Shower electrics
 

"David Ward" wrote in message
om...
Hello,

We need to replace our electric shower. It's currently 9kW and we were
thinking of upgrading to 10.8kW. Its connected directly to the main
fuse box on a 30amp trip. A quick calculation shows that 30amp isnt
really enough for the current shower: 9000/240 = 37.5 amp. I'm quite
surprised it has never tripped.

So it looks like we would need to upgrade to a 40amp or 45amp fuse.
However, our main circuit board is only rated at 60 amp total. We have
a gas cooker so i doubt we'd ever draw 60amp, but I guess we would
need to upgrade to a 100amp to be on the safe side?

I also need to check the rating of the cable. Is there anywhere which
tells me roughly how the external dimensions of cable correspond to
the core sizes?

Thanks.

David.

The first thing I'm going to ask is, "Is the cable large enough to take this
size of heating element ?"

You will have to reinforce the cable to at least a 10mm Two Core and Earth
if it already isn't.

The reason the fuse hasn't blown is more than likely to be that it is a
rewireable fuse with the wrong size fuse wire in it. An MCB (miniature
circuit breaker) would not have been able to take the current load and would
have tripped off at the first switch on of the shower.

You consumer unit (fuse box) is rated at 60 amps on the main switch and BUS
bar and you should probably never reach this load even with everything in
the house switched on.

More information about the whole installation as it is now, would help us
make a better diagnosis of any problems you may get if you go ahead with the
your proposed changes.


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Shower electrics
 

Thanks for the reply. I'll try and give some more details.

We consumer unit is WYLEX brand. From right to left we have:

1. Main ON/OFF switch.
2. 30 amp fuse with trip. It has a push button which pops out when tripped.
An there is a test button. This feeds the kitchen
3. 20 amp fuse with trip. Looks the same a 2. This feeds a single ring main
(upstairs and downstairs).
4. 10 amp fuse with trip. Otherwise same as 2. This feeds the light circuit
(also ring).
5. 30 amp "mini-trip" TYPE 2 - M3. It looks different to the other trips.
This feeds the shower.

I estimate that the system is circa 1980's.

Looking at the shower cable, I think it is 6mm twin and earth (7 core).
There is about 5 metres of cable from the consumer unit to isolation switch
and 20cm on to the shower.

I'd be quite happy to settle for another 9kW unit, but still concerned that
our currect setup is not up to the job.

I hope this helps.

David.


"BigWallop" wrote in message
...

"David Ward" wrote in message
om...
Hello,

We need to replace our electric shower. It's currently 9kW and we were
thinking of upgrading to 10.8kW. Its connected directly to the main
fuse box on a 30amp trip. A quick calculation shows that 30amp isnt
really enough for the current shower: 9000/240 = 37.5 amp. I'm quite
surprised it has never tripped.

So it looks like we would need to upgrade to a 40amp or 45amp fuse.
However, our main circuit board is only rated at 60 amp total. We have
a gas cooker so i doubt we'd ever draw 60amp, but I guess we would
need to upgrade to a 100amp to be on the safe side?

I also need to check the rating of the cable. Is there anywhere which
tells me roughly how the external dimensions of cable correspond to
the core sizes?

Thanks.

David.

The first thing I'm going to ask is, "Is the cable large enough to take
this
size of heating element ?"

You will have to reinforce the cable to at least a 10mm Two Core and Earth
if it already isn't.

The reason the fuse hasn't blown is more than likely to be that it is a
rewireable fuse with the wrong size fuse wire in it. An MCB (miniature
circuit breaker) would not have been able to take the current load and
would
have tripped off at the first switch on of the shower.

You consumer unit (fuse box) is rated at 60 amps on the main switch and
BUS
bar and you should probably never reach this load even with everything in
the house switched on.

More information about the whole installation as it is now, would help us
make a better diagnosis of any problems you may get if you go ahead with
the
your proposed changes.


---
http://www.basecuritysystems.no-ip.com

Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.520 / Virus Database: 318 - Release Date: 18/09/03

Shower electrics
 

An MCB (miniature circuit breaker) would not have been able to
take the current load and would have tripped off at the first
switch on of the shower.

Unlikely. A Type B MCB would have required a minimum of between 90A and 150A
to trip as soon as it turns on (I can't remember the Type 2 characteristic).
To trip on 37.5A, it would require many minutes to trip, if it bothers at
all.

Christian.