Electric shower still getting power after turning off fuse box

You are in a Flat, Terrace, or Semi. Your neighbour is paying for the electricity!

R.

Sounds a bit strange!

Try this...

Turn off your main switch in your fuse box turn on the shower (assuming it works) see if your electricity meter is registering the power usage

If it is,

1. You may have another fuse box somewhere
2. The installer wired it into the back of the main switch, the meter side (DANGEROUS!!)

If the meter does not register the power, then...

1. The installer connected it to the supply BEFORE the meter (Illegal, and dangerous!)
2. You live in a multi-occupancy building, and it is connected you one of your neighbours
3. You have another electricity service!
4. You have a generator hidden somewhere you failed to mention :-)

Sparks...

I live in a semi but i don't think that the shower is connected next door as there is a concrete dividing wall! I have tried tracing the wires and had already thought of that but there is no sign of wires going next door.

Could it be that the shower is wired in prior to fuse box?

Have checked in the meter cupboard for another sude box but no sign.

It could be my static personality keeping it lit!

On 31 May 2006 07:03:46 -0700 someone who may be "cheekeyarab" wrote this:-

Then you have either, 1) not removed all the fuses/switched them off, perhaps there is another consumer unit or, 2) your house is dangerously wired.

The invention of the drill some years previously may have allowed a cable in from next door. However, the first thing really is to see if your meter responds to the electric shower.

Christian.

I removed all fuses one by one, this didn't work so then i turned the fuse box off. Where could I find another fuse box if there is one? (Loft?)

Will try it out when i get home from work.

Cheers.

(Drill? How clever, i still use a lump hammer and bolster 8-p)

Find the meter and follow the "tails", thick leads that go from the meter to the fuse box/consumer unit. There may be an intermediate box called a "Henley block" that allows two sets of tails to continue to two separate consumer units. Technically, the tails shouldn't be longer than about 2-3m total until they get to a consumer unit.

Christian.

Is it just a neon indicator?

They draw almost no power and might light up on pickup. Though where they could get pickup with the power off at the fuse box is a bit of a puzzle. However with the fuse pulled there would be no other load on the line to pull it down. Try putting all the fuses back in with the breaker off and switch an incandescent lamp on somewhere. If that douses it it's probably pickup.

DG

Sunlight falling on the red lens?

Does the shower still heat water with the main CU switch off?

On 31 May 2006 07:03:46 -0700 someone who may be "cheekeyarab" wrote this:-

One further thought. Does the water come out and get hot when you turn it on, if all the fuses are removed?

I once came across an installation where the electric shower had been wired into the meter side of the isolator switch in the consumer unit i.e. no fault protection other than the electric co.'s fuse. Even better, the responsible party had evidently had some difficulty getting the wires into the switch terminals alongside the meter tails and so had carefully trimmed some of the strands back so they would fit.....

Of course the only way to isolate the shower was to pull the electric co fuse (there wasn't even an isolating switch for the shower).

The bodger's joinery skills weren't up to much either as the shower tray was collapsing into the floor void and more of the water seemed to be ending up in the floor void than going down the drain.

Dangerous wiring is the only answer. Apart from the possibility of a temporary bout of insanity on your part, which is rather less likely.

NT

Sparky was out last night!!!

Wired directly in to switch at fuse box, only fuse protection was main house fuse by meter AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

=A3150 to sort it out.

Thanks for all the help.

good to hear youre going to survive. Now may be time to check out the rest of the wiring!

NT