Power shower isolator PSU gone kaput (I think)

Paulomor · Sep 23, 2023

Hi, after a bit of advice. Have tried a lot of plumbing and electrical shops but no one seems able to help. I have an Isolator/PSU 230v/12v. It is in line with an isolator switch and a fused on/off switch. All linked to a power shower (gravity fed). It can run off of normal mains with a 3 amp plug. The make is Redring 520ts. I have attached pics of the switches etc and the cover of the isolator with details.

Avo Mk8 · Sep 23, 2023

Titon is a manufacturer of ventilation systems, and that 12V power supply seems to be wired below a 3 pole fan isolator switch, which would normally be to do with the ventilation of the room. Does the fan work OK?

The Redring 520 is a stand alone wall pump for gravity H&C, which as you say has a modest 140W power requirement for the pump. I wouldn't normally expect the two to be linked in any way, and the operation of the Redring should be nothing to do with the operation of the Titon, but maybe one device is using mains from the other.

What is the problem you have, and what is the thing dangling down on the right from the FCU?

Paulomor · Sep 23, 2023

Paulomor said:
Hi, after a bit of advice. Have tried a lot of plumbing and electrical shops but no one seems able to help. I have an Isolator/PSU 230v/12v. It is in line with an isolator switch and a fused on/off switch. All linked to a power shower (gravity fed). It can run off of normal mains with a 3 amp plug. The make is Redring 520ts. I have attached pics of the switches etc and the cover of the isolator with details.

Should have said, the pic of the white cover shows the make and specs. Just cannot seem to get the same one anywhere. This one is 38VA and I found one on ebay rated at 15VA, would this be suitable?

Avo Mk8 · Sep 23, 2023

Paulomor said:
Should have said, the pic of the white cover shows the make and specs. Just cannot seem to get the same one anywhere. This one is 38VA and I found one on ebay rated at 15VA, would this be suitable?

No. What is it that doesn't work?

Paulomor · Sep 23, 2023

Avo Mk8 said:
Titon is a manufacturer of ventilation systems, and that 12V power supply seems to be wired below a 3 pole fan isolator switch, which would normally be to do with the ventilation of the room. Does the fan work OK?

The Redring 520 is a stand alone wall pump for gravity H&C, which as you say has a modest 140W power requirement for the pump. I wouldn't normally expect the two to be linked in any way, and the operation of the Redring should be nothing to do with the operation of the Titon, but maybe one device is using mains from the other.

What is the problem you have, and what is the thing dangling down on the right from the FCU?

On the right is a fused on/off switch with 3 amp fuse. When everything was working ok if I switched off the isolator swith on the left the shower would stop working. The fan is working but the shower doesn't. I have taken the mains cable from the shower and connected a 3 pin plug and it works fine

Avo Mk8 · Sep 23, 2023

Paulomor said:
On the right is a fused on/off switch with 3 amp fuse. When everything was working ok if I switched off the isolator swith on the left the shower would stop working

I can see on the right is the fused connection unit with the fuseholder open. What I meant is what is the wire hanging down from it with something on the end I don't recognise.
The switch top left is known as a fan isolator (which is why it's got a symbol of a fan on the top!) and is a 3 pole switch NORMALLY used to isolate live, switched live from the room light switch, and neutral. Seems that someone has wired the supply to the shower from the switched side of that. Unconventional but possibly not in itself a problem.
Again - what is not working?

Avo Mk8 · Sep 23, 2023

This appears to be what you're asking about.
It's for the fan:

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Paulomor · Sep 23, 2023

Avo Mk8 said:
I can see on the right is the fused connection unit with the fuseholder open. What I meant is what is the wire hanging down from it with something on the end I don't recognise.
The switch top left is known as a fan isolator (which is why it's got a symbol of a fan on the top!) and is a 3 pole switch NORMALLY used to isolate live, switched live from the room light switch, and neutral. Seems that someone has wired the supply to the shower from the switched side of that. Unconventional but possibly not in itself a problem.
Again - what is not working?

The shower isn't working. The thing hanging down is a plug connected to the shower unit. It works this way but when I wire it in it doesn't but the fan does. The shower is connected one side and the other side seems to run towards the isolator/psu

Avo Mk8 · Sep 23, 2023

Paulomor said:
The shower isn't working. The thing hanging down is a plug connected to the shower unit. It works this way but when I wire it in it doesn't but the fan does. The shower is connected one side and the other side seems to run towards the isolator/psu

OK so the shower is not working.
In my opinion that is nothing to do with the 12V transformer, which is for the fan.

Is the fuse top right OK? If so, something must be up with how it's connected.

Have you established which circuit breaker/fuse on your consumer unit feeds these items, and if so what current is it rated at? It would help to know as it might give an indication as to how that fused switch should be connected.

Paulomor · Sep 23, 2023

Avo Mk8 said:
OK so the shower is not working.
In my opinion that is nothing to do with the 12V transformer, which is for the fan.

Is the fuse top right OK? If so, something must be up with how it's connected.

Have you established which circuit breaker/fuse on your consumer unit feeds these items, and if so what current is it rated at? It would help to know as it might give an indication as to how that fused switch should be connected.

I,ve ruled out the fuse and have no idea which circuit breaker it is on. Always play it safe and turn all off unfortunately. Learnt the fan is connected to the isolator which I didn't know so thank you for that

Avo Mk8 · Sep 23, 2023

Paulomor said:
I,ve ruled out the fuse and have no idea which circuit breaker it is on. Always play it safe and turn all off unfortunately. Learnt the fan is connected to the isolator which I didn't know so thank you for that

I would have expected mains from the consumer unit to come through to the fused switch, and then the switched side of that go to the shower. Maybe it was wired differently. Someone with a tester would be able to see what is going on.
If you have a multimeter and know how to use it, you may be able to do continuity checks with the power off to see why the shower is not working as it used to. Otherwise get an electrician in!

Paulomor · Sep 23, 2023

Avo Mk8 said:
I would have expected mains from the consumer unit to come through to the fused switch, and then the switched side of that go to the shower. Maybe it was wired differently. Someone with a tester would be able to see what is going on.
If you have a multimeter and know how to use it, you may be able to do continuity checks with the power off to see why the shower is not working as it used to. Otherwise get an electrician in!

Will do and thanks again for the advice