Electric shower failure

[Kate]

Hi,

My electric shower made a noise like bzzzzzzzz-pop the other day, blew the fuse and stopped working. I have looked inside and there is nothing visible to indicate what happened, but it's pretty old (it looked fairly old 4 1/2 years ago when I moved in, and the temperature control has basically never worked since then) so I'm inclined just to replace it. My usual plumber is not responding and I'm skint, so I was thinking about doing it myself, seeing as all the fixings are there already and it just looks like connecting very simple electrics and one pipe.

The lowest power I can see on the web is about 8.5kW, whereas the existing shower is 7.2kW which I've found perfectly adequate. Might I have a problem if I put in a more powerful shower? I have looked back and can see similar questions referring to whether the cable is 6mm2 or

10mm2 - is that the cross-sectional area? How I can measure that?

I have also never done any plumbing beyond putting in a washing machine. Am I too clueless to do this? If so, I assume I need a plumber rather than an electrician, and does anyone know anyone reliable in Central/South Manchester I could try?

Thanks,

Kate

[Brian Reay]

The plumbing isn't anymore complicated than a washing machine, especially if the pipes are there.

However, there are a couple of electrical issues. If you install a higher power shower you need to check the existing cabling is adequate. Check the spec. for the shower and see if it wants 6mm2 or 10mm2, then check the cable. Ask a local electrical shop to give you a few inches of each and compare to what you have (the difference is clear side by side).

Also, I'm not sure re the new part P regs. In general, you can replace things without needing an inspection BUT I am not sure if this expends to bath rooms and showers.

Brian

[Stuart]

Or go to a shed and have a comparison there between the 6 and 10 stuff....if the existing cable can spare an inch or two .

[Stuart Noble]

Should be a piece of cake. I changed mine a few years ago and the extra wattage was ok on the old cable. It has its own switch on the consumer unit, so that's easy to disconnect. The pipework is normally just a compression fitting, so that should also be straightforward. If you have a valve somewhere to isolate the shower/bathroom, it saves having to turn the water off at the mains. Most plumbing starts off straightforward. It's the unexpected that does you in.

[Kate]

Thanks everyone, I have established with the very accurate width-of-my-little-finger measure that I have 6mm2 cabling so I'll stay low on the power rating and read the manual.

I think I'm going to get this one:

is a link to the manual down the page. I'd be very grateful if someone could confirm my reading of the tables on page 7 - I interpret them as saying that I'm OK with an 8.5kW shower so long as my cable is in an uninsulated wall? It's a party wall between two terraces so I'm sure it's uninsulated.

Kate