Shower issues

[madaminx]

Hi there

Its a long story but got my entire house done a couple of months ago, inc new bathroom with new electric shower, the shower got installed in June / July and I started using it in August, I've had about 10-12 hassle free showers in that time. Its been starting stopping clicking buzzing scalding and freezing me. The shower was purchased under the advice of and with the person who installed it. I've had 3 plumbers out looking at it and the shower doesn't necessarily do what I tell them it does when I'm using it, nevertheless they have come to the conclusion that the problem lies with the water pressure (still not resolved) As a last resort I called Aqualisa (shower manufacturers) and one of their techies came out to look at it yesterday, came to the conclusion that pressure might be the issue however when he used his voltage meter to check the earth reading from my electrics downstairs connected to the shower (reading read 285 but when he metered the earth in the connection within the actual shower unit there was a zero reading. he advised me that I need to check this out as a matter of priority. I contacted the original installer who has not been very consistent and he was going to call to fix it and now he isn't because he believes that the shower is earthed so I'm confused, and pretty angry as well and not sure if I can use my shower.

Any advice welcome.

 

[Amp David]

I'd be getting on the blower and calling a spark if the engineer reckons its an electrical fault.

Never heard of that make either. Where are you located?

 

[feselectrical]

Its quite difficult to get an understanding of what you mean but to get a voltage reading of 285 volts is very high. This could, in theory be too much voltage for the shower and causing it to not work as it should, they are obviously designed to work at a range of voltages that would probably not go up to 285. Now, if your house is very old and it has an old supply to it you could be getting a supply that hasnt been knocked down to the now standard 230 volts... this would be something you would take up with your electricity supplier but i fear it would be a chargeable service.
Whether a shower is earthed or not would not affect its operation, your installer should know that, whoever rewired your house would/should of also spotted that you had a high voltage.
Also if he checked between live and earth at the board he would get a reading as voltage is read as a potential difference between the two..ie live is 285v and earth is 0v so the reading is 285v...

I hope this makes some sense..

Electricians in Stockport - FES Electrical

 

[madaminx]

I'd be getting on the blower and calling a spark if the engineer reckons its an electrical fault.

Never heard of that make either. Where are you located?

Hi

I'm based in Belfast. I called the spark who originally installed it however he is adamant that it is earthed.

Thanks

 

[antimatter]

Now, if your house is very old and it has an old supply to it you could be getting a supply that hasnt been knocked down to the now standard 230 volts... this would be something you would take up with your electricity supplier but i fear it would be a chargeable service.
Electricians in Stockport - FES Electrical

Can you tell me where these "Old houses with old supplies that haven't been knocked down to the now standard 230 volts" are? I can't wait to find out.

 

[feselectrical]

Wow that was smug.

Am I wrong in thinking that older supplies were a higher voltage than the now standard 230v?

Have you never got a high voltage reading on an old supply. This was one of the first things we were taught to explain high voltage readings.

Domestic, Commercial Electricians in Manchester, Bolton, Wigan, Salford, Stockport

 

[antimatter]

from wiki

Since 1960, the supply voltage in UK domestic premises has been 240 V AC (RMS) at 50 Hz. In 1988, a Europe-wide agreement was reached to change the various national voltages, which ranged at the time from 220 V to 240 V, to a common European standard of 230 V (CENELEC Harmonization Document HD 472 S1:1988).

As a result, the standard nominal supply voltage in domestic single-phase 50 Hz installations in the UK has been 230 V AC (RMS) since 1 January 1995 (Electricity Supply Regulations, SI 1994, No. 3021). However, as an interim measure, electricity suppliers can work with an asymmetric voltage tolerance of 230 V+10%-6% (216.2–253 V). This was supposed to be widened to 230 V ±10% (207-253 V), but the time of this change has been put back repeatedly and currently sits in 2008 (BS 7697). The old standard was 240 V ±6% (225.6–254.4 V), which is mostly contained within the new range, and so in practice suppliers have had no reason to actually change voltages.



Also substations are normally connected together in a ring, also there is a north to south link on the national grid so ther voltages round the country have been similar to each other since nationalisation of the electric companies(now de-regulated).

Frequency is also @ a pretty steady 50 hz, although I have seen 50.1 mhz on my meter occasionally I understand this to mean a slight over production @ the power plant at that time, and there are strict guidelines and tolerance the electric power companies must adhere to.

 

[feselectrical]

Very informed answer and you clearly know more about it than I do. I was speaking about fault conditions though, I have heard of sparks seeing readings of 268v. I believed in the end the problem was a faulty supply cable, in fact I think it was a neutral, something to do with an old type of cable the suppliers had installed which deteriorated.
I know I didn't make that clear.

 

[antimatter]

No probs buddy, by the way, is the shower mains fed pressure or gravity?

 

[telectrix]

if the electrician who installed it and swears it's earthed, surely he will come out to verify this . if it was my job and somebody had called my work into question, i would be round there like a shot , if only to check my work was sound and see if i could put my finger on the problem. all part of the service.

 

[davelerave]

"Its been starting stopping clicking buzzing scalding and freezing me"


must be some shower-deluxe model eh!

sounds like pressure issues anyhow


285volts is a lot

 

[telectrix]

must be a female shower!

 

[Amp David]

Never heard the one about old houses having a high supply voltage. Surely newer houses will be fed from the same transformer as some older houses?

 

[Knobhead]

Also substations are normally connected together in a ring, also there is a north to south link on the national grid so ther voltages round the country have been similar to each other since nationalisation of the electric companies(now de-regulated)

Looking at this from a purely practical point of view.
I’m retired now but I worked on a plant that had 2 intake subs with 2 X 33/11KV 20MVA transformers each. All t/x’s fitted with 17 step on load tap changers. The 33KV was fed via 2 X 80MVA 132/33KV Tx’s, with no OLTC. If the voltage is supposed to be constant why did the OLTC’s vary from tap 6 at the weekend to 13 during the week. No two transformers would be on the same tap setting at the same time. OK our loading caused some of it, but the majority came from the supply, it was interesting to watch the tap positions on a Sunday morning as Sunday lunch got underway. The supply company couldn’t even keep the 132KV equal in their own switchyard, never mind coping with volt drop from W/E to midweek!
Never assume voltage is stable!

 

[keniff]

if you have the test certificates from the install just have a look at the shower circuits zs reading, also r1+r2 reading, this would show if it had the earth at the time of installation? also the nominal voltage is normally recorded.