ChatterBank2 mins ago
Electric socket in bathroom
11 Answers
I have a 3 pin electric socket in the bathroom which I am told is unsafe. What do I need to do to make it safe, and how do I charge my electric toothbrush.
Also what is the best procedure to close insulate a cooker wire which is no longer in use. At the moment I'm using insulating tape.
thanks
Also what is the best procedure to close insulate a cooker wire which is no longer in use. At the moment I'm using insulating tape.
thanks
Answers
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cant help with the socket bit.
I am suprised your toothbrush has a normal plug on it. My last 2 are fitted with a 2 pin shaver plug.I assumed they all were. We had a shaver socket but had it removed and fitted an over mirror light with one built in.
You could keep your toothbrush charging in your bedroom.
I am suprised your toothbrush has a normal plug on it. My last 2 are fitted with a 2 pin shaver plug.I assumed they all were. We had a shaver socket but had it removed and fitted an over mirror light with one built in.
You could keep your toothbrush charging in your bedroom.
I'm only familiar with the electrical wiring and some of the code regulations here in the U.S. where we use 120 volt system rather than the 240 used in the U.K., but having said that it's a building code requirement that any electrical outlet within 3 feet (arms length) of a source of water (faucet, shower, tec.) must be a Ground Fault Circuit Interupter Outlet - (GFCI). These can easily be installed by any intrepid DIYer with the appropriate cautions and directions...
In the UK the standard 13A mains power socket in a bathroom is not only unsafe, it's illegal. Shaver sockets are readily available, and you could fit one of these, or as Samuel suggests, use a bedroom socket.
Clanad's GFCI would be what we In the UK call a Residual Current Device (RCD), also known as an Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB).
As to the cooker wire. If you can't have it disconnected at the fuse box or consumer unit, get a 20Amp junction box, screw it to the wall, and connct the wires to the terminals inside. It'll keep the wire ends out of the way safely, and leave them available for a possible future connection.
Clanad's GFCI would be what we In the UK call a Residual Current Device (RCD), also known as an Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB).
As to the cooker wire. If you can't have it disconnected at the fuse box or consumer unit, get a 20Amp junction box, screw it to the wall, and connct the wires to the terminals inside. It'll keep the wire ends out of the way safely, and leave them available for a possible future connection.
Sorry heathfield but under the new 17th edition regs which came in a year ago you are allowed to have a socket in the bathroom now as long as it is rcd protected and over 3 metres horizontal away from the zone one area (ie the bath itself).
So if it is 3 metres way and rcd protected then you are ok eezablade32 and for the cooker cable you would need a 30 amp junction box as the cables would not fit in a 20 amp one
So if it is 3 metres way and rcd protected then you are ok eezablade32 and for the cooker cable you would need a 30 amp junction box as the cables would not fit in a 20 amp one
To add to the-knobb's excellent answer to Heathfield. it should be noted that the BS7671:2008 17 th Edition wiring regulations are NOT enshrined in statutory law - so not complying with them is not "illegal". They are guidelines for best practice, and it is suggested that complying with them is the only way to fully to meet Part P of the building regulations, but they are NOT "law".
"The technical requirements laid down by Part P are remarkably simple. They are:
P1 Reasonable provision shall be made in the design and installation of electrical installations in order to protect persons operating, maintaining or altering the installations from fire or injury".
"Surprisingly, perhaps, Part P does not alter the status of the BS7671:2008 Wiring Regulations. They are still non-statutory, and there is still no legal requirement to adhere to them in domestic installations. This is a source of great discomfort to many electricians, and some of them will jump through hoops to try and prove that they are mandatory, but the fact remains that they are not.
HOWEVER, adherence to them is a very good way of ensuring that you meet the technical requirements of Part P, and you would need a very good reason, and a very good understanding of what you were doing, to decide to not adhere to them. "
The only electrical "law" is the Electricity at Work Act, which applies to me, as a tradesman, not you as a DIYer.
"The technical requirements laid down by Part P are remarkably simple. They are:
P1 Reasonable provision shall be made in the design and installation of electrical installations in order to protect persons operating, maintaining or altering the installations from fire or injury".
"Surprisingly, perhaps, Part P does not alter the status of the BS7671:2008 Wiring Regulations. They are still non-statutory, and there is still no legal requirement to adhere to them in domestic installations. This is a source of great discomfort to many electricians, and some of them will jump through hoops to try and prove that they are mandatory, but the fact remains that they are not.
HOWEVER, adherence to them is a very good way of ensuring that you meet the technical requirements of Part P, and you would need a very good reason, and a very good understanding of what you were doing, to decide to not adhere to them. "
The only electrical "law" is the Electricity at Work Act, which applies to me, as a tradesman, not you as a DIYer.
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