Burnt out pull cord to electric shower

[Sammw123]

Hello everyone,

I have recently had a bathroom refurb in our new house as it had no bathroom fitted before. I have a 8.5kw electric shower that is isolated by a 45 amp pull cord. The shower stopped working so I had an electrician come and have a look and the pull cord wires are completely black and the plastic is melted. It never tripped the main fuse box but it is wired into a 32 amp fuse on the main box and the pull cord is 45amp will this cause it to burn? What other options are there for the burning ??? Any advice is much appreciated thr shower is fitted with a 6mm cable but I'm unsure of the size of the cable that goes from the pull cord to the fuse box...

Thanks in advance

 

[Pretty Mouth]

I can't see why non-essential work should not be undertaken, providing all reasonable precautions are taken

Agree with this statement. There's nothing in the government guidance that suggests we can only carry out essential work. Point 4:

[Withdrawn] Staying at home and away from others (social distancing)

www.gov.uk

[automerge]1587227972[/automerge]
Exception:

"No work should be carried out in any household which is isolating or where an individual is being shielded, unless it is to remedy a direct risk to the safety of the household, such as emergency plumbing or repairs, and where the tradesperson is willing to do so. In such cases, Public Health England can provide advice to tradespeople and households."

 

[Gary latto]

replace with acrabtree or click 50A circular switch. easier to fit and as reliable as a Toyota.

Tel you got a pic please

 

[freddo]

Tel you got a pic please

Click

Crabtree

 

[Zerax]

...although I can't see why non-essential work should not be undertaken, providing all reasonable precautions are taken.

I'm sure you can do 'non-essential' work... but you are required to work from home if possible. And if you do go to work, you need to practice social distancing.

 

[telectrix]

the beauty of the click and crabtree switches is that you connect cables into the base unit rather than with other types.

 

[Gary latto]

Click

Crabtree

C

the beauty of the click and crabtree switches is that you connect cables into the base unit rather than with other types.

Cheers ill take a look ?

 

[123]

Click also do a square 50A Pullcord which has 2 screws for each terminal and I've not (to date anyway) had any faults or problems with them.

Click 50A DP Pullcord Switch With Mechanical On/Off And Neon (PRW211) - https://www.electrical2go.co.uk/50a-dp-pullcord-switch-with-mechanical-i-on-offi-and-neon.html

 

[Ray Pooley]

Hello everyone,

I have recently had a bathroom refurb in our new house as it had no bathroom fitted before. I have a 8.5kw electric shower that is isolated by a 45 amp pull cord. The shower stopped working so I had an electrician come and have a look and the pull cord wires are completely black and the plastic is melted. It never tripped the main fuse box but it is wired into a 32 amp fuse on the main box and the pull cord is 45amp will this cause it to burn? What other options are there for the burning ??? Any advice is much appreciated thr shower is fitted with a 6mm cable but I'm unsure of the size of the cable that goes from the pull cord to the fuse box...

Thanks in advance

A short circuit to ground can cause an overload situation but it won't necessarily be enough to trip the MCB. It depends on the type of MCB not just the current spec. Do you have an RCD in the consumer unit? A short circuit should have tripped it. If you don't I strongly recommend you have one installed. It might not be a bad idea also to check the current being drawn by the shower once you get the switch replaced. This can be done at the consumer unit. For example, if the shower is 8.5 kW on max you would expect a current of 37 amps which wouldn't necessarily trip the MCB. I know you say you have a 32 amp fuse but that would be ok up to 7.3 kW of load. You probably don't go higher than that in terms of your actual demand. But the MCB is there to protect the circuit. RCDs are there to protect you. So if you haven't got an RCD installed have it done asap.