Bathroom shaver point adapter

Oct 15, 2004 30 Replies

Bathroom shaver point adapter needed:



We now have 3 electric toothbrushes and an electric shaver. These are all battery powered, but they need to be left on charge. Total current consumption is tiny - the electric toothbrush chargers are rated at 2w. So, where do I find a 4-way adapter that I can plug into the bathroom shaver socket? I guess it needs to be shuttered, etc. Failing that, are there 4 way sockets around?



Geoff


Only thing I can find is that huge BS approved box for £29. I will therefore watch the results of this post with some interest!

You're ahead of me then - where do you find that?

I came across a similar dilemma - no adaptor seemed readily available - solved the problem by fitting additional sockets. Regards, Pete

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It just occurs to me why you might not be allowed to have more than one item connected to a shaver socket. Suppose, unlikely as it sounds, that item 1 fails so that the 'live' wire touches the case whilst item 2 fails whilst the 'neutral' wire is doing likewise, then you could touch both and not be protected by the transformer. Hence you need a separate transfromer for each socket.

You mentioned a huge box, that's probably why it's huge. How huge, and where do I get one?

Just Google for "shaver socket" in "UK" and they appear or the Screwfix catalogue, if you can get in it. Like this but I am not sure about bathroom approval.

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wife also found this:
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appeals to her, and shuts up the "Where's the hair dryer gone" as it's bolted to the wall.

Could any sparks have a look and say if it looks legal, even though it says so. It does not have any BS number as far as I can see.

So you don't fancy my idea of sticking four 13A shaver adapters in a 4- way socket strip, and fitting a shaver plug to plug it in to the existing socket?

You forgot to add the smiley. :) There, that's better.

So it seems that no-one can come up with a sensible solution other than mine of fitting more than one approved socket. It would also be nice to get one that did not have the 110v. option. Presumably this could be produced cheaper and could be smaller, and is not much use in the u.k. unless you have hoards of foreign visitors cluttering the bathroom with their gadgetry !

Pete

Probably wouldn't make much difference, the 110v socket will just be fed from a centre tap in the transformer secondary so you're only saving on the cost of the second socket. The transformer would be the same size and probably governs the overall size of the unit.

Sorry Mike, you have me lost here. Why would a transformer be needed for a 240v. toothbrush charger or a 240v. razor ? Surely the only "transforming" necessary is to cope with the 110v. situation.

Pete

In message , Peter Stockdale writes

Isolation from the mains. The secondary is floating and cannot source more than a few microamps of current if you touch either wire, even if you are well earthed. Of course, if you touch both...

The same reason as isolation transformers are used for power tools outdoors. Yes, you can use circuit breakers of various types, but an isolation transformer can't go wrong.

Thanks for the clarification of the transformer function in this application, Joe. However it seems that we are no nearer to finding a socket that will allow more than two appliances(assuming that the 240v and the 110v are both available out of the same unit at the same time) for multipurpose use.

Pete

In message , Peter Stockdale writes

Isolation

I think they either normally share one pin, or the shutters operate such that only one can be used.

Absolutely. If you want the safety an isolation transformer gives, then it must be restricted to one device per transformer. Standard practice in the days when they were used in TV for musical instruments and there was a very real danger of this occurring with cheap guitar amps etc.

It's only another tapping on the transformer and I doubt it would save much in cost or size.

Surely, unless the batteries are well past their best, you should not need to charge them all at the same time?

As a backup, just get a 13A 2-pin adaptor and you can top up in the nearest bedroom, or even on the landing

Chris

Yup - on a check with my two, only one thing per socket as there are only three pin holes.

So it seems that we have totally failed to solve the o.p. question, except by suggesting the installation of a separate unit for each appliance.

Pete

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