New electrical regs: boilers in bathrooms.

[ardrich]

I've just had my Worcester-Bosch combi boiler repaired by an engineer from the company, fixing a leak left by one of their previous engineers over the weekend. It's fixed, but he said that the first bloke should never have touched it in the first place because of the proximity to the basin under new electrical regulations.

He suggested it need to be boxed in or put in a cupboard: presumably there's issues about ventilation and heat build up - are there guidelines for minimum acceptable spaces when enclosing a boiler? Where would I find out the details of these new regulations?

Grateful for any help.

 

[ChrisR]

The boiler must be in a cupboard so nobody can touch it. Electrical regs.

The boiler might need ventilation to the room - gas regs and mfrs instrs.
It will also need clearances for servicing - mfrs instrs.

If it doesn't have a balanced flue then you must stop using it! Gas regs.

 

[COG]

A said by chris your boiler has 240v connections and poss 240v switches hence not allowed near the basin, the clearences around the boiler and the need for ventillation are in the manufactures instructions some dont require ventillation if the clearences are ok you will allso require cross bonding. If you post the exact model ill look up the ventillation spec.

 

[ChrisR]

I might be wrong but I believe you aren't allowed any exposed appliance in a bathroom at all, irrespective of distance from the basin.

In kitchens it's distance from the sink...

Bathrooms have pink(etc) wet things moving about.

 

[ardrich]

Thanks all.

In reply to COG, it's a W-B 24CDi.

 

[brumylad]

chris can you remember the minimum distance from the sink please, and is this figure from the iee 16th ed. Or is it building regs ?

 

[ollski]

I'm not on the installation side but are there new rules that override the installation being dependant on the IPX rating of the boiler and the bathroom zone it is installed in....afaik the sink does not directly affect the bathroom zone.

 

[ChrisR]

Nobody has a sink in a bathroom, those are BASINS!

I've always thought the whole bathroom mustn't have an exposed electrical metal thing like a boiler. I doubt they've relaxed that reg, if it was one.
------------------------------
Found this in a bokpost 16th ed but predates the recent zone stuff)

1. In a room containing a fixed bath or shower, (a) parts of a lampholder must be made of or shrouded in insulating material; (b) bayonet-type lampholders must have a shield complying with BS 5042. Ideally, totally enclosed luminaires should be used.

2. No person using a fixed bath or shower should be able to touch any switch or electrical control equipment with the exception of cord-operated switches or shaver units designed for bathrooms. In many cases, immersion tanks are located in a bathroom. Ideally the control switch for such tanks should be outside the bathroom.

3. No stationary appliance having elements that can be touched must be
installed within reach of a person using a fixed bath or shower.

4. Socket outlets are not permitted in rooms containing a fixed bath or
shower.

5. If a shower is installed in a room other than a bathroom no sockets shall be closer than 2.5 m.

6. A supplementary equipotential bonding conductor should connected to all simultaneously accessible exposed metalwork.

7. For circuits supplying bathrooms, the circuit protection should, in the event of fault, cause disconnection within 0.4 seconds.

8. Supplies for shavers in bathrooms must be obtained from a special shaver unit. This unit has a transformer, the secondary winding of which will be completely isolated from the primary and from earth.

 

[breezer]

its not a new "reg" he is thinking of part p (do a search) but the way round it is to box in the boiler

 

[ollski]

You're going to make me type this all out by hand now:

British Standard 7671:2001 permits the installation of fixed electrical appliances in rooms containing baths or showers subject to the the particular equipment being suitable for the conditions likely to occur at the particular point of installation and if considering an installation in zones 0 - 2, it being rated for the intended zone. In the case of a central heating appliance, the manufacturer shall provide details on the suitability of individual appliances for installation. British Standard 7671 defines 4 zones within such rooms.

In summary, fixed appliances incorporating electrics can be installed in zone 3 with no special requirement, other than the particular equipment being suitable for the conditions likely to occur at the particular point of installation, as defined by the manufacturer, together with adequate arrangements for supplimentary equipotential bonding. Installations within lesser numbered zones will require additional special considerations, where the appliance must be shown to have the required level of protection against the ingress of water (IP rating)

 

[breezer]

all that info is in for refernce, but my point is who really has a bathroom that big?

 

[COG]

If you have a balanced flue model then you have to have ventilation to the compartment of 270cm2 at high level and 270cm2 at low level into the room if you have an FSN or FSP model (fan flue ) then you can avoid compartment ventilation if you have a MINIMUM of 30mm above the turret ,250mm in front ,200mm below and 75mm to the left and right hand sides of the boiler. I assume you dont have an open flue model as the two previous eng would have shut it down as ID.

 

[ChrisR]

It seems then that you can have a boiler only 0.6m from a bath, but only if you consider this is satisfied:
"subject to the the particular equipment being suitable for the conditions likely to occur at the particular point of installation "

So it's up to the installer's opinion? Bonkers

 

[ardrich]

Blimey, diagrams and everything: thanks very much to all of you!

Boxing it in seems the way. I now need 600mm clearance at the front of the boiler for servicing, according to the manual. And the bog's in the way ... but that's another story.

 

[fitz1]

boiler in bathroom requires a cupboard with side clearences of 3 inch to combustable materials. servicable clearences in front of approx 600 mm.an openable door is o.k.any ventilation required is to any adjoining room, loft or direct to outside, but, not into bathroom.