shower isolation switch location

[btsimonh]

Hi all, want to reopen a thorny subject...

Doing the bathroom at the moment, on a tight budget...
Putting in a 9.5kw shower, but specing for 10.5 in case I can afford to upgrade later.
Will be calling in a professional to wire, etc, but want to understand it all and get the bits in beforehand (seems a degree in electrical eng does not qualify me to wire in my house ).

CU to shower is ~5m. Shower to 'outside bathroom door' is 8m round trip in loft (with insulation).

I'd like to use 10mm T&E, but if i go under loft insulation, would need to go to 16mm.

I've bought a 50A pull switch isolator.

So on to the question:
Is it viable to mount the isolator inside the bathroom 'near the shower' (actually, the other side of a shower-bath screen) to save cost on cable?
I believe this to be 'out of zone', but don't like it myself.

 

[holmslaw]

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[btsimonh]

read a lot of this forum, and learning to love it

> Usually people with proper degrees have no problem clearly explaining themselves.

Explaining oneself well has not a lot to do with academic achievement or knowledge... and it is a skill I struggle with

for:
>> CU to shower is ~5m. Shower to 'outside bathroom door' is 8m round trip in loft (with insulation).

read:
The consumer unit (next to which I would anticipate a new small unit with 60A 30ma RCD and 45A MCB will be fitted) is about 5 meters cable run from the shower. If I was to place the isolation switch in MY preferred location outside the bathroom door, this would add a further 8m of cable, which would run in the loft. At a total length of about 13m, with most of the run in the loft, the cable size calculations indicate 16mm would be required.

So the question still stands; in order to stay on 10mm, and to save a bit on cable, is it viable to fit the pull switch type isolator to the ceiling 'near' the shower, or is it best to hang the cost and fit the isolator outside the room?

If I do fit it outside the room, to avoid going from 10mm to 16mm, can I clip the cable to some timber placed above the insulation specifically for the purpose?

From reading previous posts, the position of the isolation switch for a shower is an emotive subject. Personally, from everything I've read, including the regulations, I don't think there is a definitive answer to where it SHOULD be; but I would like to hear opinions on where people who fit them regularly prefer to site them and why

 

[btsimonh]

>> what class of degree do you have
2.2 - that's two two much drinking.

 

[JohnW2]

So on to the question:
Is it viable to mount the isolator inside the bathroom 'near the shower' (actually, the other side of a shower-bath screen) to save cost on cable?
I believe this to be 'out of zone', but don't like it myself.

Technically speaking, zones 1 and 2 both end 2.25m above floor level, so if the pull switch were mounted on a ceiling higher than that, I think it would be OK, regs-wise (AFAIK, it's OK having the pull cord descending into a zone) - but I certainly wouldn't want it to be anywhere it could be splashed by the shower spray.

Kind Regards, John.

 

[securespark]

As I have just said on another thread:

At the end of the day, it does not really matter that the CU and stuff is outside the zones.

Regardless, equipment chosen needs to be suitable for its location. Could you hold your hand on your heart and be absolutely confident that all that equipment is?

I would like a bit more distance between the shower and switch than "on the other side of the shower screen."

 

[holmslaw]

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[holmslaw]

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[JohnW2]

Technically speaking, zones 1 and 2 both end 2.25m above floor level,

They don't.

OK, holmslaw, what clever technicality spanner are you trying to throw into the works this time?

Kind Regards, John.

 

[btsimonh]

thanks secure...

>>Regardless, equipment chosen needs to be suitable for its location. Could you hold your hand on your heart and be absolutely confident that all that equipment is?

Shame I can get IP rated lights, but not suitably IP rated isolation switches/
The one I have bought does not thrill me in it's ability to reject water ingress.


Any thoughts on running 10mm in the loft space - I guess i can bring it up through the insulation, across the space on a new timber, then down to the switch outside the room, all to avoid it running under insulation.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Technically speaking, zones 1 and 2 both end 2.25m above floor level,

They don't.

Zone 2 is limited by:
(i) the finished floor level and the horizontal plane corresponding to the highest fixed shower head or water outlet or the horizontal plane lying 2.25m above the finished floor level, whichever is higher
(ii) the vertical surface at the boundary of zone 1 and the parallel vertical surface at a distance of 0.0m from the zone 1 border.

Pedant.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Is it viable to mount the isolator inside the bathroom 'near the shower' (actually, the other side of a shower-bath screen) to save cost on cable?

You could, as others have previously done, actually mount the shower switch on a construction in the loft and only have the cord entering the shower room through a ceiling mounted 'blank' with a hole in it, although you wouldn't be able to SEE if it were on or off.

 

[btsimonh]

Having now opened my shiny new shower, I see that the regs are pretty pointless as the construction quality of the shower itself leaves a hell of a lot to be desired. Talk about not being able to splash the isolation switch, but this deathtrap is to be mounted IN the shower!!!