Where is a a shaver socket powered from?

[Chris Styles]

I have a shaver socket in my bathroom and I've just fitted a next to it which I now need to get power to for the lights that are built in.

In my last house I had cavity walls so it was easy to drop new wires down from the loft into the space behind the mirror, and then wire the mirror into the lighting circuit.

My new place doesn't have cavity walls, so I was wandering if I can power the mirror from the back of the shaver socket. It doesn't seem too unreasonable as the mirror lights are < 100w, but powering a shaver socket and mirror lights from one spur seems like it might be bad form.

Cheers

Chris

[Christian McArdle]

It's fine in principle, although the circuit or spur should be protected by either aa fuse/MCB no more than 6A (i.e. an 3A FCU off a ring main, or a 6A MCB lighting circuit).

Christian.

[David Hansen]

On Tue, 24 Oct 2006 13:50:19 +0100 someone who may be "Chris Styles" wrote this:-

Firstly find out what the shaver socket is fed from, by removing fuses/switching off circuit breakers from the consumer unit.

If it is fed from the lighting circuit then this can be extended to the cabinet.

If it is fed from another circuit check that there is a suitable fuse in the cable that feeds the shaver socket. If there is then this cable can be extended to the cabinet.

Either way beware of acceptable cable runs and supplementary bonding. In England or Wales beware of John Prescott's stupid scheme to make electrical systems more dangerous while putting money into the hands of various organisations.

[Owain]

If the shaver socket is wired into the lighting circuit then that will be a radial and can be spurred off any old how.

If the shaver socket is wired into the power circuit then I think it

*should* already have an FCU upstream of it, in which case you can spur off any old how again.

If it's off the power circuit, you probably need an FCU for the unmentionable item you're fitting anyway.

Owain

[Chris Styles]

Thanks for the advice..

Why is a mirror with lights unmentionable?

There are two fluorescent tubes behind the glass of the mirror, and they shine through a unmirrored area. They are low power, and give off enough light so that I dont need to use the main bathroom lights on a cold dark winter morning, so it is not like they are a vulgar waste of electricity.

However...

The mirror also has one of those 25w heating pad on the back that stop it from misting up. I first saw these in Japan about 5 years ago and was really impressed, and they do work exceptionally well. When i went to the shop to buy the pad, the yound Saturday boy serving me said "I dont see the point of these, all you have to do iw wipe the mirror with a towel. Clearly he didnt shave at the time, nor did he have to clean his own bathroom mirror ;-)

If the objection is to do with power consumption, maybe i'll not start a thread about under-tile heating (150w/m^-2) :-)

Cheers, Chris

[Owain]

I don't know, but you just said you wanted to power a {noun omitted} in your initial post :-)

The issue is to do with protecting the circuit and the appliance. Many appliances will specify they must be protected by a 3A or 6A fuse or MCB, and while they would probably be okay on a lighting circuit it would be unwise to connect them unfused to a 32A power circuit.

Owain

[Chris Styles]

Ah, now I see... I didnt actually realised it's been so enigmatic :-)

Yes, I get that bit...

I'd thought that my mirror with lights was "unmentionable" because of an objection to mirrors that consume power, rather than because i'd omitted to say what it was :-)

I have an irrational objection to the little battery powered whisks that seem to be all the rage for those whose coffee has to have foam on top - they just seem like a bizarre waste of resources, and that in 1 months time there'll be millions of them in landfill. If you like foam on your coffee that much, just put in a couple of drops of fairly liquid and stir with a spoon.. there is no need for a whisk! ;-)

[Christian McArdle]

We use ours so much that we've got through 3 sets of batteries. It is impossible make milkshake without them, unless you just like brown milk with bits floating in it, or enjoy assembling, cleaning and packing away food processors.

Christian.

[Chris Styles]

I suppose it is fair enough if they are used. I tend to see them in 99p bargain bins, where you just know that the cup of coffee you whisk will last longer than the whisk itself. I suppose it is the same with all really crap items that you know are destined for the landfill before can justify thier existance.

I dont enjoy the assembly, cleaning and packing away of the food processor, but i *love* the milkshake made from

- Cheapo softscoop choccy ice cream - 3 scoops of Horlicks, for a nice malty flavour - A dash of milk to get the consistency - an optional shot or two of brandy, which makes for a luuuvly grown-up milkshake :-)

MMMmmm....

[Owain]

Oh no.

If you're of a religious persuasion that believes looking at yourself is vanity and vanity is a sin then you'll burn in hell, but that's between you and your belief system.

Just blow down the straw and make bubbles before drinking it back up through the straw.

Owain

[Frank Erskine]

Totally OT...

Better if you use a liquidiser for a smoothie:-

(in variable proportions (As You Like It))

Strawberries (hulled) Raspberries Pear (peeled) Apple (also peeled and cored) Mango (possibly pureed) Mandarin Oranges (yes - these do actually "smoothie") A splodge of natural probiotic yoghurt A sprinkling of granulated "Splenda" sucralose sweetener (optional) A lickle bit of Green & Black's Orgasmic cocoa powder, and A couple of ice cubes

Chuck 'em all in the liquidiser and beat the s**t out of the lot for a couple of minuettes - then enjoy!

If you need to thin it down a bit, use orange juice as supplied in pint milk bottles by the milkman.