia pins on 16.6mm pitch (230V socket) to BS 4573: 1970.
- European 4mm dia pins on 17 to 19mm pitch (230V socket) to IEC 83: 1975 Standard C5.
- Australian 6.5 x 1.6 flat blades each set at 30° to the vertical on a nominal pitch of 13.7mm (230V socket) AS C112: 1964.
- American 6.6 x 1.6 flat horizontal blades on 12.7mm pitch (115V socket) to ANSI C73.10.

I believe the wording 'Shavers Only' is a spec requirement. However rather than blindly defending the manuacturer for making shoddy goods it might be better to read the manufacturer data sheet. MK say that it is fine to use rechargable shavers, in their data sheet. They also say that the limitation is 20VA to prevent the thermal cutout operating. At no point in the data sheet do they state that continous use is not allowed.

In fact I believe the well known cracking started when they switched supplier to a chinese one. It may well be that the transformer they now use has a higher resistance and gets hotter. I still have an original version now many years old, used even more aggresively with a plethora of toothbrushes and rechargable shavers, and that is giving no indication of impending failure.

 

[flameport]

However rather than blindly defending the manuacturer for making shoddy goods

Not shoddy - just that these are shaver sockets, designed for shavers.
Not for totally pointless electrical cack such as toothbrushes.

Shaver sockets should be banned, since there are no shavers which can fit into them - they are all the rechargeable type now.

Even if people insist on using rechargeable toothbrushes, these don't need to be plugged in 24/7 anyway.

 

[ccam108]

Shaver sockets should be banned, since there are no shavers which can fit into them - they are all the rechargeable type now.

http://www.e4electricals.com/product.aspx?id=1682

http://www.play.com/Gadgets/Gadgets...tml?_$ja=tsid:11518|cat:16740493|prd:16740493

Even rechargeable shavers use a BS4573 plug. look familiar?

I'd suggest you at least do a quick google before posting poo.

Colin C