Wall mounted fan heater in bathroom

[Brass Monkey]

Is it a definite no no to plug said heater into a switched 13A socket high on the wall? TIA

[Pete Verdon]

Always used to be, but under new regulations you might be lucky if your bathroom is big enough.

Someone will be a long in a minute :-)

Pete

[Brass Monkey]

The only alternative I can see is to hardwire it into a pull-switch.

[Pete Verdon]

Yep - there are higher-power pull-switches for just such purpose; my parents used to have one until recently. However, as I said, sockets are now allowed in bathrooms provided they're far enough away from baths, sinks, etc. This distance is expressed as "zones" and the different fittings that are allowed in them. I don't have all the details to hand, but I bet if you Google _bathroom zones_ or something similar you'd find them.

Pete

[Brass Monkey]

Cheers Pete

[Tim S]

Pete Verdon coughed up some electrons that declared:

Sockets are only permitted over 3m from Zone 1.

Other than shaver sockets.

But the rules on "current using appliances" that are hard wired in are different. I think it can come off a fused spur as long as it's >0.6m from the edge of Zone 1 (bath or shower edge), ie it's outside of the zones.

Sockets are a special case due to morons and hairdryers.

Brass Monkey:

How far away from the bath/shower edge can you get the heater - and how high? If you can tell us, I'll look it up and quote verbatim.

Would the heater be one designed for bathroom use?

Cheers

Tim

[Brass Monkey]

Tim, this is the heater -

way can I get 3 metres from zone 1. Imagine the bath along a wall which is only about 8" longer than the bath, then imagine the rest of the room to be about 1.5 baths wide. The heater will be in the centre of the 1.5 baths wide bit, above the door. The door is to the side of the head-end of the bath. The heater will be virtually touching the ceiling. Geeeez, these regs are a PITA.

[Tim S]

Brass Monkey coughed up some electrons that declared:

No way can I get 3 metres from zone 1.

That's sockets out then unless you want to wire it to the German regs (VDE100) then apparently you can have a shuko...

Bath = 0.7m typically, so the rest of the rest of the room is about 1m ish

OK, that sounds like it will be within Zone 2 (0.6m from bath edge)

2.25m above floor is outside of the zones, even over the bath.

This is one of the more sane ones...

OK - If you are within 0.6m of the edge of the bath, you need a device rated to at least IPx4, which is going to be fundamentally hard with a fan heater.

The B&Q one you mention is certainly not suitable.

Can you get the heater clear of Zone 2 (> 0.6 m from bath edge) by pushing it into the far corner or on the other wall? If so, use any hard wired heater, though pull cord controls would be preferable.

Or - if above the door is higher than 2.25m to the base of the fan heater, according to the regs I think you can have it - you'd need a very slim heater or higher than average ceilings.

Cheers

Tim

[Brass Monkey]

>> No way can I get 3 metres from zone 1.

Thanks muchly, Tim. It's in the corner on a pull-switch.

[dennis]

No way can I get 3 metres from zone 1.

Do what anyone else would.. wire it to a fused spare outside the room. Its earthed and you don't need to touch it so it is as safe as it can be. You can add and rcd but it does practically nothing to make it safer.

[Tim S]

dennis@home coughed up some electrons that declared:

> No way can I get 3 metres from zone 1.

This is correct, but the appliance still needs to meet IPx4 to be in Zone 2, no matter where the supply is.

[zaax]

>> No way can I get 3 metres from zone 1.

one of these in zone 3

a bathroom heater like: