No bathroom RCD

[yellowvanman]

Some numpty has put in a ceiling fan with a pull cord above a bath - ceiling is getting very damp and apparently water keeps dripping out, I guess due to condensation in the duct.

Customer (tenant) wants me to put in an in-line fan, and as it doesn't have a fan isolator switch, add an appropriate switch.

Old Wylex board, TNCS.

My thinking is what I've been asked to do doesn't infringe current regs. Fan is outside the bathroom, my only query is if I put in a pull isolator switch for the fan, is that required to be RCD protected? If so, can put a switch outside the bathroom just below the ceiling above the door. In which case no concealed wiring and not in a special location.

Thoughts? I would prefer to put in a pull switch! Have also suggested the tenant tells the landlord that CU upgrading would be a good idea.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Sarcasm?
Bloody amateurs.

 

[sparksburnout]

At what point do you make the distinction? Can you quantify 'bloody great'?
Can you give a specific power rating at which an isolator is required?

An inline fan contains a motor, and it will at some point require Maintainence so it needs a means of isolation.
It is my opinion that a plug/socket connection is the most sensible soloution to this.

The difference is bloody obvious. An industrial motor will almost always need a means of isolation either for maintenance purposes (when it will obviously need locking off) or for emergency purposes, when it needs to be stopped before it wrenches someone's arm off. A fan in a bathroom is a totally different scenario, although BS7671 obviously can't make that distinction. A bathroom fan will not mortally injure someone or need to be stopped in an emergency. In reality, the only reason it will ever need to be isolated is when it needs replacing, they are never "maintained". Any electrician so doing can easily isolate it either via the local means or if necessary at the CU. If its dark outside or there are no windows he just puts his head-torch on and gets on with it, simple. If Winston Churchill was alive he would make a comment about all this none-sense along the lines of "never, in the history of electricians, was so much rubbish spoken by so many, over something so trivial and simple." Its just a ****in bathroom fan for gods sake.

 

[7029 dave]

The difference is bloody obvious. An industrial motor will almost always need a means of isolation either for maintenance purposes (when it will obviously need locking off) or for emergency purposes, when it needs to be stopped before it wrenches someone's arm off. A fan in a bathroom is a totally different scenario, although BS7671 obviously can't make that distinction. A bathroom fan will not mortally injure someone or need to be stopped in an emergency. In reality, the only reason it will ever need to be isolated is when it needs replacing, they are never "maintained". Any electrician so doing can easily isolate it either via the local means or if necessary at the CU. If its dark outside or there are no windows he just puts his head-torch on and gets on with it, simple. If Winston Churchill was alive he would make a comment about all this none-sense along the lines of "never, in the history of electricians, was so much rubbish spoken by so many, over something so trivial and simple." Its just a ****in bathroom fan for gods sake.

Yes he properly would, but we are living in the 21st century, nanny state and all that, HS gone mad, that is the here and now situation.

 

[davesparks]

The difference is bloody obvious. e.

If it is so obvious then why can't you qualify it?

 

[davesparks]

The difference is bloody obvious. An industrial motor will almost always need a means of isolation either for maintenance purposes (when it will obviously need locking off) or for emergency purposes, when it needs to be stopped before it wrenches someone's arm off. A fan in a bathroom is a totally different scenario, although BS7671 obviously can't make that distinction. A bathroom fan will not mortally injure someone or need to be stopped in an emergency. In reality, the only reason it will ever need to be isolated is when it needs replacing, they are never "maintained". Any electrician so doing can easily isolate it either via the local means or if necessary at the CU. If its dark outside or there are no windows he just puts his head-torch on and gets on with it, simple. If Winston Churchill was alive he would make a comment about all this none-sense along the lines of "never, in the history of electricians, was so much rubbish spoken by so many, over something so trivial and simple." Its just a ****in bathroom fan for gods sake.

Why are you so dead set against this? It's not a great hardship to fit a socket, and it makes life easier as you can connect the few to the fan before carrying it in to a loft.
My issue is with fitting an isolator in a ridiculous location above the bathroom door when it is supposed to isolate a piece of equipment in the loft. If you're fitting an isolator then fit it next to the piece of equipment it isolates.
I'm not saying it's wrong to not fit an isolator, just daft

 

[sparksburnout]

Why are you so dead set against this? It's not a great hardship to fit a socket, and it makes life easier as you can connect the few to the fan before carrying it in to a loft.
My issue is with fitting an isolator in a ridiculous location above the bathroom door when it is supposed to isolate a piece of equipment in the loft. If you're fitting an isolator then fit it next to the piece of equipment it isolates.
I'm not saying it's wrong to not fit an isolator, just daft

I'm not!! like we have said just put it on a click connector. It's all this other crap as if its some massive problem, which it aint. They are only ever isolated by an electrician in reality, to swop out. If necessary just knock off the cct at the CU. I can't see why it is such a big deal!

 

[Midwest]

The difference is bloody obvious.

So we can ignore those couple of regs then in this case. I'll just make a note in the margin, ignore for the purposes of domestic bathroom fans. Two down, just the rest of the book to go.

 

[Leesparkykent]

I'm not!! like we have said just put it on a click connector. It's all this other crap as if its some massive problem, which it aint. They are only ever isolated by an electrician in reality, to swop out. If necessary just knock off the cct at the CU. I can't see why it is such a big deal!

Or when the customer doesn't want the fan on......like at night.

 

[sparksburnout]

Or when the customer doesn't want the fan on......like at night.

Just put it on its own pull cord, most customers I come across just moan about "the bloody fan that just comes on all the time and then carries on for 2 minutes after the lights are turned off". Stick it on its own pull cord. If it needs working on just coil the cord up and put a laggy band round it if your worried about someone walking in and switching it on while you are working on it.
Pull cord, click connector if in-line, simple. Its just a fan......

 

[sparksburnout]

So we can ignore those couple of regs then in this case. I'll just make a note in the margin, ignore for the purposes of domestic bathroom fans. Two down, just the rest of the book to go.

Well, you carry on in the rose tinted world, I'll carry on in mine

 

[Hellmooth]

More importantly, what is the big deal about a fan coming on at night?

 

[Midwest]

, I'll carry on in mine

Minus two regs

 

[sparksburnout]

More importantly, what is the big deal about a fan coming on at night?

Now you are being silly. Nights are for sha****g and sleeping, more of the latter at my age unfortunately, not listening to Xpelairs when the wife's had a few too many pino grigios.

 

[Midwest]

More importantly, what is the big deal about a fan coming on at night?

Dunno, its not like the birds twiting in the morning, or the rain pitter pattering on the window, its god dam annoying!

 

[sparksburnout]

Well, birds twiting (??), rain pattering, wife up and down, I'm off to bed and I don't give a ---- cos I aint got a bathroom extractor!!!!!! And If I did I wouldnt have an isolator or a 3A fuse and ***k the regs.............good evening.